We talk a lot on our social media about bucket lists… things you want to do or experience before it’s too late. For example, we think everyone should try sleeping in our bubble tents at least once.
It’s a one-of-a-kind family friendly experience not to be missed! Check out our availability!
🤔 But have you ever heard of bucket psychology?
Bucket Psychology and Bucket Fillers
We spend a lot of time thinking about that around here too. Bucket psychology describes a way of living a good life: one of purpose, happiness, and resilience.
According to the theory, we all carry a bucket with us.
When it is full, we feel happy and fulfilled. When it is empty, we do not. The thoughts, activities and things we fill our days with determine the degree to which our buckets are filled. When we’re kind to others, we fill our bucket AND the bucket of the person we’re being kind to. When we are unkind to others, we steal from another’s bucket, and from our own.
Unfortunately, many “bucket fillers” are often put on the back burner until retirement: post-retirement leisure goals, travel, self-discovery, and more.
Waiting to fill your bucket until an undefined date in the future can have a number of psychological and wellbeing consequences. Check out this study about why we tend to defer many leisure goals until retirement.
It’s important to find a way to fill your bucket as you go. Don’t let yours get too leaky or dry.
So how do we fill your bucket at Four Corners Algonquin?
Nature is one of the best treatments for mental health strains and stresses
While you can’t visit your doctor and ask for a nature prescription, you can book a get-a-way to somewhere near or in the wilderness, and we’d love to host you here at Four Corners Algonquin.
We are located adjacent to Algonquin Provincial Park, one of the largest and best-known nature preserves in all of Canada. If you’re excited for trekking in the woods or canoeing the lakes, we’ve got you covered - our free park pass makes it really easy to enjoy. If the idea of sweaty exercise doesn’t thrill you, simply sitting and being still outside your tent or around a campfire still refreshes the spirit. We have people visit all the time who nest at their campsites like this. We hear so often that they can’t remember the last time they slept so soundly and deeply.
We make the great outdoors accessible across ages and stages and abilities
Many people who visit Four Corners Algonquin tell us they thought their camping days were behind them.
They’re too tired to lug or clean the camping equipment. They have injuries that prevent them from sleeping on the ground. They need access to CPAP machines for sleeping. The truth is, we’ve taken care of a lot of these ‘challenges’ for people, which means they can once again access the great outdoors
We supply the tents.
Our tents all come with mattresses, and our safaris have king size beds!
Every site has a private barbecue, and we have a common kitchen for cleanup.
Our bathrooms are not only the cleanest around, they also have HOT showers!
We have a rental program that lets you borrow anything from pillows and blankets to flashlights and board games.
Our baby items and batteries for CPAP machines are free to borrow.
We have made it so easy to camp that we have hosted nonogenarians (people in their 90s) and newborns, people with dementia and physical disabilities. We fall under the “ready to camp” and travel light adventure experiences. If you want to give us a try but are still uncertain, give us a call first and talk to us about your hesitation. We will tell you honestly if we can help you out.
Our bathrooms are stocked with free supplies, including feminine hygiene products
Castile soap, sunscreen, and yes - tampons and pads. Why do we include feminine hygiene products, you ask? Because it’s an issue of gender equity. Puberty-aged girls often forgo sports once they start menstruating, or at least participate less often. We also object to the pink tax - the unofficial practice of charging more for products that only women require. We think being female shouldn’t inhibit your enjoyment of being outdoors. We don’t charge for toilet paper. Why would we charge for tampons?
We are Community Builders | Join us in making a difference!
Your patronage at Four Corners Algonquin not only builds our business, but also the community of South Algonquin. The revenue we receive pays our taxes, which supports our local municipality. We spend it at local businesses to buy food, meals, lumber, firewood and so on, which keeps our friends, neighbours and colleagues employed. We volunteer in the community to undertake activities that build our trails, our community, our economy. As a corporation, we also participate in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library - a program that sends a free book each month to every child in the community under the age of 5. We see this as a long term investment in making sure our kids are ready for school and to reduce the effects of the urban rural reading gap. As a result of popular demand, we’re expanding this program in 2022 - each guest reservation contributes $3.50 cents which buys one child one book. We’re hoping to take an Indigenous community under our wing with the added revenue. We also have a charitable agenda that brings non-profit and charitable groups to Four Corners for discounted stays so we can fill their buckets too.
We check in on every guest, every day
Some of our campers are camping ninjas - they know the ins and outs of being outside like they know the cracks and wrinkles on the back of their hand.
But for others, this is a new experience - new sights, new smells, new sounds. We want each of our guests to enjoy the experience completely and so we adjust our service level to the needs we see.
We check in on every campsite before bed to make sure you have what you need, to take away any garbage, and make sure you’ve gotten your campfire started. We’ll even start it for you and teach you how if you want a lesson!
Your 5-star google review is our reward
Unlike many tourism establishments, we don’t encourage tipping. If you are happy with your stay and would consider returning, the single best thing you can do for us is to leave us a 5-star google review to tell everyone who looks us up what a wonderful time you had here.
Your recommendation is worth way more than cash to us, I promise. If one of our staff was particularly helpful, mention them by first name and we’ll make sure they hear your feedback too. And if we’ve somehow failed to inspire a 5-star review, please come see us while we still have an opportunity to make it right for you. We’ll do our best to rise to your expectations.
Don’t Wait to Fill Your Bucket
Whether you choose to stay with us or not, more than anything, we hope that you choose to fill your bucket, and we encourage you to start today!
We sincerely hope these concrete actions will help you feel good about the work we do, but also about yourself and the choice you make about how and where you’re spending your very valuable leisure time and budget. If you’re on the fence about glamping, here’s 6 reasons to go glamping this summer. If you’re ready to check us out, get started by seeing which tents and dates we have available below!