Capitol of Texas at Austin

Well, we finally made it to Austin.  It was a dreary day, but not as cold as the past 2 days and no rain.

Seal of Texas on the Rotunda Floor

Texas seems to have had a hard time settling down with a capital city.  There were 14 cities serving as capitals before statehood under Spanish and Mexican rule and as the Republic of Texas.  Austin was finally selected as the permanent capital in 1839 by the Congress of the Republic.  The current capitol is the 4th in a series of buildings in Austin to house the seat of government for the Republic and the State of Texas.

Senate Chamber

The capitol is constructed of Texas red granite on the outside and Texas limestone on the inside.  The builders agreed to take land as payment for the building project instead of cash.  The land, 3 million acres on the Texas panhandle, became the XIT Ranch.  Texans were real proud of their capitol, boasting that it was taller than the National Capitol in Washington, DC.

There is no doubt this building belongs to Texas.  There is nothing that doesn’t bear the mark of Texas, either the outline of the state, the “lone star”, the state seal, or the name, “TEXAS”.

We toured the capitol with a guide, starting in the rotunda then continuing to the second floor Senate and House of Representative chambers.  Without the guide, we toured the third and fourth floors.  The grounds were the greenest we have seen since we arrived in Texas.  They will be gorgeous when the trees are fully leafed and the flowers are in bloom.

Every door hinge looked like this.

After our tour of the capitol and grounds, we got the “dillo” for a ride around the downtown business district.  The “dillo” is a trolley which passes each stop approximately every 11 minutes.  The stops are a block apart for a distance of about 15 blocks.  There are two routes—one running north/south and one running east/west.  For 50 cents each we got passes good for 2 hours.  We could hop on and off at any stop as many times as we wanted during that 2 hours.  We got on the north/south trolley and rode down to the intersecting stop for the east/west trolley.  By riding to the end of this route we were just a block from REI.  How convenient is that?

We really enjoyed our visit to the capital.  However, there is a lot to Austin that we didn’t have time to see.  We didn’t get to the historic district at all and there were several churches and the Austin Museum of Art that we would like to spend some time exploring.  I guess those things will have to wait until our next trip to Texas.

We are planning to leave here on Tuesday.  The next two days will be spent in preparations for that move.  Since starting this trip in January, we have been visiting and exploring cities and towns around south Texas.  We have walked through a lot of historic districts and examined a lot of architecture.  Our focus is going to change now.  For the next three weeks or so we will be exploring the natural beauty of Texas in Big Bend National Park and Guadeloupe Mountains National Park.  We’re ready for a change; we’re both excited.  It’s gonna be fun.

New Braunfels, Texas

We did all we could do to prepare ourselves for this day, but I guess it was just not in the cards.

With the rain coming down pretty steady this morning, Gene checked the weather on the internet.  Weather.com indicated that we would have showers until about mid morning then a few hours without rain until the next wave moved in by mid afternoon.  The weatherman on the local TV channel concurred with this prediction, so we grabbed jackets and rain gear and set out for New Braunfels.  It was a pleasant 40 mile drive eastward through intermittent rain showers.  I was thrilled to see water standing in low places and even some water flowing in the previously dry creek beds.

Coming into town, the Information Center was easily found with plenty of parking near the front door.  We went in to gather up brochures, talk to real people about things to see in their town and to avail ourselves of their restroom.  We learned that the Information Center was actually at the far end of the three blocks or so that comprised the historic district.  Stroke of luck there, plus a great place to leave the truck.  The only down side to the whole thing was the fact that it was still raining.  We decided to walk anyway—after all, we are hikers and have spent days walking in the rain.  I stuffed my wallet, phone, and keys in my pockets and shoved my camera as far under my raincoat as possible.  By the time we got to the other end of the 3 block area, my hands were cold and my feet were damp.  Peeking out from under the umbrellas was not a good way to view the architecture of the old city.  We crossed the street to the Naegelin Bakery, one of the oldest bakeries in Texas, with our mouths watering for apple strudel which the young man at the Information Center declared outstanding.  A cup of coffee to help dispel the chill in my body would have been okay, too.  The bakery was crowded with a steady stream of folks coming in the door the whole time we were there.  We were dismayed, however, to find there was no seating inside.  Take-out only.  We got our goodies and headed back to the car.

At the corner across from the Information Center, we waited for the light to change and the crosswalk signal to give us the go ahead.  As I stepped off the curb I noticed a pickup truck pulling into the intersection, but as so many do (myself included) I assumed he would pull up and wait until the intersection was clear to make his turn.  I continued across until I realized he was not going to stop.  That pickup truck just kept coming.  I’m not sure he ever saw me.  I had to back up to keep from getting hit and even then I didn’t think I was going to get out of his way in time.  When we finally got across the street, we decided that was enough sightseeing for today.  We came home having seen very little of New Braunfels.  At least we didn’t have to see the hospital.

