The Badlands awaited us, along with the burning sun. Determined to avoid her killing rays, we got up at five… much to the annoyance of the tent dweller in the next space, I’m sure.

I should have gotten that Diet Coke. As I sit here typing today’s report, I’m longing for that Diet Coke. I’m dreaming of its sweet not-sugary goodness and blessed carbonation sizzling down my throat. But no. I walked away without getting it.

The original plan was to leave Lake Granby, and the rest of the F650.com folks on Sunday, but then we realized that we’d set ourselves up to do 420 miles to the next campsite, just around the corner from Mt. Rushmore.