That night sickness came bubbling up in me all the way.  Mucus chocked back my nose and throat exasperated by the dust kicked up by tricked out jeeps careening by our campsite, griding dirt.  I woke up in the middle of the night shivering and hot.  I took Dayquil at daybreak, which knocked the symptoms down some.  Time to finish.

We eat slowly under a very sunny and warm morning before kicking out and jumping on dirt come pavement.  Dan and I glide slightly downhill towards a bend in the pavement leading to Ocotillo Wells.  Instead, we gear straight and jump on something like 10 miles of uphill deep sand - the deepest of the trip.  But the glory of the desert is full so I'm loving it.  Ocotillo, deposited river stone, chunky mountain rocks, sand in all its layers, and ample beavertail prickly pear line the route.  We push one as a few doom buggies come and go.  The sand ends and the side of a VERY busy highway starts.  Luckily, it's short, and we push off into the desert dirt once more.  The route is doubletrack light and flowy over small hills as we make our way down to the shoulder-lovely highway leading to Borrego Springs.

The morning edge gave way to light, and I awoke after a deep night's sleep.  My throat felt worse, my sinuses were producing mucus, but it didn't matter.  I was here on this ride.

All lounging began with steadfast approach for breakfast.  By 9:30, with a new day's warmth pressing down in positive reception, we set out.  No sooner had we passed the Agua Caliente General Store then we threw bikes in reverse based on the glimpse of a bikepacking rig outside the business.  We met Sam - Julian, CA local and six time racer of the Stagecoach 400 out on a training ride in preparation for this year's race.  He spoke passionately of the area and let us know that the verbenas soon to be seen down June Wash were something he had never seen in this area in his years here.  That brought appreciative mmhmms.

When I rode the Stagecoach 400 last Spring Break, I chose to eschew the Anza-Borrego Desert due to 100 degree temps I wasn't feeling up to.  That area, filled with badlands and box canyons, had been on my mind to visit for some time.  So I set myself some intention: go back in the cool months and dive into the desertscape.  

Thus came February.  This winter has been fecund.  Snow has dropped in "Top 10" amounts along northern AZ.  The Grand Canyon, same as the west, desperately has needed it.  But I've felt a longing for desert in the spring, which always strikes beautifully in February and March.  With President's Day weekend approaching I aimed to hit up Anza-Borrego.  But I wanted to see a highlight of all areas in a three-day loop that would hit highlights of the area both on pavement and off.  I reviewed the Stagecoach 400, Anza-Hapaha, and Ranchita Rambler routes to pull what I wanted to see and ride from each.  I then scanned maps and satellites to add in sections of personal interest to create a blend-route I referred to as Fully Anza-Borrego (at least fully for me in both interest and with what could be reached via bike).