In Search Of The Famous Julian Pie Company---Part-2

In yesterdays entry,I made an incorrect statement which was brought to my attention by my travelling companions,Ron and Sue...I stated that the Julian Pie Company wasn't in Julian,but was in fact in Santa Ysabel...This statement was partially incorrect as this first pic shows the original location on Main St. in Julian,and yesterdays pic's show the second outlet that opened in 1992 in Santa Ysabel.I guess in my defence,one could conclude that by the size comparisons of the 2 outlets,one would assume the larger outlet with the delivery trucks would be the one and the smaller,just a restaurant,but pies are made at both outlets.In fact there is a much larger restaurant next door to the Santa Ysabel outlet also.
This is a family operated business started by Liz Smothers back in 1986.Liz and her husband Keith bought an apple farm,planted 17000 trees to supply the business.All operations are run by family members.They ship pies all over the U.S. including on-line orders.

This is main street in Julian,originally a gold mining town established back in the 1880's.Its a Designated Historical District,its image as an early California frontier town with its pioneer store fronts,historic sights and guided tours of the old mine sites, make it a tourist attraction.
The town sits at 4235 ft...1000 ft above Santa Ysabel which is 7 miles away.I could feel the temperature difference as I walked around the 2 towns.

Julian is unique among Southern California communities with its cold winter climate,ideal for growing apples.All Julian apples are sold locally as pies,cider and whole fruit.In October 10,000 pies a week are baked as the Southern California tourists flock to the area for the fall colors,cool breezes and frontier atmosphere.

As I wandered about the town,I came across an interesting place on a side street,called "The Birdwatcher."This is a really a large,well stocked establishment,similar to the "Wild bird shops" back home.They have a large stock of bird feeders.Even tee shirts for the birder.

Here are a couple of pic's taken inside,with the owners permission.

We are now heading home by a different route,as we take highway 87 toward Ocotillo Wells,with a quick drop down into the valley below,leaving behind the oak trees and other high country vegetation,and seeing the gradual change back to the lower desert climate and vegetation, with a rapid warming of temperature.

You can see the road ahead in the pic,center-right curving around as we drop down into the valley.





Once down onto the desert floor,we must climb again over Yacqi Pass to get back over to Borrego Springs.

This pic is a look down toward the town as we descend the pass.

Back at the trailer with my expensive but tasty spoils.And tasty it is....As this pie no longer looks like this,neither does the apple-nut cake.

Just as a final note,these pies are famous because they have won many blind taste awards.

So ends my search for the famous "Julian Pie Company."