Grabbed lunch at the fun 8-bit Brewing Company in Murrieta.

Then into Julian, as we passed through the gates on to the 30 acres of wild life refuge… heading up to the Cowboy Cabin… we were greeted by a family of deer!

Cowboy Cabin! An amazing little getaway built in the 1940s!

View from the cabin… and this is just one side! You’re surrounded by views down into the valleys and across the luscious green hills on every side!

Quick walks around the property lead you right to apple orchards and more!

A peek inside… Bucky thought the bucket of kindling were sticks for dogs.

When in Julian… you HAVE to get some pie from the legendary Julian Pie Co.… it still lives up to the hype, and is worth the wait if there’s a bit of a line. We did taste some of the others on the same little main street, and honestly, it was worth going back to this spot every time!

Some of the delicious (and beautifully packaged) beer and snacks in the cabin fridge!

The friendly horse at the Cowboy Cabin!

Testing out the Rumpl Down Puffy! PERFECT and oh so warm on a rainy night curled up by the fire.

Muffin tins turn into beer tasting organizers in Julian - also the Nickel Beer Co habanero and jalape�o beers are no joke! So much tingling… Julian Hard Cider also uses muffin tins.

First thing in the morning, Bucky starts tapping the window fixated by the pair of bunnies having breakfast. They couldn’t have cared less that he was there!

Family of deer was frolicking at dawn too… In the mornings at the cabin, Bucky and i would sit outside and listen and watch all the incredible creatures. Bunnies, deer, the horse, tons of different birds… and you’d hear the cows, coyotes, turkeys, and other dogs echoing throughout the valleys.

We cruised out to see the Salton Sea…

… and some of the graffiti on the many dilapidated buildings.

Then it was back into Anza Borrego to off road our way into The Slot! That’s us up top… and you can see another Land Cruiser down in the canyon.

Squeezing in!

… NOTFZJ80 couldn’t get this far in, so we had to go see on foot!

Check out that huge suspended boulder!

Over at Julian Hard Cider - they cut their glass bottles sideways to turn them into planters!

Julian Pie Co. Memories! Like churro pie crust cookies… crust with cinnamon and sugar cut in heart and apple shapes baked to deliciousness.

The sunsets were pretty stunning at the cabin - there’s the horse again!

On our way back home, we had to make a pit stop at The Vegetable Shop at Chino Farm to pick up some picture perfect produce. It’s no wonder they have had such an incredible reputation since we were kids!

Here’s a peek at the baseball sized little broccoli variants!

Now for the map! As you can see - we looped out east and came home the usual coastal route.

And for a slightly different view of our trip… here’s what Shawn shared on Instagram!