Eagle Mining Co. — Attraction in San Diego Country Estates

Just getting up the steep driveway without scraping or damaging your exhaust pipe, muffler, and bumper is the first challenge of the day. Our van was badly scraped. With no signage at the lodge, we weren’t sure we had arrived at the right location. We were greeted by an open garage filled with solar panels. Upon entering the front door at 4 pm, check in time, we were surprised that it was a “self-check in” where you call someone to give them your credit card and the keys to the rooms are hanging on the wall. The brochure states “Management is on a quest for excellence” but no one was onsite. Thank goodness we were the first to arrive because later arrivals were told by phone they were overbooked due to booking websites not communicating with each other. These irate guests were sent to other locations. The lodge was beautiful and spacious. Our kids loved it! The community kitchen was huge but not well-equipped for cooking our breakfast. One guest complained about our 9 am family noise in the communal area so I guess the walls are thin. I slept well in my room, but the room had a strange smell like toilet bowl cleaner, perhaps due to some old dried wreaths on the walls or the bathroom that was a partial wall with saloon doors. My extended family complained of owls and raccoons keeping them up all night. One suspected a rat inside the wall. The beds were very comfortable. No complaints there. Morning shower varied from hot to cold and weak to strong water pressure. There was no dish washer detergent to clean the dishes. Refrigerators and microwaves were conveniently located to store our food. WiFi wasn’t working. We were told they were remodeling. Beautiful views looking out from room with private porch. Large deck area with barbeque. Popcorn and oatmeal packets available. Lots of coffee, too, but since we don’t drink it we would have preferred hot chocolate. Loved the fireplaces and quaint furnishings. Lots of wood throughout common area. Poor outdoor lighting when arriving home at night. Needed to use cell phone flashlight. Jordan, the caretaker, did his best to make our...

A MUST SEE! 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Eagle & High Peak Mines, the mother lode of SoCal. Lovingly preserved by Craig & Paul Nelson, the grandsons of the original miner, for its educational and historic value since 1967. Bargain day trip!!! $10 admission has remained the same for three decades. CASH ONLY. Professional guided tours, led by a real miner and prospector. Our guide, Matthew, a credentialed geologist whose immense knowledge of geology, Julian's gold mining history, underground operation, and milling process, made a very interesting and . Tour 1000 feet of underground, hard rock tunnel, and relive the history of the 1870 mine amidst the authentic tools and machinery used. Steep stairs inside the mine, more than half-way through, so I had to walk back with my real service dog, but the tour was complete enough for me. My husband continued on and was impressed! See gold bearing quartz veins, antique vehicles, tools, implements and a huge rock and mineral museum. Big gift shop in the barn, great for rock hound enthusiasts and beginning collectors. Simulated boot hill. Shaded, pleasant picnic area. Gold panning facilities (gold is recycled for the next visitors, so you can't keep it,) and quick how-to demos. Only six blocks off Julian's Main Street, you can drive or walk in. Plenty of pea gravel parking, buses okay. Special arrangements made for geology students (groups), colleges, schools, and film industry. Clean restrooms. Real (professionally trained) service animals only, allowed inside the mine. I look forward to my return (loaded picnic basket in tow), to bring my adult kids and grandson for a day...

So we go up to pick apples in Julian like all the other 50,000 people this weekend and realize all the orchards are closed for u-pick. So we go into a little orchard market named Wynola Flats owned by Mike, our new friend, who tells us to check out this Eagle Mining Company. I'm thinking "This guy Mike knows a lot about apples, and about honey, so yeah, we'll give him a shot on his gold mine recommendation". So we drive there, bypassing the hordes of people waiting in line for pies in downtown Julian. First thing we notice when we get out of the car was the owner inside of the shop waves us in and asks us if we want to go on the tour. Of course we do. So we sign up. Cheap, only $10 each. You can spend more on a Kombucha in Los Angeles for this price. We start our tour and our guide starts taking us on a mystical journey into the realm of 1870s hard-rock gold mining. We learn about the rock crusher, the separation process, and he takes us into the gold mine. This is not your grand-pappys ten cent gold mine. It's the real deal. We got deep into this thing, all the while at each bend learning something new about how these hard-core miner guys mined for gold back in the day. At the end, we even got to pan for gold. REAL GOLD. So I'm acquiring a new hobby and adding "Gold-Panning Pan" on my Christmas list. I learned more in this one-hour tour than my entire elementary school education. Maybe high school as well. And it was only ten dollars. Consider what you can do with ten dollars. Forego that next Kombucha, skip the pie lines in Julian, and head to the Eagle Mining Company. You'll be...