Cowboy Capital and LBJ Ranch

3/24: We visited Bandera, which is the "cowboy capital of the world", complete with lots of big pickup trucks with very aggressive looking bolt-on bumpers, and guys walking around in full western regalia. Not a horse or a cow in sight, however. No pix today, as I forgot to remove the camera's SD chip from the computer and re-install it in the camera. Oh, well. Tomorrow, we hit the road again for the short hop to Austin - only 120 miles. I was able to wash the trailer and the truck this evening, which was long overdue after about 2,000 miles. The RV resort we have been staying at has been great, and I don't want to leave.

3/25: Drove to Austin today, and it was a great trip. We stopped at the Lyndon Johnson State Park and Historic Site, which includes the LBJ Ranch. It turned out to be a great experience, which started with a visit to a functioning farm circa 1915, complete with a staff of re-enacters who were engaged in typical activities of the period. The kitchen smelled wonderful, as the noon meal was being prepared on the woodstove. (The staff eats free!) The house is fully outfitted in period furniture. We were amazed to learn that the area did not receive electricity until 1955, and that horse plows outnumbered gasoline powered tractors until 1957. I recognized many of the antique tools like those that belonged to my grandfather. I continue to use them at home.

The LBJ Ranch is very much a working facility, with a herd of cattle and feed crops -managed by the National Park Service. The Johnson family still has access to it, and continues to visit regularly.

We were able to take a free (CD guided) tour of the LBJ Ranch, and then go on a guided tour of the "Western White House", where the president spent 25% of the time while he was in office. It was fascinating, and filled with memorabilia. The president sat in a comfortable, rustic office which he shared with two secretaries and his chief of staff. Outside there was a small house that accommodated the Secret Service, and some trailers that housed the flight crew for Air Force I. The ranch house is furnished exactly as the Johnsons left it - comfortable, unpretentious, and cozy. The ranch features a long air strip, and the original Lockheed Electra jet plane LBJ used to fly in. Overall, it is a beautiful, peaceful place that lent itself well to meetings with world leaders in an informal atmosphere.