Sunday, April 21, 2013

LBJ Ranch & Salt Lick BBQ

Thursday started out with some rain showers in the morning, but they didn’t last long.  After lunch, we decided to take a drive up to the Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch and Historic Park, and it turned out to be a beautiful day.

DSC_0152

We started out in the Visitor Center, where we picked up our permit & CD for the driving tour of LBJ Ranch.  We talked to the Ranger and volunteer working in the gift shop about their volunteer program.  We had seen two of the volunteer campsites as we drove in, and they looked pretty nice.  We’ll keep this one in mind for a future volunteering gig.  We also talked to the volunteers at the Living History Farm, and when Nicolas found out that they bake bread every day, he decided that he definitely wants to volunteer here!

The Visitor Center contained historical artifacts from the Germans who settled the area, as well as the native Indians and Mexicans.

DSC_0158

Ranches in this area of Texas have buffalo, as well as cattle,

DSC_0159

and there seems to be cowhide everywhere you look.

DSC_0154

The first stop on the driving tour is the Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm, and it’s just a short walk from the Visitor Center to the farm, so we decided to take the walking path.  As we set off across the field, several deer jumped out of the woods in front of us.

DSC_0161

We walked past the Texas Longhorn enclosure,

Texas Longhorn

along a dry creek bed leading down to the Pedernales River,

Dry Creekbed

past several native plant species,

Cactii

Sauer Beckmann Farm

until we arrived at the Sauer Beckmann Living History Farm.  The Sauer Family started this farm, building the first log cabin and stone structure.  The Beckmann Family were the 2nd owners of the farm, and lived on the property until it was donated as part of the LBJ Historic Park.

 

The farm is maintained in the condition it was in around 1915, and volunteers work on the farm in the same way the family did at the time.  They gather eggs, milk the cow, butcher 1 steer and 1 hog annually, and can vegetables and fruits that they grow on the property.

In the farmyard

We walked through the barnyard first, visiting with the animals and studying the various tools in the barn.

Tack Room

Big Plow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rooster

Ram

 

From the barn, we walked over to the house, where we learned the history of the farm from one of the volunteers.

LBJ Ranch & Salt Lick BBQ2

In the kitchen, another volunteer told us how they use the fresh cow’s milk to make cheese, and butter, and cottage cheese.  She also explained that they save all their eggshells, roast them in the oven, and then grind them into a fine mixture that they feed to the chickens to provide calcium for their diet – this helps them produce eggs with hard shells.  In some areas of the country, they use oyster shells instead.

After a quick pit stop,

In the outhouse!

we left the farm and began our driving tour of LBJ Ranch.

Bull in the yard

We crossed the Pedernales River and entered the Ranch.

LBJ Ranch Entrance

The first stop on the drive was Junction School, the one-room schoolhouse that LBJ attended as a young child.

DSC_0225

Four-year old Lyndon learned to read at this one-room school located near his home.  He returned as President 53 years later to sign the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

LBJ Classroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the schoolhouse, we continued our drive and stopped at the reconstructed LBJ Birthplace.

DSC_0229

On August 27, 1908, the first child of Sam and Rebekah Johnson was born at this site and named Lyndon James.  The house was rebuilt by the President in 1964 to be used as a guest house.

DSC_0233

 

Bryce tried ringing the dinner bell, but somebody had removed the ringer . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued on, and the next stop was the Johnson Family Cemetery.

LBJ Gravesite

Generations of Johnsons are buried in this family plot where the 36th President was laid to rest on January 25, 1973.

Leaving the cemetery, we approached the house, but first we would drive through the Ranch, which is still being maintained as a working cattle ranch.

DSC_0246

Hereford_LBJ937

As we drove around the northern edge of the property, we saw the herd of Herefords, and we also saw the campsites for the National Park Service resident volunteers.

 

 

NPS volunteer Campsites

They have a couple of really nice campsites at the back of the ranch – I could live here for awhile!

Our next stop was the show barn, which had been built for the care and training of cattle, and continues to serve as the center for present day ranching operations.

In the barn, we saw several cattle resting, and this adorable little guy!

Baby Hereford

There were also a group of baby goats who really liked Nicolas and Bryce!

