TEXAS HILL COUNTRY…LBJ STATE PARK AND HISTORIC SITE

Tuesday, November 2 – We headed out to Stonewall, TX to explore the LBJ National Park. This was a very nice adventure. Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park tells the story of our 36th President beginning with his ancestors until his final resting place on his beloved LBJ Ranch. There are two distinct visitor areas.

---In Johnson City you will find
• The National Park Visitor Center • The Boyhood Home in which President Johnson spent his childhood • The Johnson Settlement where the President’s grandparents first
settled in the 1860s.

---Stonewall, Texas you will find
• a second visitor center for the LBJ Ranch •Sauer-Beckmann Living History Ranch •Junction School •LBJ Birthplace •Johnson Family Cemetery •Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr. Farmhouse •Texas White House. This is the one we visited.]

We began at the Visitor’s Center which had many articles from the Johnson era. This was President’s Johnson favorite saddle, boots and hat.

They provided you with a CD that you can play as you do the driving tour. It was very good in describing what we were seeing and what was at each stop.

Part of the Pedernales River that runs through the Ranch.

Junction School is where four-year-old Lyndon B. Johnson learned to read. It is a one-room school. This is where he signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

We had to take pictures through the windows.

We noticed that education has made the “circle”. Here the children used individual chalk boards to work on problems, in our schools today the children use erasable lap boards.

Today’s chalk board.

Next was the re-constructed home where he was born on August 27, 1908. The first child of Sam and Rebekah Johnson, he was born at this site and named “Lyndon Baines.” The house was rebuilt by the President in 1964 to be used as a guest house.

Doors locked..pictures through the windows.

Can you picture the President using this? Not a pretty picture.

Generations of Johnsons are buried in the Johnson Family Cemetery family plot where the 36^th President was laid to rest on January 25, 1973, at age of 64, just a little over four years after leaving the White House.

His head stone has the U.S. Presidential seal. Lady Bird is next to him.

 

Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr. Farmhouse was the next stop. Sam Sr. and Eliza, the President's grandparents, whose first home had been in what is now called the Johnson Settlement in Johnson City, lived out their lives in the modest farmhouse.

This is a working farm, so the herd of Registered Herefords roam freely along the roadway. This is a valuable herd of over 1000 cattle. Of course the large, 2000 acre ranch, is a very valuable piece of real estate. The Johnsons donated 600 acres to The National Park Service for the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park and daughter Lucy and husband Patrick Nugent, a lawyer in Austin, remain owners of the ranch. They frequently land at the air strip and stay in one of the guest homes on the ranch.

The cattle on the LBJ Ranch are descended from the same bloodline as the herd that Lyndon Johnson owned. They look more like 1960s Hereford cattle and so they can be called "history on the hoof."

We think this one was thinking…”Who you looking at chump?”

Notice the registered Trademark on the horns.

The Texas White House. In 1951, Senator Johnson purchased the “Big House” and 250 acres of land.

The original century-old rock farmhouse was greatly enlarged over the years. This is LBJ's Ranch, that he stayed at 25% of the time he was in the White House. He was the first President to establish a working office away from the White House. The ranch is made up of over 2000 acres owned by the Johnsons and another 9000 acres he leased. We didn’t think it was the most beautiful house. No pictures were permitted inside.

The Ranch House is over 7500 square feet. Not a mansion, but a large ranch home. He has a down-home feel to it. It has all of the furnishing used during the Johnson White House years. It sets along the Pedernales River in a grove of Old Oak Trees. A beautiful setting that must have been very impressive for visitors to the Texas White House. President Kennedy, Nixon, Vice-President Humphrey and many other notable statesmen sat on the front porch and enjoyed the view.

President and Mrs. Johnson gave their home, known as the "Texas White House," to the American people in 1972, establishing a life estate for themselves.

Johnson was the first Vice president to have an aircraft assigned to him. The Ranch also contains a 6400 foot runway for landing Air Force One. Actually, the 707 that served as Air Force One during the 1960's, landed at Austin, TX and then LBJ took a smaller 4-engine jet to the ranch. A Lockheed JetStar VC-140 was called Air Force One when President Johnson was aboard. He affectionately called in Air Force One Half. This jet is now permanently parked at the ranch. The runway is restricted for family use only!

Many of Johnson's favorite automobiles are parked in the out buildings on the property.

His favorite the Presidential All-Terrain Vehicle

1962 Amphicar which was German built.

There were many others included in the showcase.

The Show Barn was built for the care and training of cattle. It continues to serve as the center of present day ranching operations.

The Wash Rack…this pictures is for Marsha’s dad. He grew up on a farm and knows all about the first step to grooming a show animal…a good bath.

With the next election coming up in 2012, do either of these people look at a potential candidate?

Whoa…that second one better either grow a few inches or get a wooden box to stand up. Maybe she is sitting down…NAAAAAAH!  Another talking head..ha ha!

We really enjoy this tour and would recommend it to anyone exploring Texas Hill Country.

Thanks for visiting. Hope to see ya’ll back real soon. Have a great day!

