Low desert living....

After several days besought by rain and wind Friday greeted us with gentle breezes, cobalt blue skies and horizon to horizon sun......we decided it was time for a road trip to explore the local area, so a little after 1100 hours Mike, Liz, TLE and I hopped in their car (Steve and Linda opted for laundry day in town) and first drove up to Julian, CA sitting at just 4,000 feet elevation in the Cuyamuca Mountains of San Diego County.  It's main claim to fame is an abundance of apple orchards, and, of course, apple pie of which the main source is Julian Pie Company.

We arrived in Julian shortly after noon, parked right in front of 'Soups and Such Cafe' for lunch.  Yelp gives them 4 solid stars on 141 reviews.....no argument here.  Three of us ordered a cup of their French Onion soup, while Michael ordered a cup of their Corn Chowder.  Mike and I also ordered a BLT which we both split with our better halves.  Their gourmet coffee was wonderful.  

Next it was time for a walk around Julian with our ultimate goal being the Julian Pie Company, a few blocks down the main drag......our purpose?  To purchase a whole 'Original Apple Pie'.  As it turned out the line was out the door with at least a 30 minute wait, so we opted to drive down the hill to Sana Ysabel to their main bakery ,where the lines were not quite so onerous, to buy the pie, a plan which we successfully executed.....

Pie in hand - Santa Ysabel

Then it was on to finish our grand loop through the Cuyamuca Mountains finishing with the Montezuma Grade which dropped us into Borrego Springs once again.....

Borrego Springs in the distance...from near the top of the grade

After numerous stops at various vista points to take many, many pictures we arrived back 'home' around 1530......on tap for the evening was our 3rd sunset fire.....just an hour away....

.....everyone began to drift over to the fire just after 1630 and by 1655 we were treated to another sunset in the desert.......

 Sunset fire brigade

The 'star' of the show

Around 1730 we reconvened to the salon area of Steve and Linda's Travel Supreme for a potluck dinner consisting of Tri-tip steak courtesy Steven and Linda, coleslaw salad by TLE and Mac and Cheese courtesy Mike and Liz.  The food and company were superb.  We all brought our preferred adult beverage and talked well into the evening finally calling it a night well spent just before 2100 hours.

Thanks for stopping by!