Austin, Texas

Painted Bunting

Yesterday was our break day for the trip. We visited an old elementary school mate of Laura, Melinda Biggs. We caught up on old times and new times. She has become the success of her family, currently as a fundraiser for a women’s shelter in the Austin area. We had a conversation filled 2 hour lunch. Then I got a chance to do a little hiking in Perdenales Falls State Park. Again, lots of wild flowers, I scared up a deer (and a rabbit), but overall it was good to just walk the park.

Oval Office at LBJ Library

Today, we went into Austin. The primary stop for the day was the LBJ library. As most presidential libraries do, it brought to mind his key achievements and challenges. He had been a teacher in a poor area of Texas before starting his political career. He became a congressman, then a senator, and after only four years, Senate minority leader, followed by becoming majority leader 4 years after that. It was interesting that even in the Senate, he managed the first Civil Rights bill (of 1957) to pass since the civil war. This from a southern Senator. While he ran for president in 1960, as we know, John Kennedy won the nomination and he settled for the Vice President nomination. After suddenly becoming president, after Kennedy’s assassination, he was probably our most effective president in getting legislation through congress: Medicare, Medicaid, the first food programs for the poor, Head Start, the 1964 Civil Rights act, the voting rights act, the fair housing act, clean water act, clean air act, auto safety, were all bills he drove through Congress. His Great Society effort did reduce the poverty rate from 20% to 12% of Americans during his 5 years of office. Of course, his challenge was Vietnam. He continued the policies of Eisenhower and Kennedy to stop the threat of Communism by aiding South Vietnam. But when it became clear that they wouldn’t make it with just advisors, he turned it into an American war. This, of course, became his downfall. He decided not to run for President in 1968, but to spend his time trying to pursue a peace agreement with Ho Chi Minh. We lose sight of all the things he accomplished because of his stance on Vietnam.

Texas State Capitol

We next toured the Texas State Capitol, primarily made of sunset red granite on the exterior. This capital was designed by the same architect that did both Colorado’s and Michigan’s capital. The most interesting thing about that capital was the annex to it, which is where most of the offices and committee rooms are – it’s totally underground, yet each of the offices is well lit by sunlight.

A few blocks away is the Texas State History museum. We were swamped by 4^th grade students who were learning their state history. This is actually a well-done museum, but with our tour of the Missions and the Alamo in San Antonio, we knew most of the early history of Texas – so much of this was a repeat. They did have a good “Spirit of Texas” multimedia presentation. They made good use of effects for getting the feel of the destruction of Galveston in the early 1900s as well as raining snakes upon the audience. We followed this up with the history of Texas from the civil war, through the 20^th century. They did a great job of depicting the cowboys, rancher, cotton farmers, rice farmers and loggers followed by the effects of the oil boom.

We finished our day by going to see the falls of Perdernales Falls State Park. They weren’t much in these dry conditions, but you could tell by the carving of the limestone rock around the falls, that you wouldn’t want to be here during a flood.

LBJ Ranch



Pedernales Falls

Today was LBJ day. We headed north from San Antonio to Pedernales Falls State Park, a few miles outside Johnson City. In the afternoon, we visited the Lyndon B Johnson National Historical Park. We started a LBJ’s boyhood home, where he lived from age 5 to 26. It appeared to be a rather large home for the time, with 3 large bedrooms: one for the 3 girls, one for the 2 boys, and one for the parents. Down the road is the LBJ ranch which he bought from his aunt in 1951 and expanded over the years. LBJ used the ranch to change his image from a Southern Senator to a Texas rancher who was also a Senator. Here he raised cattle for sale and for breeding. The funny part was that after he became Senate majority leader, he added a grass runway down the middle of the ranch. This was expanded to a  paved 6000’ runway when he became President to handle the Air Force 1/2 , a business jet that could land on the runway.



LBJ Ranch

The most interesting part of our tour was the Western Whitehouse on the LBJ ranch. When he bought the ranch there was one party line, while he was President there were 74 phone lines. He spent the majority of his day on the phone to Congressman, Senators, his cabinet, and foreign leaders. As we toured the house there was a phone in every room, on the left side of LBJ’s chair (except the dining room where it was on the right hand side) 
, even one in the bathroom. He only needed 4-5 hours of sleep a night, so he conducted business most of the day and night. What I found most interesting is that Johnson spent over 25% of his presidential term here. Often conducting cabinet meetings underneath the large Live Oak Tree in the front yard, or having a barbeque for world leaders at his ranch.