FREDERICKSBURG AND ENCHANTED ROCK

Monday, November 1 - Making a short move this morning to another section of Texas Hill Country, we headed about 50 miles north to Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park and RV Park in Fredericksburg, TX. It is right on TX-16 so we couldn't miss it. Seems like a nice place with paved streets and sites, full hook-ups and nice size sites. We are in Site 75 in the Horseshoe Loop. There is tons to do in the Park…huge swimming pool (closed right now), ball fields, tennis, golf, trails, etc.

Our site.

Looking around the loop.

Once settled in we headed out exploring. We've got lots to do and little time.....ha ha! We went directly to Enchanted Rock.

It’s about 18 miles north of town. Enchanted Rock State Natural Area consists of 1643.5 acres on Big Sandy Creek. It is a pink granite dome dominating the horizon. From the start of the trail to the summit it is 3/5 of a mile and 425 vertical feet. It was actually a pretty strenuous climb. Of course we forgot our hiking boots and bottles of water....YIKES! The Rock is only a small protrusion on a HUGE granite mass.

The trail which isn’t really a trail. You just climb where ever you can get a foot hold.

Only 10% of the granite mass is visible above ground. We serpentined up this slab, stopping several times to catch our breath and enjoy the sights. After about 30 minutes, we reached the summit and enjoyed the view.

Top of the Rock. The view is amazing.

Paul had a bit of a struggle on one part of the trail. Look how far down the road is…Marsha said her knees could barely hold her up. Remember there is no railing just wide open steep rock.

 

We decided to take the Echo Canyon Trail down the mountain. We found it was less steep and not as scary for Marsha. She wouldn't look down....only at her feet. She yelled at me for talking......”quiet and concentrate!” Jeesh! This is me, Marsha, now listen…it is way UP there! It is very scar-eeeeeeeee! At one point, I didn’t think I could go any further up or down. I think that is the most terrified I have been in my entire life. Faint of heart…DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS CLIMB!

Paul saw a boulder located right where we wanted to walk. Being the gentleman he is, he pushed it out of the way for Marsha. Thanks hon!

This is what is called exfoliation sheeting. It means peeling. Granite expands slightly breaking into curved sheets to form a kind of hill.

Just outside of the park, we stopped at a little beverage store. Two girls were running this tiny shop selling all types of refreshments and snacks. Out back is a stage and a bar for enjoying live music. Cool.

We then headed to the Visitor's Center in Fredericksburg to pick up a ton of pamphlets on things to see in the area. This is a much better stop than Bandera, in our opinion.

Next stop.....Luckenbach, Texas.....population 3. Luckenbach was established in 1849. One of the first settlers in the area was Jacob Luckenbach (1817-1911). In 1977, Bobby Emmons and Chips Moman – penned an idyllic ode to the burg—“Luckenbach Texas (Back to the Basics)”—which became a massive hit for Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson, bringing Luckenbach to its ultimate worldwide fame. The story of Luckenbach is rather interesting. Read all about it here.

One and only way in and out of the town.

It was only about nine miles out of Fredericksburg. It consisted of a post office/general store,

a huge dance hall (We weren’t allowed to go in.)

and a bar. (Small bar)

Big bar and stage.

The bar had live music out back. The singer, Jimmy Lee Jones, serenaded Marsha after asking her where we were from. Everything rhymed with Ohio....a fun guy and a neat song.

Next was a tour of several historic one room school houses. There are twelve schools on the entire tour but we only stopped to see two. Interesting stops since we are both retired school teachers.

Luckenbach School – First log schoolhouse in 1855 with native limestone addition in 1881.

Lower South Grape Creek School – Log cabin school built in 1871. Present school built in 1900.

We could see through some of the windows in this school.

After that exploration, we headed into Fredericksburg to check-out all the little shops. Fredericksburg is seventy miles west of Austin. The town was one of a projected series of German settlements from the Texas coast to the land north of the Llano River, originally the ultimate destination of the German immigrants sent to Texas by the Adelsverein, Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas.

This is another neat town full of quaint little shops. We spent a couple of hours strolling through the stores and even purchased a couple items.

One of our favorite stops was Rustlin' Robs Texas Gourmet Foods. We tasted about 50 different sauces, salsas, dips, chili, and other spicy products.....ummmmmm!! We purchased two jars of sauce.

German restaurants are very popular here.

We also stopped in several wineries and had a couple tastes of local wine. We learned that we were permitted to walk the streets with a beer or glass of wine.

We arrived back at the Park about 5. Bella was ready for a walk. We are surrounded by Pecan trees. A gal told us how to spot a good Pecan nut…Never pick them off the tree only off the ground. So, found a few and brought them back to the motor home.

Looks like these may yield some good eatin’s.

We guessed wrong…but they were good! Now we see why Pecans are so expensive.

A few neighbors stopped by to chat later in the evening. One neighbor was walking with her dog, who wanted to befriend Bella. Well this is what it looked like.

All looks like it is going fine.

Oh no, the paw is up.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you join us again real soon. Have a great day!