Ride to the LBJ Ranch 11 August 2007

Saturday, August 11, found 7 bikes and one trike winging northward to Johnson City to visit the LBJ Ranch National Historic Park.  We had Chapter U participants from Floresville northward to Sequin  and New Braunfels.  Quite a fun group of history lovers, none of whom had ever found the time to get to the LBJ Ranch! Thanks Charlie Brown for leading group 2 and Mike Mills for filling in as drag for group 1!

Ride briefing  by Charlie Brown                                                 Just arrived at the LBJ ranch

Arriving just in time for the first tour, we found ourselves in air-conditioned comfort, as we rolled by groups of deer of all sizes, bison, and goats.  The LBJ Ranch is a working ranch, and the park ranger's narrative is accentuated by recorded memories of various people connected to the ranch including President Johnson himself, his wife, their children, and people who visited or worked on the ranch.  One story was especially funny as it related how one of the Johnson daughters and a friend fished all the catfish out of a local tank just before President Johnson invited the President of Mexico to go fishing...they didn't catch anything and the daughter was forbidden to fish anymore from the tanks on the ranch!

The group on the bus!                                                                  Getting off at the boyhood home

We saw the school house where President Johnson first started attending school at the age of 4 and a replica of the house in which he was born, one of the first buildings where the Head Start program began, the cemetery where both President Johnson and Lady Bird are buried along with members of their extended family, and the outside of the "Texas White House."  The bus rolled by various vintage cars owned by the President including a car that operated in water, and made a general tour of the ranch lands in the park.  Here and there are still vestiges of security from the time President and Lady Bird Johnson visited the ranch.

School attended by LBJ                                            The grave of LBJ and other family members

Re-constructed boyhood home of LBJ

LBJ's Texas White House

Charlie, Bill & Jane in the air-conditioned bus!                                         LBJ's Amphibious car!!

The gift shop at the visitor's center provided some objects of interest, and we soon headed towards Johnson City and the Silver K Cafe!  We were fortunate to find the large round table in the center of the room available and 11 of us were able to sit together at the "Chapter U Round Table!"  The food was so good that most of us found room to move on to a dessert!  Yum!  While the riders waited for the bills, the co-riders adjourned next door to do a bit of shopping!  Good thing there are saddlebags and trunks on Gold Wings.  It is never too early to start your Christmas shopping with Chapter U!

Bikes in the lot by the Silver K                         Eating at the big round table in the Silver K, Johnson City

Unfortunately the sun and heat were intensifying as we often find during August, and our group of Wings headed south with Wings turning off at various points along the way.  I think many of us would like to go back once the Texas White House becomes part of the tour.   Perhaps we will go when it is decorated for Christmas as President Johnson used to visit during Christmas many years there as he was growing up (he eventually bought that house from his aunt).  We look forward sometime in the future returning to visit the ranch, and we still need to go back up and visit other related historical areas in the Johnson City area.  Hope you can join us!