TRAVELERS’ CHECKS

2225 Main St., Julian, 760765-2449, julianpies.com.

2119 Main St., Julian, 760-7652472, momspiesjulian.com.

separate locations. And award-winning apples were planted in more. While precious metal mining declined by 1900, the Julian apples went on to get national medals.

Locals claim Julian apples — at least 20 varieties, many heirloom — are still superior to those grown elsewhere, probably because of sugar content. Tests done on Julian apples averaged about 12 percent sugar content, according to one longtime grower. Meanwhile, apples from elsewhere averaged a little more than 10 percent.

The difference is attributed to Julian’s terroir — that special combination of climate and soil. In Julian, soil is slightly acidic sandy loam that drains well, something apple trees prefer. And despite the Southern California location, the mountain weather has four distinct seasons, with average winter temperatures dropping into the 30s and average summer temperatures reaching into the 80s.

While apples long have begat pies, Julian pie shops became a tourist attraction in the 1960s. Two of today’s biggest pie shops, Mom’s and The Julian Pie Company, were launched in the mid-1980s. Pie destinations crowd between fashion boutiques and other shops in old Western storefronts..

Unfortunately, changing climate (read “prolonged drought”) is devastating