APPLE PIES AND WOLVES AT JULIAN - SAN DIEGO STAY

 From Anza Borrego desert state park we went to Julian a small mountain community in Southern California on the way back home in San Diego.

Julian is an official Historical landmark for San Diego county in California, it has surprisingly very limited population of 1768 as per the latest census 

The town is known for its apple pie and its annual Julian Apple Days Festival, which began in 1949

As we drove back and were passing between the north end of the Cuyamaca Range and the south slope of Volcan Mountain, the brown terrain started acquiring vibrant green colors, we began to see oak trees and pine forests. 

The history of the town itself is very interesting to know, it was first settled by the three brothers Drury, Frank and J.O. Bailey with their cousins, Mike and Webb Julian. They were passing through this region from San Bernardino en route to Arizona in 1869, in the wake of the American Civil War. 

Enthralled by the beauty of the Julian area, Drury Bailey interrupted the group’s travel plans and chose instead to settle here and  surprisingly named the settlement “Julian” after Mike Julian because  he felt “Mike was better looking” than all the other members of the Bailey family.

 Shortly after, A.E. “Fred” Coleman, a former slave, crossed over a creek 4 miles west of Julian and saw a glint of gold in the water and quickly set up Coleman Mining District .In time eager gold miners flocked to Julian to stake their claims.

At first Julian had a tent city followed by more permanent structures as it was clear to all that gold mining in Julian would persist for some time to come. Later Victorian-style structures were constructed 

Unlike other such camps, Julian survived even after the mines played out due to its climate, rich soil and proximity to San Diego which I felt that it is still its biggest advantage. 

While the miners were sweating deep down in the mines to extract the gold from the earth, an enterprising person named James Madison brought a wagon load of young apple trees into these mountains. The fruit trees flourished in the clear, fresh air and Lo! a flourishing business was born ,apples are still a big product in Julian, many of which are used for making the world-famous Julian apple pies ,visitors can go around the many orchards picking up apples when they are ripe

As we parked our car and stepped out there was a sudden chilly nip in the air, the entire town looked like a model early California frontier town with its time frozen in early 19th century ,all the trees around us were prettily dressed in their fall colors.

The stores are all dated with guided tours arranged to see the historic sites. Tourism is Julian's largest industry, followed by cattle raising.

In 1976, Julian approved a plan that required the exteriors of any buildings on Main Street to be no younger in age than 1913.We found that, in fact many structures had a Victorian architecture that looked much older than 1913.

 Julian Historic Walking Tour map was available for self-tour at the Chamber office located at the Town Hall on the corner of Main & Washington Streets. 

There were plaques placed on historic buildings on several streets which revealed history of the town from Gold Rush times to the 1920s.

The entire town can be covered within an hour or two, there was no honking nor people talking loudly, it was totally all chilled out and peaceful and serene

Julian experiences more extreme temperatures and greater precipitation than much of southern California. It also receives snow annually, more in February and March. This attracts people from San Diego and other coastal cities, where snow hardly occurs. Many affluent people from California and San Diego prefer to own vacation homes here and spend their vacations

 All Julian apples are sold locally as apple pies, apple cider or whole fruit. In October, apparently nearly 10,000 apple pies a week are baked in Julian, when Southern California tourists flock here for the fall colors, cool breezes, frontier atmosphere and its famous Apple Festival.

Julian apples have won many blue ribbons at famous places. The first Julian apple celebration was held in 1909 , and later after a long gap in 1949 and is being carried out regularly since then

There were many cute shops selling apple pies, pot pies, cidar and souvenirs ,we could see the fresh pies getting prepared  and the friendly banter of the people working inside ,the window dressings were pretty and innovative 

Many art galleries were spread around, I especially liked the name of one  shop named Pistols & Petticoats, on the Main Street  where one can get items reminiscent of old saloon days 

We of course bought and ate an apple pie at Julian Apple Pie Company which we did sitting in the outdoor on benches and we took some pies home too ,I liked the taste of the pie 

I particularly was fascinated by the California Wolf Center - Nature Store. This store was being run by a young man who graciously consented when I asked him if I could take some pics 

There were many gifts, key chains , magnets and clothes all based on theme of the wolf .There were exhibits on wolf biology and ecology along with film shows arranged in a parlor. 

While checking out I saw gift parcels of wolf poop which was indeed amusing !

The man there told us that there was a California wolf centre 4 miles outside Julian ,on prior appointment people could go and see how they are trying to protect wolves from getting extinct 

This location offers education programs for children and adults about Mexican grey wolf recovery and Alaskan wolves, conservation, and history, as well as information about their conservation partnerships that support wolf recovery in the wild, they are one of the largest breeding centers in the country for this species