Part 2: California's Gold Country with Nancy and Barb, By Merle Exit

We arrived at Honey Bear Ranch #24 for lunch. Jody treated me to homemade chicken strudel and Barb had the pulled pork sandwich. Each plate came with a side of Waldorf salad...apples, walnuts, celery and mayo..and a slice of apple pie. Mmmmm...more apples. The chicken strudel was amazing and very delicious with its thin pastry-like dough.

Honey Bear Ranch (HoneyBearRanch.net)is known for its roasted pig that's slowly turning on the rotisserie outside on the grounds near a Koi pond and water wheel. Pretty fishies. I met Chips whose job is to stay outside during the entire roasting process and make sure it cooks evenly. Today's pig is for tomorrows pulled pork sandwich. One pig can roughly feed 125 people.

I was appreciative of Christopher who showed me an operating late 1800s apple peeler/core remover. Since Honey Bear Ranch bakes around 600 pies a day they surely need a fast way to get those apples prepared for the pies! Besides this antique machine in the backyard they also have an apple polisher and sorter on display.

I noticed a lot of children activities that included a crafting table, wagon and pony rides, pumpkin patch, Zippy The Clown and her balloon animals, along with Barkley the Honey Bear.

For my second dessert of the day we stopped at the Fudge Kitchen and that is where I met one of the owners Dorothy Franklin. I tried two samples of fudge pumpkin spice and maple walnut. This tasting led me to purchasing slices of those mentioned plus a caramel apple. With a wonderful food tasting experience we were off to visit two wine destinations.”

Nancy and Barb at Crystal Basin Cellars - I guess that working for a journalist gave us privy to a tour of the kitchen and today was the final day of their making Peach Cobbler. mmmmm....then we saw the process of the Apple Cider donuts being made as well as a lady mixing the topping for the cobblers. I noticed the line starting to stretch out towards the door with families eager to purchase the goodies of Rainbow Orchards.

Outside of Rainbow Orchards there are artists were selling their arts and crafts, as well as a quaint wooden stage with hay stacks for sitting...if there was a performance to be held there.

Well, I guess it's time for Nancy and Barb to toss down some vino. "We left Honey Bear Ranch and drove to Crystal Basin Cellars (crystalbasincellars.com). This winery and tasting room will not be found on the Apple Hill Scenic Drive map, but is located on Carson Road. Directions? You may also take this exit off of Highway 50. Bailey...you remember our dog...was greeted by Dakota another friendly four-legged creature..

Crystal Basin does not grow their own grapes, but they have the connections to obtain great local grapes. They have been awarded Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals since 2001. The owners are a group of friends. Mike Owen is one owner who gave us a tour of the wine cellar and a demonstration of the Crusher and De-Stemmer machine.

I was pleasantly surprised that the wine cellar has 18 inch thick walls and they are filled with a natural insulation: sawdust from a local lumber. Great place to go during the heat of the summer, don't you think? Outside we were able to see grapes raked into a hopper. In this funnel-shaped chamber the grape stems were piling high on one side and on the other side the grapes came out crushed. What an amazing process! Certainly easier than stomping on grapes!

Nancy, Barb and Apples - Nancy continues. "I want to highly recommend to those who live within a days trip to Apple Hill to please not wait until another year to visit. Don't be like me who took four passing Fall seasons to come here. There is an Apple Hill Growers Association and those who are associated with this organization are listed on the Scenic Drive map. Remember, these are small family owned businesses who really do appreciate you! This season marked the associations 45th year

Our trip coincided with one of the busiest weekends for Apple Hill. I was told the last two weekends in October is by far the busiest. However, go anytime of the year you wish to enjoy the beauty and bountifulness of the fruits and trees of this land. Now would be a good time to prepare keeping a day free open on your calendar to make a trip for the Holiday Season. Before your departure please obtain or go online to AppleHill.com to print out the official guide prior to your arrival of Apple Hill. This will assist you to locate the orchards and farms you want to visit and determine which exits you should take off of HIghway 50.

To wrap-up our days trip I told Barb at Jodar's we had to go back to Rainbow Orchards for more apple cider donuts. On our drive back home we discussed about coming back here by the end of the year to visit the orchards we could not go to on this particular trip. Bailey put her input in how enthused she wants to visit Willow Pond Organic Farm #34. Dogs are allowed to be themselves here! Most of the places here at Apple HIll are dog friendly anyways.

Barb, Bailey, and I started our 1st annual family tradition at Apple Hill this year and we are all ready looking forward to our next trip! However, since Bailey is 14 years old Barb & I thought it would be a good idea to surprise Bailey soon and make frequent trips every so often for her to enjoy the outdoors.

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Thank you to Merle Exit, Nancy Kozicki, and Barbara Coletta for sharing their trip and photos!

Plan Your Trip

For details on attractions, current events, and lodging visit the California Travel & Tourism Commission site at www.visitcalifornia.com.