All the way to see LBJ (Ranch)

Me at the ranch

Temperatures plunged overnight to the low 40s and instead of hanging around the inside of the trailer all day we made a last minute decision to head north to the Hill Country and visit the LBJ Ranch and the Texas White House of Lyndon Baines Johnson.

We left the park about noon and it took about 90 minutes to drive the 70 miles to Johnson City, Texas, the hometown of the 36^th President.

When Jan and Norm were here and were traveling around San Antonio we kept wondering where the “good” neighborhoods were. Today we found them. About 10-15 miles north of San Antonio we drove past some beautiful subdivisions with what could only be described as McMansions.

Joan at the farm

In addition we passed by beautiful homes built on top of the high ground along Highway 281.

We expected large crowds and were pleasantly surprised when we discovered the LBJ was not heavily populated on Saturday.

First we stopped at the Visitor’s Center in Johnson City and watched a 30-minute movie on LBJ’s time as President. No one our age can forget the terrible events that brought Johnson into the White House.

With just a few hours, we opted to skip much of the Johnson City part of the National Park and head to the Texas White House, which is about 15 miles west of Johnson City.

Lady Bird and LBJ resting place

As a Vietnam veteran, and one from the beginning of the war, I remember LBJ as my one and only Commander-in-Chief. Obviously, that comes with mixed feelings, but I recall hearing about the Texas White House and seeing it reported in news reels and newspaper accounts of the day.

I also remember a day when I was still in high school during the 1964 Presidential campaign that my friends Drew and Paul went with me to a campaign rally with Johnson in Los Angeles. We moved our way through the crowd until we were about 100 yards from him when one of us, with plans to take a picture, said “we can get a good shot of him from here.” We realized, all things considered, that using the phrase that included the word “shot” might not have been appropriate.

Joan at the LBJ birthplace

At the visitor’s center near the LBJ Ranch we picked up a free CD to play in the car for a self-guided audio driving tour of the ranch.

First stop was the 1800s farm that was home to the midwife who delivered the future President in a nearby modest home in 1908. The original birth house is gone, but Lady Bird and her husband built a replica of the home on the same spot in the 1950s for use as a guest house.

Many famous people stayed there over the years. We saw a nice photo of a young Billy Graham walking with the then President out of the small house.

LBJ cow and her calf

Across the street we visited the Johnson family cemetery and saw the grave markers for both the President and Lady Bird, which are in the center of the cemetery. Lady Bird’s has an engraving of a special wildflower and LBJ’s has the Presidential Seal.

From there we took a leisurely drive through the farm, including driving through fields populated by Hereford cattle of the same lineage of the ones that were raised by the President.  There are few fences and the only thing that separates our Tahoe from the cattle is the grass they are grazing on.

Next stop was the President’s show barn where we got a close up of a mother Hereford cow and her calf as well as pretty large bull.

Joan at the Prez's podium

From there we finished driving through the ranch and ended up at what was once the airplane hangar on the ranch but now serves as the launch point for the ranger guided tours of the LBJ home.

Our ranger guide was very good and informative and led us through the President’s office, which included all the furnishings that were at the ranch during the time of his Presidency. He talked about the important meetings that were held in that office that focused on the Vietnam War and LBJ’s push for the Great Society.

Jim at the podium

From there we walked through the kitchen, which was obviously set up for big cooking and then into the Johnson’s modest sized living room with windows overlooking the Pedernales River. The ranger showed us the gifts in the room that came from world leaders who also spent time at the ranch.

The dining room presented an interesting story as President Johnson preferred a large cushioned office chair instead of the wooden chairs that came with the dining room table. The ranger told us that when the President was at the ranch, his preferred chair was at the head of the table so he could see through a hallway into the living room where he could watch the three television sets.

But when President Johnson was not at the ranch, Lady Bird had the chair put back in his office and had the regular chair put in its place.

Joan and LBJ swimming pool

Because LBJ often worked late into the night and was frequently awakened in the middle of the night, the couple had separate bedrooms that were across the hall from each other. The President’s room was modestly furnished, including a couple crayon drawings by two of his grandchildren.

We saw the bed that he was laying in when he had his fatal heart attack in 1973.

Across from the house was a modest guest house where the Secret Service stayed when the President was at the ranch. For the most part they did not stay in the main house, but made daily walk throughs and maintained a perimeter around the house and property.

Me and the Prez's plane

The current visitor’s parking lot is on the taxiway for the aircraft from the property’s 6,200-foot runway. In his trips from Washington, D.C. , the President would fly on the larger aircraft to either San Antonio or Austin and then transfer to a smaller jet aircraft for the trip to the ranch.

That aircraft is still on static display outside the hangar. It is a Lockheed Jet Star VC-140. (I had to put that in there for my Dad).

Augie's Barbeque

A beautiful swimming pool was added the home later for the President and the First Lady to get some exercise.

Some of the barbeques held on the homes lawn next to the Pedernales River were legendary at the time and there were many great photos at the ranch of those events.

With the tour complete Joan and I started the trek back to San Antonio and as the hour got late, we decided to stop and try Augie’s Barbeque again. If you recall we tried to go there with Jan and Norm, but on the day we were there the restaurant closed at 2 p.m.

Actually, she is not drunk it's just her first Lone Star beer

Tonight, it was open. It was an interesting place that served barbeque brisket and pulled pork. They also had some pretty good looking ribs, but we went for the brisket and pulled pork. It was very good and Joan enjoyed her first Lone Star beer.

This morning on my walk through the park yet another state arrived overnight – South Carolina.