Julian is one of the places everyone tells us we need to visit before we leave southern California. It’s a little town tucked up in the mountains– a bit of a drive for us, but a trip we’ve been wanting to make. We called our friends the Knudsens and Woolstons (who all live in San Diego) and arranged to meet in Julian today.
We started off with lunch at a local pizza parlor. It was splendid… probably the best pizza I’ve had since arriving in California!
Then we headed over to the Eagle Mining Company, which is an abandoned gold mine dating back to the 1850’s (the fabled Gold Rush). The tour was really interesting, and led by a grizzled old guy who absolutely looked like a prospector.
After we came back out of the mine, he showed us how to pan for gold. The company pulls water from the nearby river, where gold flecks can still be found. With the help of a plastic pan, you swish the water around in a certain way…
… and you’ll find some little bits of gold!
Yes, those shiny dots are really gold. It’s not enough to really amount to anything, but it was pretty cool to see how the process worked.
We finished at the mine and wandered around town. It’s a charming place, and of course this little tourist spot was impossible to resist:
After dinner at a local bar and grill, we headed our separate ways. It was a great day, and an awesome little town.