Road Trip – Raven Hill Bagels, Idyllwild Nature Center, Atomic Cow Revisited, and Lumber Mill Bar & Grill

On our last visit to Idyllwild many businesses were closed. We were here on Tuesday and Wednesday so that seemed odd. It’s during our meal at Ferro that our wonderful Server explained that weekends are the busy times for Idyllwild, so many businesses use Tuesday and Wednesday as their weekend so to speak. So, I took that into consideration when planning this road trip. We were visiting on a Sunday and Monday, leaving on Tuesday morning. So, all of the businesses seemed open during our visit.

That made the short walk from our accommodation to Raven Hill Bagels so easy to grab some breakfast and coffee. The shop is indeed closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.

It’s a small shop with some outdoor seating. You order at the counter….it’s basically a deli and then take your food.

There were some tables outside and the Missus waited with JJ.

A simple order, two Americanos, and a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Bagel Sandwich ($13), with Avocado ($2).

I chose a Jalapeno and Cheese Bagel, which was fairly dense, but tasty.

It would have been on the saltier side; but I added avocado which was a nice buffer. This was also quite large….I saved half for the next morning’s breakfast.

I also noted that the shop also sells various cheeses and deli meats by the pound as well.

Raven Hill Bagels
54440 North Circle Dr. Unit A
Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA 92549

Heading back to the Fireside Inn, we got into the car and headed up to the Idyllwild Nature Center.

There are several easy trails here and also ample parking on this day. We took the super easy Idyllwild Park Trail.

There was some interesting signage along the way with some interesting things to see; like these Bedrock Mortars used by the Cahuilla, the Indigenous People who settled in the area.

There were also some nice views along the way.

Which JJ enjoyed.

It was a nice way to spend a few hours.

Back in town, we parked at our cottage and walked down North Circle Drive, stopping at what is probably the Missus’s favorite shop in the town, Idyllwild Gardens.

Though this time the Missus resisted the urge to buy a bunch of stuffs!

Idyllwild Gardens
54385 North Circle Dr.
Idyllwild, CA 92549

Our stop for lunch would be where we had what was our favorite meal on our previous visit….yes, it was at Atomic Cow.

The Missus and JJ hung out on the patio and I went in to order.

This time the Missus also wanted to try the Chili Cheese Fries. Which turned we turned out to not really enjoy.

Soggy dry fries…really weak, but salty chili, and gooey, but tasteless cheese.

On a positive note, we enjoyed the item that was our favorite on our last visit.

Yes, it was the Cubano, which had Kalua Pork as one of the ingredients. Nicely toasted bread, nicely melted provolone cheese, pickles helping to cut the richness of the tender, smoky, porky, but not overly salty “Kalua pork”.

I’m glad we still enjoyed this. We had also learned that the sandwiches are pretty large here, so one plus a side is more than enough for our lunch. In fact, we needed a nap after this.

Atomic Cow
54200 North Circle Dr.
Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA 92549

We then had our afternoon “break” before heading back out to grab an early dinner and headed down North Circle Drive. It was nice to be here when most places were open. Right next to the Mountain Paws Pet Supply store was this lovely Gallery – Gift Shop.

The owner was super friendly and the Missus ended buying some small “stuffs” as gifts for folks.

Artspresso Art Gallery
54380 North Circle Dr.
Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA 92549

We kept heading on down the road and before you knew it, we had reached the Market, where North Circle Drive meets the 243…….

Right across the street was this place, called the Lumbermill.

Which had a patio, so we decided to head on in. We were led to the patio….which we really didn’t take to.

But the stools at the rail seemed nice and the place had a pleasant view of the street.

Looking at the condiments provided, you just kinda knew this was one of those burger-sandwich family diner – bar kind of places. And the menu, with burgers, burritos, nachos, hot dogs, sandwiches and such confirmed things. With this in mind, I went simple with regards to my cerveza….

And we just ordered two apps for dinner….which we were happy about since the portions were pretty large.

We got the boneless wings ($16.95).

Which looked over-sauced. It was pleasantly crunchy, the Buffalo sauce was on the sour-puckery side, but it did go rather well with the Blue Cheese Dressing. The really nice Server told us that they make their own dressing inhouse.

Of course, I just had to try some Cheese Curds ($15.95).

A bit too gooey with the batter not crisp enough…the menu said Wisconsin White Cheddar, but I really couldn’t make out any of the cheddar “sharpness”. Of course, it’s probably mass distributed young cheddar. I wasn’t expecting what I’d get at say………..The Old Fashioned in Madison, but it was still mediocre.

Still, not a terrible meal. JJ got treated nicely’ they brought a bowl of water for him. Service was welcoming….very nice folks working here. And it was enough food for our dinner.

Lumber Mill Bar & Grill
25985 CA-243 #243
Idyllwild-Pine Cove, CA 92549

It closed up a nice short stay in Idyllwild for us.

Thanks for stopping by!