Deserts and desserts

On Saturday we headed eastward for a day trip, one of our rare non-coastal excursions. First, on our way out of town, we stopped briefly in San Diego's Little Italy to visit the weekend farmer's market—a feast for the senses! (Why had we not done this yet??). But then we drove a little over an hour and arrived in Julian, CA, in the Cayumaca Mountains. It is 100% touristy, but in the nicest, most enjoyable way. Julian was founded during a California gold rush (not the famous 1849 rush, but a few decades later), and it has an old west, pioneer feel to it. It was forest-y and the air was crisp cool. For years it's been noted for apple orchards and its amazing apple pie bakeries. We had lunch in an outdoor cafe there and split a mouth-watering slice of fresh apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

 

We—well, I suppose mainly just I—completely lucked out because this past weekend was Julian's daffodil festival. A few decades ago, a lady in Julian decided to honor her dad by planting daffodils and encouraging others to do the same. Today it's estimated that in excess of 3 million daffodil bulbs bloom in tiny little Julian (population just 1500!) each spring. We were there at the perfect time, as inside the town hall was a big daffy competition. I could have sat in there all day in the sweet aroma of the daffodils...

We then continued northeast for another hour, winding slowly through desolate mountains to Borrego Springs and the heart of Anza Borrego Desert Park. Temperatures were in the 80s there, and the landscape was totally different from Julian (which of course was totally different from the coast where we'd started, too). Because Anza Borrego has had less than 3 inches of rain since last June, according to a ranger I spoke with, the desert wildflowers aren't making much of a showing this spring. But some of the hardier cacti and plants had their spring bloom on, and the landscape was starkly beautiful regardless. The boys love exploring places like this, although proper hiking is out of the question; the park is nearly 1000 square miles and we saw just a tiny portion of one small trail!


In Borrego Springs, we also loved spotting the huge, crazy metal sculptures dotting the desert landscape—some visible from the road, some requiring off-roading among the cacti and scrub through the sandy landscape (yes, we were the ones off-roading in a 7-year-old Prius...).  The sculptures mostly were of prehistoric creatures. They were huge and detailed, set into the land across many miles. Usually they were in the middle of nowhere, looking like they were roaming the countryside, protecting their young, and eating the plantlife. We hardly saw another soul during that last hour or so of the day, and the last few creatures were almost eerie rising out of the desert as the sun was going down. Very awesome.

 

The sea serpent was HUGE! Its body looked like it was partially under water, with the back few lumps actually on the other side of the road. Don't worry, I didn't let Jesse feed William to it. :)

 At long last, we made our way back through the mountains, enjoying the purple and indigo sky. We saw roadrunners, deer, and coyote as it turned to dusk and then darkness, and Jesse was an excellent, safe driver with the tight turns, steep roads, and wildlife. We stopped in Julian again for a very, very late pulled pork BBQ dinner (it was practically the only place open across 80 miles of nothing), and finally around 10 p.m. we pulled sleeping little boys out of the car and tucked them into bed.