Baby Goat

More baby goats

 

 

 

 

They especially found Bryce’s shoelaces interesting!

 

Trying to chew Bryce's shoelaces

From the barn, we followed the airstrip to the hangar located just behind the house. 

LBJ Ranch

According to the CD, President Johnson would leave Air Force One behind at the Austin Airport, and then complete his trip to the ranch on a small jet he referred to as “Air Force 1/2”, which is on display outside the hangar.

Presidential Plane

We entered the hangar and purchased our tickets to tour the “Texas White House”.  While we waited for our tour we explored the hangar, checking out the various cars on display.

DSC_0274

Lincoln Continental

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DSC_0275

DSC_0276

According to the sign in front of this amphicar, the President would take unsuspecting guests for a ride around the ranch in this car, and would suddenly plunge it into the Pedernales River, shouting that he had lost control and the brakes weren’t working!  What a jokester!

President Gimmarro?Speaking of jokesters, Tom just had to try out the podium while waited for our tour to start!!

I told him he needs a box to stand on!!

 

 

 

 

When it was time for our tour, we gathered in front of the house with our Ranger Guide.

 

Our tour guide

This is the “West Wing” of the house, and it is the room where the President and several staff members would work while at the ranch.  Our guide told us that he spent about 25% of his time on the ranch while he was in office, and frequently met with congressmen, senators and foreign dignitaries right here.

We weren’t allowed to take any photographs inside, but we did hear lots of interesting stories about the President and the family.  The inside of the house is still in the same condition it was when he was in office, including furniture, artwork, books and clothes!

We learned that he had 3 televisions set side-by-side in both the family room and his bedroom, so that he could always have all three networks on at once.  No remote controls back then!! 

The home was large – 6 bedrooms upstairs (2 for the daughters, one for the cook & her husband, and 3 guest rooms), and an entire wing on the 1st floor for the President and Mrs. Johnson.  It wasn’t extravagant, though, and we were told that Mrs. Johnson made sure that everyone felt welcome and at-home when they were there.

The front of the house overlooked the Pedernales River,

Overlooking the Pedernales River

and many “Texas-style” BBQs were held under the shade of the huge Live Oak.  On the east end of the house, there was the swimming pool,

Swimming Pool

and around back we saw one of the daughter’s 18th birthday presents!

Presidential Daughter's 18th birthday gift

The back of the house was as pretty as the front,

DSC_0291

and signaled the end of our guided tour.

We really enjoyed our visit, and the insight into a US President that we didn’t really know too much about!

We were starving by the time we left, and it was close to 5pm so we didn’t stop at the sites in Johnson City, and just made our way east to the Salt Lick BBQ.  I had read about this place on another blog, and heard about it from a friend at work, so we were anxious to try it . . . and we brought our own drinks!

There was music playing on the porch when we arrived,

Music on the porch

and that walk past the grill on the way to our table had our mouths watering immediately!

Grilling at the Salt Lick BBQ

We knew Tom was the only one who would eat the side dishes – beans, potato salad and cole slaw – so he ordered the brisket plate, and we ordered ribs and sausage by the pound to go with it.  We eagerly anticipated our dinner,

Waiting for our dinner

DSC_0303and were not disappointed when it arrived!

 

 

We had bread and homemade dill pickles to go with our dinner, and everything was great!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we finished our dinner, we walked around to check out the gardens,

Relaxing after dinner

DSC_0306

and the Wine Cellar – although we were too full to taste any wine!

Salt Lick Cellars

It was a very full and interesting day, and the sun was setting as we finally made our way home!

DSC_0316

3 comments:

  1. Marci:
    This is in no way a criticism of your writing, because I enjoy your blog very much.
    But it came to me as I was reading today that when touring historical type places,is might be good for the boys to write the blog as part of their school studies. Literature. Just a thought.
    Hugs to all!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ginger! I agree -- that would be a great idea, and I've often told them I'm going to make them write a blog post . . . but that's as far as I've gotten . . . I think I'd have to start with a shorter day . . . ease them into it slowly!

      Delete
  2. I think that is a great idea for the boys to blog. And also would give your readers their perspective. Love the tour, it's on our list to visit. Becki

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading! We'd love to hear your comments!