Friday, June 27, 2008

A Trip to Julian, California


Pine Mountain

Hello again from Pine Mountain. I just returned from working on irrigation pumps in the desert. It was hot out there. 43 C that is 109 F for those of you on the Fahrenheit scale. The hottest part of the day was from 1000 to 1400 or 10 AM to 2 PM. I put up my umbrella and drank my rehydration mix, a super Gatorade mix called H3O, by the gallon. At first I tried to wear a t shirt but in 5 minutes it looked like I had been swimming in it from the sweat so I put some sun tan lotion on and went shirtless. The umbrella helped too so that I did not get too sun burnt. I spent 4 days out there and finished my work. At night I tried to catch up on my internet work, but my internet connection would come and go so I did not get a lot done.





Sunrise was nice out there. But then as soon as the sun came up the temperature would start rising rapidly. I was glad when I was able to head home to Pine Mountain. Traveling back to Pine Mountain, I stopped in the small mountain town of Julian California. I had lunch and toured the town for a little while. My adventures are this week’s feature story.

First for those of you that have just joined us, here at the ranch power is supplied by 2 wind turbines and a water turbine. We also have a few solar panels that charge up a battery bank. Our horizontal turbine looks like a small wingless airplane on top of it’s 80 foot tower. We purchased that one from http://www.bergey.com/. Our vertical turbine we purchased from http://www.pacwind.net/, it spins away on a 30 foot or 10 meter pole out by the barn. Our water turbine in the dam of our pond came from an Alaskan alternative energy company http://www.absak.com/. There have been more windy days than calm days this week. Even on a calm day we have been able to produce more energy with our wind turbines than we use.


Next we have our usual sections on Alternative Energy, Easy Cash, Nutrition, Traveling and Adventure and this weeks adventure A Visit to Julian , California.

Alternative Energy

Is your electric bill going through the roof? Are you paying $200 or even more per month for electricity? Do you want to cut costs or even learn how you can sell electricity back to the power company so they pay you instead of you paying them? Learn how you can supplement you electricity and reduce your electric bill for only a small investment of less than $200 in alternative energy. Go to http://deserthab.offgrid07.hop.clickbank.net/ and learn easy ways you can cut your electric bill.

The price of fuel keeps going up in price. Gasoline is now over $4.73 a gallon. Everyone is looking for anything that will increase fuel economy even a little. Most Alternative energy fuels are still years away but there is a way to improve your mileage, increase your horsepower, and reduce your emissions all at the same time. You will be able to turn your vehicle into a fuel efficient one with only a few readily available items from your local hardware. The instructions are easy to follow and there are many diagrams so you can see how to do it too. It does not matter if you have a gasoline or diesel engine vehicle it will work with either one. Go to http://deserthab.water4gas.hop.clickbank.net/ to learn more while supplies last.

Do you want to increase your fuel economy and create 30% less pollution? How about increase your gas mileage and increase your power too. An environmentally safe non toxic product called Ethos will do just that. It improves gas economy by reformulating your gasoline to allow more air to be mixed with the fuel vapor. This causes cleaner combustion and increases power. Your fuel burns more completely and thus produces less emissions. All you have to do is add a couple ounces per tank of gasoline or diesel. Go to http://www.thegassecret.net/ and learn more about this alternative energy supplement.

Easy Cash

Is the cost of living getting you down? Do you need to make some quick money to cover expenses? Go to http://www.pinemountainranch.ws/ watch a free short movie and start making the money that you have dreamed about.

Nutrition and Health

These days everyone is concerned about nutrition and health. Most of our food is over processed and has very little nutrient value. Our food looks great but not much more. If we want to stay healthy in today’s world we are forced to take supplements. The question is: What supplements will provide what you need for the least amount of time and money? I believe one of the best supplements out there is called acaiplus. It is a blend of vitamins and minerals plus acai to promote health and long life. They also have vitamins to help improve your long term and short term memory. They also have an energy drink that gives you steady long term energy. To learn more about these products go to
http://www.acaiplus.com/desertstarproducts. Check out Acaiplus, Feed My Brain, and White Lightning.


Travel for Less

Are you tired of paying high airfares only to be crammed into a tight seat when you travel? Find out how you can save hundreds of dollars on your next flight. You may even be able to fly first class for the cost of coach if you know the secret. Learn how you can save enough money to take that once in a lifetime vacation. Go to
http://deserthab.airtravel.hop.clickbank.net/ and find out now while supplies last.

Discover how you can fly around the world on a shoestring budget. There are ways to travel for free. These ways are easy to learn if you know the secrets.. Go to
http://deserthab.fly4free.hop.clickbank.net/ to find out. You will be glad you did.


Have you ever wished that you could travel for a living. Does the call of far off places thrill you? Would you like to travel the world on your own schedule and see the places that you want to see? Would you like to enjoy your vacation and get paid for it too? Long to travel on your own schedule and enjoy your vacation? Would you like to travel for a living and see new and interesting places every day? Do you like to write letters to your relatives telling them about your recent vacation? Then you have what it takes to become a travel writer. All you need is a little instruction and you can have a dream job too. Go to http://deserthab.wp3033773.hop.clickbank.net/ and learn how you to can become a travel writer.


