Here is written a tribute to historical Rancho Yucca Loma, an exclusive California health spa in the high desert of San Bernardino County near Victorville. Celebrities came to the Rancho Yucca Loma health spa on retreats to enjoy the hot dry climate and the Western ambiance. The hot dry climate was recommended by doctors for its health benefits. The Western ambiance was a rare commodity that was quickly disappearing from the American landscape. Movie star David Manners willed that his ashes be scattered where the Rancho Yucca Loma health spa once was located.http://www.davidmanners.com/biography.html

In 1998, actor David Manners' ashes were scattered at the location where the Rancho Yucca Loma health spa had been. Mourners were surrounded by suburban housing in the incorporated town of Apple Valley, California. 1 All that remained of the famous health spa were its namesakes: Yucca Loma Elementary School, and Yucca Loma Street.

American Indians first settled the high desert of San Bernardino County that now houses the incorporated cities and towns of Victorville, Hesperia, and Apple Valley, California. Most of the streets of Apple Valley, California are named after Indian tribes. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

From 1776 - 1840, Spain conquered all the American Indians, built a road through the region, and founded the city of Victorville.http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Old+Spanish+Trail

In 1849, gold miners came to the Victor Valley by the hundreds to stake their claims.http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23856 This was part of The Gold Rush. High desert highways are still named after the abandoned gold mines and the wells they left behind, now dry. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

On September 9, 1850 The United States annexed California as the 31st state.http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23856 The gold miners were still going strong in the Victor Valley. Ranchers began to arrive as well, with their cattle.

In 1913, the son of one of these ranchers, Los Angeles realtor Arthur Hull, marketed the Victor Valley as a prime spot for planting apples and peaches. He was a very effective marketer, and in 1915 his efforts attracted famous psychic Catherine Boynton to Apple Valley, California. Catherine Boynton and her daughter Gwen Boynton founded Rancho Yucca Loma as a health spa beside the Mojave River because of a vision she had seen in her dreams.http://books.google.com/books?id=SdjgK3GDBTEC&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=%22Apple+Valley+Ranchos%22&source=bl&ots=XnIX1zErL0&sig=JN592w4vkdGWdu5sDMl9YIHLMBY&hl=en&ei=uPHYSuzKIIy8sgObyayxCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQ6AEwADgU#v=onepage&q=%22Apple%20Valley%20Ranchos%22&f=false

In the 1920s the Rancho Yucca Loma health spa became a secret getaway for Hollywood celebrities like Clark Gable and Frank Rivers. They rested in the hot dry air and they attended rodeos and western shows in the nearby communities. In the 1930s the secret leaked out, and the area became a mecca for celebrity watching. http://books.google.com/books?id=0gK5Ur3Zjr0C&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=%22Gwen+Boynton%22&source=bl&ots=K_ZVeBQpo_&sig=w0FiRYkO-e1L7uWo9shmYQTuZEA&hl=en&ei=yJr4Sq7dG5LmswO4g6Ea&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CBoQ6AEwCDgK#v=onepage&q=%22Gwen%20Boynton%22&f=falsehttp://books.google.com/books?id=SdjgK3GDBTEC&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=%22Apple+Valley+Ranchos%22&source=bl&ots=XnIX1zErL0&sig=JN592w4vkdGWdu5sDMl9YIHLMBY&hl=en&ei=uPHYSuzKIIy8sgObyayxCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQ6AEwADgU#v=onepage&q=%22Apple%20Valley%20Ranchos%22&f=false

When Catherine Boynton's heir Gwen Boynton Behr died in 1954, she left the controlling share of Rancho Yucca Loma to her friend, actor David Manners.

In 1956, new California building codes forced David Manners to have the main ranch buildings and all the little adobe cabins torn down. Disheartened, he reluctantly sold Rancho Yucca Loma to a housing developer. Today, these 1000 acres are suburban housing. David Manners' house still survives, though. http://books.google.com/books?id=0gK5Ur3Zjr0C&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=%22Gwen+Boynton%22&source=bl&ots=K_ZVeBQpo_&sig=w0FiRYkO-e1L7uWo9shmYQTuZEA&hl=en&ei=yJr4Sq7dG5LmswO4g6Ea&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CBoQ6AEwCDgK#v=onepage&q=%22Gwen%20Boynton%22&f=false

The Victor Valley high desert where the famous Rancho Yucca Loma health spa once stood has a hot, dry climate. In July the temperature hovers at 110F, day and night. In January the temperature gets close to 0F at night, and hovers near freezing during the day. It snows once every three years or so. Precipitation is very low, less than six inches per year.http://www.applevalley.org/Index.aspx?page=37

The natural vegetation is chapparal - mostly low bushes like sage brush, with sparse Joshua trees and Yucca trees.http://www.applevalley.org/Index.aspx?page=37

The water table is high and there are many natural springs under the ground. Trees planted here by early settlers flourished, and today the area has many tall pine, ash, and Mexican Alder trees.http://www.applevalley.org/Index.aspx?page=37