One afternoon we drove just down the road and visited the LBJ Ranch - http://www.nps.gov/lyjo/index.htm. No matter your political beliefs, it's a beautiful place to visit with a lot of history to explore.
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| This letter, found in the main park building, absolutely cracked me up. Love the last couple of sentences in the second paragraph. "You think you've got problems with Fulbright and a measely war? You should meet my mother-in-law." |
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| View of the ranch house from across the Pedernales River |
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| Fun with the camera. Dinner bell in the backyard of LBJ's reconstructed birthplace home. |
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| Johnson family cemetery. The largest two headstones are LBJ's and Lady Bird's. I didn't remember that he died in 1973, only 6 years after his presidency ended. He lived hard and fast, with a lot of drinking and smoking. And stress. The Vietnam War obviously took its toll. You look at pictures of him before and after his presidency, and the difference is amazing. He was only 64 years old, but he sure looked a whole lot older. |
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| Obviously the livestock are used to having the right-of-way. This big lady lumbered right out in front of us. It was obvious she expected we would stop. |
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| This old wire gate reminded me of some we had when I was a kid. They were really difficult to open and close. Took a lot of muscle. I never had enough to get it done. Kerby would say I was just spoiled, and others had to do the work for me. Not true. At least in this case. I was just a wimp. |
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| I'm an old country girl. I thought these cattle were beautiful. |
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| Workampers! The park volunteer that gave us a tour of the ranchhouse was a workamper from Wisconsin, down in Texas for the warm weather. She did an awesome job. |
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| LBJ's "Air Force One-Half", he called it. LBJ used it to fly back and forth between the White House and his "Western White House". |
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| The view from the front of LBJ's home. They say he held a lot of Cabinet meetings under this old oak tree. |
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| Instead of a guest register, he had his guests sign "friendship stones". Quite a few famous and influential people visited the Western White House. |
Another day, we visited the National Bridge Wildlife Ranch close to San Antonio. It's one of those drive-thru zoos, so to speak. 400 acres. Over 500 animals including more than 40 exotic species. We definitely recommend it. Would have loved to have had some niece- and nephew-types in tow. It would have been even more fun.
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| Gemsbok - native to Africa. In ancient Egypt, they were kept in large numbers for sacrificial purposes. |
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| Good ol' ostrich |
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| Good ol' CURIOUS ostrich. Ackkkkk! Not so close! |
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| Watusi - native to Africa. "Largest horned animal in the world. Tip to tip, spread can be over 6 feet." |
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| You go first, Mr. Watusi. |
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| More Watusi. Yes, I was fascinated. See that one on the left? Going after that jeep? Those people were hand-feeding that thing! Hand-feeding him! With signs everywhere that said, "No hand-feeding the animals." !!! Those people obviously don't watch the same shows we do. When Wild Animals Go Bad. Don't hand-feed the animals! |
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| Of course a Texas Longhorn. Isn't he a bute! |
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| Loving the giraffe |
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| This young one seemed to be saying, "Whatchu looking at, Mister?" |
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| No zoo is complete without zebra. |
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| Horned Oryx - native to Africa. "Put up a strong resistance against predators...even spearing them to death." I can see that. |
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| Called a Bluebull - Native to India. |
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| White Rhino. Look at that dude's horn! |
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| Bactrain Camel - native to Asia. Critically endangered species. Larger of the two camel species. |
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| The cutest little donkeys you've ever seen. Sicilia donkey - native to Italy. My little bro told me some people refer to the Sicilian donkey as the Christian donkey because it has a cross on its back. Riding a donkey was symbolic of coming in peace. Legend says the cross is on his back because a donkey at the crucifixion wished he could have carried Jesus on his back. The donkey couldn't bear to see Jesus on the cross and turned his back. When he did, the shadow of the cross fell across his back. Because the Lord knew how much he loved Jesus, God put the cross on his back forever. |
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| Blackbuck - native to India and Pakistan. "During mating season, the males strut with a comical mincing gait with their heads tossed upward and horns flattened along their backs." Hmmmm. |
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| Mr. Emu |
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| Aoudad - native to Africa. "Called sheep, but actually more closely related to the goat." Hence all the rock, I guess. How can anything get comfortable amid all that rock? God's creatures are amazing. |
This is not all of Luckenbach. But pretty much all. This was the "Luckenbach Loop", they call it. What a cute, funny little town. Thank goodness for their claim to fame; otherwise, they might not be there at all!
We're here in Fredericksburg until next Monday. Then back to Brownwood to meet that new little great niece.
Until next time....take care!
Max and Paula
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