San Antonio Missions National Park

Our primary sight for the day was the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. This consists of four of the five missions (the fifth is the Alamo) that were established in the 1700s. Our first mission was San Francisco de la Espada, founded in 1731. We were only a few miles outside of San Antonio but this church really seemed to be in the country. The tiny church with a unique doorway and 3 mission bells on top was meant to be the sacristy of a larger church. However, the master mason left before the church could be completed. As we approached we heard the Mariachi band playing to a packed church for first communion. People were listening from outside the church. We also visited an aqueduct that carried water from the dammed river to the fields outside the mission.

Mission San Juan Capistrano

Next we went to Mission San Juan Capistrano, built in 1731. Here we stopped for mass conducted by a Scottish priest. We enjoyed the mix of an English mass with Mexican Mariachi music. The mission was white washed and again at 3 mission bells.

The best reconstructed mission was San Jose’ y San Miguel de Aguayo. Called the “Queen of the Missions”, it is a large church. Again we encountered the Mariachi band and singers celebrating first communions. Most of the original structures have been rebuilt giving us a flavor for how things might have looked in the 1700’s. Particularly impressive was the façade as well as the Rose Window. Here we also learned that Franciscan Friars originally wore a blue-grey robe, but were asked by the Pope to change to brown in the 19^th century. The park movie described how the original hunter-gatherer Indians of this area, were being conquered by the Apache coming from the North, superior warriors with horses. So they tended to turn to the Franciscan friars as a safe guard, where they learned to heard sheep, tend to cattle and plant crops. However, with the Spaniards also came the European diseases, such that 70% of the Indian population was wiped out by disease.



Mission San Jose

Our final mission was Nuestra Senora de la Purisma Conception. This church is the best preserved – it has been used continuously and best reflects its look in the 18^th century of all the missions.

Buckskin Saloon

Having had a religious Sunday morning, it was time for downtown San Antonio. We went to the Buckskin Saloon for a traditional hamburger and fries. On their walls, were lots of stuffed animal heads, most of them with some form of antler or horn. Then we walked next to the Alamo to see the Menger hotel – where many a president has spent the night and also where Teddy Roosevelt recruited his rough riders. Finally, we did the cruise along the river walk. I was expecting to be disappointed, but actually the cruise was quite informative on the buildings along the river, the history of the city, and some of the stories about the World’s Fair held here in the 60’s.

River Walk

We started our day at the Spanish Governor’s Palace in central San Antonio, originally built in 1722 and expanded later in the 1700’s. Actually, this was really a Captain’s residence and office for the local garrison of the Presidio.  There were lots of furniture and other pieces from the period. Then we walked up to market square filled with vendors of primarily Mexican goods. We were supposed to go across the street to the Museo Alameda, but we couldn’t find it, after wandering about 5 blocks. Mary looked it up on her phone and found that it had closed last September (and indeed was right across from where we were). We had a delicious lunch at Los Marguerites.

Governor's Palace

From there we walked the 3 blocks or so to the plaza with the county courthouse and the local cathedral. Here was the River Walk. The river walk was created in the 1920’s as part of a project to dam the river and prevent floods. Rather than filling in the land, they developed the walk along the river. Of course, lots of bars and restaurants line the sides, while tourist boats traverse the river. It was quite pleasant since shade is provided by both the buildings and the trees along the banks.

River Walk

We took the river walk to the Alamo. On first sight, the church really looks small. We listened to a detailed lecture on the story leading up to the battle of the Alamo as well as how “remember the Alamo” resulted in Texas independence a short time later.   Originally a Catholic mission built in 1724, it was taken over by the Spanish military in the early 1800s. In December, 1835, the Texans had defected the Mexican army, occupied the Alamo, and thought they had won independence. But in February, 1836 the army of General Sana Anna arrived with 1000’s of soldiers and fought the 200 or so soldiers in the Alamo for 13 days. The final assault was on March 6, 1836, all the defenders were killed. Later that year, Sam Houston did defeat Santa Ana by catching him by surprise. Of the original mission, only the chapel and the long barracks (which is now a museum) remain. Several volunteers were in period costume, shooting replicas of the black musket rifles used during the assault. We walked on to La Villita, the oldest neighborhood of the city, now primarily an art colony. By now we were pretty walked out, so we returned to the river walk and had a beer. It was fun watching the Saturday crowds and a few wedding parties.

The Alamo

Institute to Texas Cultures

We had 2 young couples camped next to us last night. One of the guys even came over and introduced himself. But the wind and the cold must have gotten to them – one couple spent most of the evening in a heated argument. This went on till at least 11 PM, every time I thought it was over they’d start into it again.