Adventure and Treasure Hunting

Do you watch movies like Indiana Jones and wish you could do that in real life? Do you like a good mystery and a good adventure? Would you like to use modern methods and tools to find long lost treasure?
All this is possible if you learn from the best. Stan Grist world renown adventurer and treasure hunter has written a course complete with step by step instruction on how to become successful. Go to http://deserthab.infoshare2.hop.clickbank.net/
And check out his course “Creating Wealth Through Adventure”



And now our feature story.

A Trip to Julian, California.

When I left the desert, I took the scenic route instead of traveling the interstate. I drove through Ocotillo Wells and Shelter Valley. I turned West on state route 78 and went through Banner. I was at the 800 foot level or 244 meter level. I continued up the winding twisting mountain road until I reached the top at 4200 feet or 1280 meters.
Approaching Julian from the east, the first thing you see on the right side of the road is the new high school. Julian is an old mining town from the California gold rush days. The town was originally founded by 2 cousins from Georgia, Drue Bailey and Mike Julian right after the civil war. The first gold was found in 1869 by Fred Coleman. The town population was never more than about 600 people even in the gold rush days. Today the population is less than 500 full time residents.









Julian is considered to be Southern California’s Bed and Breakfast capital with many fine places to spend the night. All the buildings in town have been turned into shops and restaurants and are well kept up. Julian is the central location for all the activities in the area. It is a great place to bring the family and spend a day or two. There are over a dozen places to eat and many more gift and novelty shops.








There is never a lack of activities to do in and around Julian. The adventurous can tour the maize of tunnels in the Eagle and High Peak mine. Guides lead you through the tunnels and tell you about the history of the area. A few miles down State route 79 is Cuyamaca Lake. Here you can camp, boat, fish, picnic, and nature walk.

If you like fine wines, The Overland Back Country Wine Tour is a favorite. Explore the many fine wineries from the back of a converted army troop carrier. After exploring the many fine wineries the tour ends with a barbeque at the Menghini winery. Among the many fine wineries in the area are Eagles Nest, J. Jenkins, Menghini, Orfila, Pama Valley, Shadow Mountain, Twin Oaks, and Witch Creek.

Julian with its high 4200 foot elevation has 4 seasons. It is famous for the many apple orchards that surround the town. In September the town is always crowded with visitors arriving to sample the fresh apple pies and fresh pressed cider.
If you are looking for a taste of western living, there are three stables where you can experience mountain and back country trail riding. Integrity stables, Julian stables, and Kenner Horse Ranch, all provide riding adventures and lessons from beginner to expert.




Do you like watching the night sky? Then observer’s Inn is for you. You can view the planets, star clusters, and moon every night except Thursday through research grade telescopes weather permitting of course. An experienced astronomer leads you through an hour of interstellar exploration.

Food sampling is another fun thing to do in Julian. There are over a dozen places to eat in a two block area. If you go hungry in Julian it is your own fault. It is always a challenge to figure which place to try first.








One of my favorite places for lunch is the little restaurant called Soups & Such Café. Lani the owner also owns the local flower shop. The restaurant has two dining rooms.








The first dining room has a beautiful brightly colored hand painted flower garden wall that always makes lunch a cheery event.






The second dining room has nice wooden tables and a window view of the main town street. The food is great and low priced too. You can have soup, salad, and bread for only $7. I highly recommend the farmer’s soup. The soup is filled with fresh vegetables and is cooked and seasoned just right. The soup combined with a house salad and slice of bread is just the ticket for a nice lunch before exploring the rest of Julian. For those of you that like a little kick in your food, Lani also serves a spicy authentic Thai soup.







Another delight in Julian is touring the gift and souvenir shops. Whether you are looking for handcrafted gold and silver jewelry, leather goods, minerals and gems, Indian handicrafts, or just that one of a kind souvenir, you are sure to find it in Julian.









The biggest problem with Julian is there is never enough time to explore everything that you want to see. I spent the afternoon in Julian, the sun was warm but the temperature was only in the mid 70’s F a definite improvement from the 109 F in the desert the day before. I enjoyed the scenic drive through the back country of San Diego county. Every turn in the road was another enjoyable view. I arrived home at Pine Mountain just before dark. My sister and brother in law and the animals were all glad to see me. Roxana is still touring Norway, so next week we will see what interesting things she has found there.

Pine Mountain Evening

It is evening once more. I am relaxing in my easy chair. Squeekers my African grey parrot is sitting on his perch eating peanuts. Tonight our sample coffee from http://www.coffeefool.com/ is Columbian Supremo. This is a mild full bodied coffee just right for relaxing . My sister and her husband just left to return home. They took very good care of things while I was in the desert. Squeekers and I have just finished watching an episode of “ Lost”. It is an Australian sci fi series about a group of survivors of a plane crash that end up on this mysterious island that is able to move through time. Well it is getting late and I am ready to get some sleep. I put squeekers in his cage and head off upstairs to bed. Good night all see you next week.