Orange County’s Own Yellowstone
July 29, 2023
Watch Yellowstone? We have our own Yellowstone here in Orange County under the current name Rancho Mission Viejo. Originally called the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, the ranch stretched from Oceanside all the way to the plains under Saddleback Mountain, over 200,000 acres in all. Current ranch patriarch, Tony Moiso, poses above.
Founded in 1841 in a land grant from the Mexican government, the ranch was an enormous financial and cultural enterprise for 200 years. The picture above shows ranch activities in the early 20th Century.
Then World War II came, and Uncle Sam took over the San Diego portion of the ranch, leaving about 52,000 acres in Orange County.
The original ranch house and grounds, now part of Camp Pendleton HQ, housed the camp commander and his family all the way through 2010, whereupon it was turned into a museum with tours to the public.
As Los Angeles grew into an ever-larger metropolis, there was pressure for housing in South Orange County.
Rancho Mission Viejo turned to land development and successively opened the communities of Mission Viejo (1966), Rancho Santa Margarita (1986), Las Flores (1995), Ladera Ranch (1999), and Rancho Mission Viejo (2013) with a total population today of just under 200,000.
Donna’s first career job after college and moving to South Orange County from Kansas was as Executive Assistant with the Rancho Mission Viejo Company, as work on the planned 55,000-population Rancho Santa Margarita community began. See her and her cohorts above.
And what a job that was. Worked out of a ranch house in San Juan Capistrano with extended office wings emanating from a vaulted grand room with a floor-to-ceiling fireplace. (Jealous, John Dutton?)
Casual dress, parties practically every week in the grand room, Fridays off (way ahead of their time).
Planning for community events such as the RSM Rodeo and the El Vaeje de Portola (The Journey of California Explorer Portola) where each spring to this day a large contingent of community leaders trail ride 30 miles round trip for charity from downtown San Juan Capistrano to a remote ranch camp for drinking and carousing.
Teaching the electric glide.
Donna still reminisces about that being the best job she ever had.
Ron bemoans the multiple pairs of retired cowgirl boots taking up a considerable portion of their shared closet.
The ranch has always been more than a cattle ranch. Here’s Donna with her dad picking oranges on the ranch when she worked there.
As the final planned community, Rancho Mission Viejo, continues to build out in the south end of the ranch not far from San Diego County, we are witnessing the pioneering of a new land development movement, agrihood.
Housing is being built on mesas, not surrounded by golf courses or lakes, but by working farms. There are 17,000 acres of open space in the community, which includes the largest citrus orchards in Orange County. Orange, lemon and avocado orchards mix with cattle and permeate the open space.
So what does it all mean in terms of health? Better to be a ranch hand in South Orange County than Montana. You can add fruit to your carnivorous diet, and wait a little longer to ride off into the sunset.
In with the New
Donna’s mom, Bonnie (on the left above) continues her daily sessions on the Bemer Essential Pro, as she has done daily for the past seven years.
The young man (on the right above) is using the new Bemer Evo introduced a few weeks ago on July 10.
Bonnie’s still good with her Bemer Essential Pro, a reliable device built to last.
The new replacement Bemer Evo offers everything the Bemer Essential Pro offers, plus a plug-in providing medical grade LED skin therapy.
The B-body, B-pad and B-spot continue to provide microcirculation therapy for inside the body, and now the skin therapy plug-in supports your skin deep health.
Click on the link below to learn more about the new Bemer Evo.
LINK TO MORE ABOUT NEW BEMER EVO
Into The Wild Blue Yonder
By Natalie Rizzo, TODAY show
Berry lovers, rejoice! The summer season packs store shelves with juicy berries of all varieties. One of the fan favorites? Blueberries, which are bursting with sweetness and packed with nutrients.
One cup (or handful) of blueberries is a good source of fiber and contains vitamin C, K, manganese and polyphenols, or beneficial plant compounds.
P.S. Our Juice Plus+ Berry blend is full of blueberries!
Why Eating More Plants Is The Key to Health
We all want to be healthy, but what does true health mean? Oftentimes, people think it’s about their weight, the way they look, counting calories, dieting, and restriction. But true health is really about feeling your best. Ask yourself: Do you have the energy to do what you want to do in life?
Type 2 Diabetes Remission
More good reasons to eat more plants: growing evidence supports the benefits of a whole-food, plant-based diet, which includes reduced blood pressure, lower cholesterol, improved heart health, and diabetes outcomes.
According to a new study published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, following a lifestyle intervention that involved adopting a whole-food, plant-predominant diet, patients showed potential to achieve type 2 diabetes remission.
Red, White and Blue Salad
Giada De Laurentiis says: I love a salad that’s loaded up with goodies, and this one definitely fits the bill! With lightly pickled cucumbers, grapes, blueberries, pistachios and gorgonzola cheese, it’s got a ton of amazing flavor going on.