Gull Lake, Canada - Polarsteps

We spent the morning with Katrina in Tompkins and then, still pretty tired from the long cycling day, just did a short one to the campground at Gull Lake. It seems like every town here uses the word 'oasis' in describing itself, and they're not wrong. Since our cold day leaving Lethbridge it's gotten July-hot, and the cycling often feels similar to our time crossing through south-central California and Arizona, just with fields of crops replacing the stretches of desert. Shade is in short supply and towns are hours apart and don't always have any services at all, so we have to watch our water supply. The towns themselves are lush and green; they've been planted up with trees and gardens, and they seem to exist in a separate world from the open-sky sun-beating-down world on the road. Gull Lake really felt this way; we arrived early and pitched our tent in the shade, then walked into town on pretty, tree-lined streets to get some cold drinks at the convenience store. We've noticed these towns being very sweet about their graduating classes: they're no more than ten people and their photos are printed on banners and signs and flown all through town. -Sara