Westlund's Family Home- 19900 North Outer Hwy 18

When Apple Valley co-founder Bud Westlund discovered that his new wife, Dorothy, did not particularly like the house he owned on Rancherias Rd, he quickly made plans to build her a unique adobe along Highway 18 and Symeron.  The 1949 four-bedroom, two bath house was large for its time, with beamed ceilings and a custom rock roof.  During the early 1950's, the Westlund home was an Apple Valley Landmark.  Coming from Victorville, visitors were told to "travel quite aways across the Narrows Bridge until you come to the adobe house on the left side-that's where Apple Valley begins."  Extensive renovations were done, at the request of his wife Dorothy.  These renovation turned this home into a beautiful estate property.  The Westlunds hosted many social gatherings in the home pictures appeared in numerous Ranchos promotional publications.  The family eventually sold the house and relocated to Oregon.  

Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and family passed through Apple Valley on their way to their Big Bear Cottage, they often stopped at the Apple Valley Inn.  Having fallen in love with the area, they "retired" to the desert.  In 1964 Roy leased the Apple Valley Inn from Newt Bass, renaming it the Roy Rogers Apple Valley Inn.  The following year the family purchased the Westlund home and opened the first Roy Rogers Museum.  All three properties were on Highway 18 within a few blocks of each other.  The Rogers lived in the Highway 18 house until 1980, when they moved a few blocks away to a new home on Tomahawk Rd.  The current owner of the home has tried to preserve the memories of Roy and Dale.