Red Deer Log Cabins

The Season of 2016 is a wrap.

Thanks to everyone who made it one of the best in years.

​Book any time for 2017...

But...they are indeed northern lights.  They don't behave like clouds.  Big display, just getting warmed up.  Covering about half the sky so far, north to west.

Thanks to all of you who called instead of writing these past 11 days.  Back to normal (or at least as normal as it ever gets around here...)

Currently I have no computer (a second massive fail this season), so please CALL and talk to the answering machine if I am not immediately available.  I check for messages regularly.

It's official.  No open fires until further notice.  Campers be sure to have an alternative heat source for cooking.

I had chanterelles for breakfast...
Raspberries are just starting to ripen.  Saskatoon berries, also known as June Plums and Sugar Plums are on the bushes.  It looks like the strawberries, which were late, are finished.
I haven't had a chance to check for blueberries; they are likely in swing too.
​

I still have a cabin opening from tonight until Saturday, if anyone is interested.
​

I thought when the 911#s were uploaded by the Township of South Algonquin last September 30 that the GPS problems would be solved.  I thought the problem was because there was no # assigned to my location (even though I provided lat/long in my signature and here on the website).
 
Because most people are now using cellphones for GPS, and do not use coordinates at all, only civic addressing #s, and because different phones use different map sets, which do not actually agree with lat/long data, people are now winding up at the local dump instead of here!  At least I know where they are now when I get the phone call!  One vacationer saw the sign at my driveway, and then continued another km south from here because the GPS told her to continue.  So...I can still do nothing to fix your GPS.  I still suggest (as I do on the how to get here page) that travelers use a map.  GPS is definitely not accurate outside of heavily populated areas.
 
My place is STILL where it was when I bought it in 1989.  No one got lost on the way here then, following the simple instruction 2 km south of highway 60 on highway 523.
 
Ain't technology grand?

For all intents and purposes, RDLC is closed until the ground thaws next spring.  That being said, one of my regulars made an appearance.  The cabins are heated, and though there is no running water at this time (the water system is not made for below 0C) they had no fear of the outhouse (it's clean too!).
 
One regular client came this week to enjoy the fabulous weather, and completely understood that the central washrooms were already shut for the season.

I have had inquiry already for winter stays.
 
Here is why I don't do that.
 
1.  A standalone building needs 24 hours to heat up in cold temperatures.  People want cheap off season rates.  We ALL know that hydro is expensive in Ontario.  The cabins are heated by electric baseboards.  If you want to pay for 3 nights to stay for 2, and have no running water (no showers or flush toilets as well as not having running water in the cabin) it is possible.  If you are shopping for the cheapest price, I cannot afford to have you here.
 
2.  I need to take care of some other aspects of life that I cannot take care of in Madawaska when I am working 7 days a week for 7 months.  For me to drive back from wherever I go to the dentist, the haircutter (yes, I cannot get a decent haircut locally, meaning within 50 km, at any price), the mechanic, and to visit my aged mother and my few friends to prepare a cabin for a short client stay is not financially feasible.  If people are willing to fit into my personal schedule during the offseason (and respect the other aforementioned economic considerations and accommodation restrictions) it is possible to accommodate them for winter stays.
 
3.  My winter schedule is not made public for security reasons.  There are security cameras on the premises because of interlopers, mostly snowmobilers.
 
That being said, if you want to come snowshoeing or cross country skiing, or just to get out of the city to a lovely quiet place, it can happen.  Just don't expect it to be 1999 pricing.!  You will have to walk in to the cabins over snowbanks, because snowplow operators need to be paid as well.  Keeping the driveway open to the cabins without a guaranteed return is prohibitively expensive.  The driveway is plowed to the house, no further.
 
If things go accordingly to plan, I will be offering B&B at the house, Christmas 2016 and beyond.  But not this winter.
 
