Sunday July 5 Taber, Alberta

Today turned into a really long one!
Last night things were pretty quiet at the campground. They don't take care of the yards very well but it did have clean washrooms, showers, computer desk, reading area and laundry. Complete with cheesy decor like jigsaw puzzles laminated and hung up on the walls. I watched a beaver in the (Pincher) creek for quite a while last night right in front of my camp site. Today started as usual, then really fast 50 km to Fort McLeod - basically no wind. When I got there the town was desolate, nice old part of town but nobody, not even a parked car. It looked like a movie set and everyone had gone home. I saw the same girl three times as I circled around in disbelief and she went to and from a bank machine. I wrote if off as early Sunday morning (but later the SF couple told me it was like that when they arrived and stayed Saturday night). Next 75 km to Lethbridge was pretty good speedwise but headwinds from the east! picking up. Lethbridge is interesting. Like many Albertan towns it's on the edge of a gulley or whatever the correct geographical term is. There is a 100 y.o. rail bridge that goes from the old east side to the new west side. I was determined to find a way on it but couldn't. West Lethbridge is any-car-town-north-america but East side is cool. Streets are wide enough for 8 lanes of traffic but the economy has slowed things down. Tourist Info centre said Dragon Boat Festival at the lake so off I went. I arrived as the SF couple were leaving. Chatted for a while. If it wasn't for the one Thai food vender it could have been any Redneck festival - country music on stage, wood dance floor in front of it on the grass, mini donuts and hamburgers. I left about 2:30 thinking I would camp asap but there was nothing, nothing until Taber and then it was 2 km off the highway to the town centre for groceries and another 3 km to the campground. The east winds slowing me down the entire 50 km. I think I never got out of the small chain ring. I was ready to toss my bike on the ground and camp beside the highway until the east winds stopped. I cought up the the SF couple and the three of us looked pretty bagged trying to get some energy out of a handfull of nuts. I'm now finished eating and getting cleaned up and it's almost 8:30 pm.

OD 1311.5, 8:35:55, 176.33 km, 20.4 km/hr ave, max 55.6