Indian Baskets in animal shapes

We quickly left the hill country in less than 20 miles to the flat land headed to San Antonio. We’re staying at the Alamo KOA, a large campground with lots of trees. It’s only about 15 minutes from the downtown area. Our one major stop for the day was the Institute of Texas Cultures. The museum told the stories of the various nationalities that settled in  
Texas, a little bit about their culture, and some of their noted personalities. It began with an excellent exhibit on both the ancient and historical Indians, beginning with the Clovis and Folsom tribes, ending with the tribes we’re familiar with: Apache, Comanche, as well as the tribes that were moved here from the North and the East. Another section highlighted the spiritual beliefs of the Indians, both here and in Central and South America, displaying those beliefs in the carvings of pottery. Not as interesting were the stories of all the European settlers. I suspect it would be interesting if you were of that descent, but there was just too much information to absorb for all of them.

Spinning at the wheel

Touring Hill Country

The cold front that hit Fort Collins yesterday bringing 10” of snow, went through last night, dropping the temperatures from the 80s to the 50’s, but also bringing along a 20 mph wind. In the morning, we went to the Museum of Western Art. It was so-so having a variety of modern Western art. There were two highlights – the bronzes of typical western themes: pioneers, horses, and cowboys; and a children’s exhibit featuring a young boy’s description of traversing the Oregon trail with exhibits of what they carried in their wagon.



Lost Maple State Park

In the afternoon, we took scenic highway 337 to Lost Maple State Park. Taking this highway, you can really experience the Texas Hill Country – up and down, with lots of curves and beautiful views of the hills. We did a short hike in the park – the Maple trail, which follows the river ending in a large maple grove. Our camping site for the evening was in Garner State Park with over 400 campsites along the Frio River. There is lots of room tonight, but the park should fill up on Friday night. This is another gorgeous state campground. We’re feeling sorry for the ten 
ters tonight. The wind is still blowing strong and the temperatures will probably go into the 40’s tonight.

Rio Frio - Garner State Park

Fredericksburg

The first smart bomb: WW II's the bat

At first you have to wonder why the National Museum for thePacific War would be in a land-locked area like Fredericksburg, Texas until you learn that this was the birthplace for Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Our AAA book suggested a minimum of 2 ½ hours to visit this museum, we spent almost 6 hours. It started with a history lesson going back into the 19^th century of how Western nations treated China and Japan as well as the many conflicts Japan had with China, Korea, and Russia. Almost all of these conflicts were over Japan’s desperate need for natural resources. The museum then took us through the initial conquering of Korea, Manchuria, and eventually most of China. Followed by the simultaneous attack on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, followed quickly by the conquering of much of South East Asia.  Our only good moment in these early years was the Doolittle bombing run on Japan using Army planes, which took off from carriers, but had to land in China (only a few made it all the way). The expansion was stopped at Wake Island, thanks to breaking the code the Japanese were using and mounting a Naval force that counteracted the Japanese force. Both sides lost a lot of planes and ships but things began to turn around. The museum was great at providing a multimedia experience of the many naval battles and amphibious landings to slowly take back the pacific. Particularly effective were narrated, videos showing the movement of forces combined with photos and movies of the action.

Since the dropping of 2 atom bombs is still controversial, the display seemed to make a point around how far the Japanese would go before surrendering. For example, on one island they had 21000 men, by the time the commander committed suicide and they surrendered, only 700 were still living. Their point: if they would do this for a remote island, what would they do to defend their homeland? They also made a point about the Japanese had armed their old people with swords and children with knives, to kill an American before dying themselves. But it was also clear that when we began fire-bombing the Japanese plants, this also had significant civilian casualties. War is never totally one-sided in the atrocities that are committed. One of the interesting factors that led to the Japanese surrender was not only our bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also that the Russians had easily taken over Manchuria from the Japanese, also in August, 1945.

TBM Avenger Bomber

After some lunch, we quickly visited the Admiral Nimitz museum in the restored Nimitz hotel built by his Grandfather. It has a unique “steamboat façade” that makes it stand out. The museum explained the history of the hotel and the career of the Admiral. It was a fairly moderate account of his career. Then on to the Pacific Combat Zone section of the museum. Here we had a guided tour which featured a TBM (Torpedo Bomber – built by GM)  Avenger bomber, one of the 9000 that were built and accounted for most of the ship sinking’s of the war. Then a PT (Patrol Torpedo) boat one of only 14 still in existence. I was amazed to see that it was made of wood and actually had more armament for its size than any other ship. The tour ended with a mock-up of the beach at Tarawa and then a Quonset hut fitted like a field hospital. This was quite an interesting museum, I highly recommend it.

PT Boat

We traveled about 25 miles to Kerrsville and stayed at the Kerrsville/Shriner city park. Nice tree filled campsites with full facilities alongside the river.