Note:  the waterway here is not appropriate for ice fishing.  Once the ice is thick enough, in January, the water level has been dropped for hydroelectric generation, and the imaginary lake becomes the river.  Skating is not likely, as one would have to skate up and down.  Mostly the waterway is used by snowmobilers hotdogging on the snow dunes, and avoiding the trail when it runs out of snow.  The bridge for snowmobilers IS the highway bridge, so they KNOW crossing the waterway and defaulting across my property is NOT appropriate.  Signs are posted as well.
 
Trespassers will be prosecuted.  Paying clients will be appreciated.

We are right on track to see the peak of colours this weekend.  Finally the hills in the distance are showing the variety of colour expected in autumn.  Better late than not at all!

I am not going to go into the whole story again.  Look back through the blog if you missed it.
These people, this corporation, is apparently trying to kill me.  They won't leave my listing the way I put it.  They won't read what is in front of them.  I have to check it every day to make sure they have not messed with it again.
 
The moral to the story is do not follow Google maps or information to get here.  Please use the information I put on the "How to Get Here" page.  If they have not changed my information again you will be able to see Google street view of my driveway and sign.  If they have messed things up again, the Google maps will be dark.
 
Red Deer in Madawaska is STILL 2 km south of Highway 60 on Highway 523, just as it was before the internet and mobile phones.  I advocate having a real highway map.  Mostly they are right.  Maps are much cheaper than GPS or a cell phone with a plan.  Maps work when there is no cell coverage, as sometimes happens in rural areas. 
 
Seems to me the #1 problem with highway maps was not that they were outdated, but that people had a hard time folding them back up.  Gadgets that don't give good information are expensive and dangerous.  But hey, it's your dime, and your life, not mine.  It is a shame that so many people get lost on the way here though.  They could be here relaxing instead of frantically trying to figure out where they are.

I don't think I have ever seen so many mushrooms.  Perennial pickers are very, very happy.

Catnip!  Oh, this finding is going to piss the chemical people off...wonder if Health Canada will approve it for use as a repellent?  Citronella is back on the market, now that Health Canada's decree forced all of the natural repellent people to remove stock from shelves and eat the loss.  I can't say I have seen citronella on the shelves this season, but then, I have no need of mosquito repellent, so I haven't looked. 

BTW, I was bit such as a child that I looked like I had measles all summer (in between the freckles).   My Mom put citronella on me.  It didn't work for me, but it did work for my 3 siblings.  Different things work for different people.  I also have no reaction to mosquito bites now.  At all.  It seems innoculation may not be a bad thing.

Also BTW, if you check, all of the human West Nile virus infections have been in suburbs, not the bush. Not so sure that the mosquito that carries West Nile thrives in this environment, no proof.   I haven't tracked the equine cases, and everyone in the country buys the vaccine for their horses.  It might be the fear factor.


Due to the cancellation of a large event this weekend, I have cabin availability.  This could be your chance to get away, and book a "last minute" cabin.  Email or call for particulars.

Double bill this week!  The skies are giving us both for the next couple of nights.  There have been aurora for the last couple of nights, but not strong ones here.  People thought they were clouds.  You can't see stars through clouds though...
Pleiades peak is supposed to be Wednesday after midnight, so technically Thursday morning.

I can no longer say that I haven't had a bear in the campground.  Just before 7 am one walked down the main camp road, right in front of the house.  Strangely, the garbage (which gets picked up today) was intact. 
All the more reason to be very particular about food and garbage...

Two victories.
All of the new drains are installed in the central washrooms.  As of tonight there are functioning sinks as well as showers and toilets.  In the interim all cabin and campground sinks have been working just fine...
And (a drum roll, please!)
I found AND fixed the final leak in the water system.  The crazy maker of the last 2 seasons is revealed and eradicated!
A toast to perfect waterworks.  No leaks, clean drains, and 0/0  lab results.

Just got back from Barry's Bay (supply trip), and though it is a dull day, I saw some flaming maples along the way.  However, the volume of colour is not as I had expected.  My guess is it is going to be about 50% by this weekend.  Earlier in the month I noted that there were yellow trees and dropping leaves 'ahead of schedule'.  Now it looks like peak will be next weekend, Oct 3/4, if not later.

Another light show possible tonight.
Need a fur coat though.  Brrrrrrrrr!