Today was not a total loss, however.  We haven’t had Mexican food since Harlingen—far, far too long ago.  This was the day for Mexican supper.  We ate at Mague’s on North Main Street.  It doesn’t look very promising from the outside and it’s certainly not the place I would have picked out on my own of the several Mexican restaurants in town, but everybody standing in the campground office this morning when Gene asked where the best Mexican food was said “Mague’s”.  Well, that’s not really what they said.  They said “Maggie’s”, admitting they didn’t know how to pronounce the name.  They really didn’t know where it was either, “just up there on Main close to the Episcopal Church.  We drove til we found it.  They were right.  It was GOOD.

Tomorrow we’ll be up early to hit the road to Austin.  It is about a 100 miles from here so we’ll have a long day.

Another Rainy Day

We have had another day of rain and I guess it is my imagination, but I think things look greener already.  Along with the rains have come the cold temperatures. Overnight it got to the low 40s again.  I woke up this morning realizing that it was colder than what we had the thermostat set for.  At some point in the night, the furnace had quit running.  The weather has been so warm we haven’t given much thought to propane.  We closed the door to the bedroom, turned on the small electric heater, and enjoyed our coffee in bed watching the Today Show as we waited for 8 AM and the campground office to open.  As the time drew near, Gene went out to load the propane tanks in the truck.  You can imagine his surprise when he discovered one to be full.  The fitting had not been tightened sufficiently to allow gas to flow.  A twist of the bolt and we had heat again.  Wanting to have two full tanks of propane, Gene took the one empty tank and got to the office just in time for donuts and coffee.  Hum, coincidence?

We weren’t much in the mood to tramp around in the rain today, so we settled in with our books, sudoku, and the internet.  By throwing into that a couple phone calls and a nap we managed to entertain ourselves through the better part of the day.  However, by late afternoon we had reached our limit of sitting around and turned our attention to what we might do tomorrow.  The excitement and anticipation in planning an adventure is almost as good as the adventure itself.

Rain is still in the forecast, but not with the intensity of today.  We anticipate driving to one, perhaps two, of the German settlements nearby.  With rain out of the forecast by tomorrow evening, our Austin trip is set for Saturday.

Comfort, Texas

We found Comfort in Texas (as so many signs and t-shirts proclaim), but it seemed to be closed.  Originally, we had planned to take in Austin today.  However, the rains came and the cold north wind blew—not a very good day to walk around the capitol city of this great state.  We dug through the mound of brochures and Comfort caught our eye.

A fantastic stone walkway

Comfort was established in 1854 by “freethinking” German immigrants.  Many of these freethinkers had been active in the German Revolution of 1848 and, like so many others escaping religious persecution, came to America seeking freedom.  They placed a high value on moral integrity and believed in equal rights for others.  This philosophy led to their support of the Union and the abolition of slavery during the Civil War.  The “Treue der Union” Monument honors Germans killed in their attempt to join the Union Army.

Old Post Office built in 1908

Treue der Union Monument

Also as a result of this freethinking philosophy, it was some 40 years before a church was built in the community.  Finally, the Lutherans established a congregation and a building was completed in 1892.  The building has been shared by several denominations and is referred to as the Community Church.

Comfort State Bank, 1907

The historic downtown area consists of one block of restores buildings dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s.  It is a neat little community, but Wednesday is not the day to visit.  Almost all these old buildings housed antique businesses.  I suppose the antiquing business, like many others, has fallen on hard times in this economy.  I would guess a full third of the businesses had “for sale” signs out front.  Of those that were still open, most were closed on Wednesdays.  We had our mouths all set for German chocolate pie recommended in our tour book.  But it wasn’t to happen—at least not today.  Gene spied a bakery sign, but on closer inspection we learned it was only open on Saturdays.

Ingenhuett Faust Hotel, built in 1880

We walked around huddled against the wind and rain in our Gor-tex jackets until we were too cold for it to be fun any longer.

City Museum, built in 1891

Austin and the capitol complex are next on our agenda, but the rain (which is desperately needed) and cold temperatures (in the 40s this afternoon which is quite a drop from 80s and 90s) are in the forecast for the next 2 days.  It may be Saturday before we get there.  We’ll see.

Luckenbach, Texas

I am a day behind with this story, but it is definitely worth telling.  Yesterday, on our way home from the LBJ stuff, we drove through Luckenbach.  I suppose at one time it was a thriving little settlement, but today you would be hard pressed to even consider it a village.  However, I think there were more visitors there than at the LBJ Ranch.  Perhaps we just all had the same idea—stop by Luckenbach on our way home.

Luckenbach was established in the 1850s by the Luckenbach’s and other German immigrants.  The Luckenbach’s later moved to Boerne to be near their children and are buried in the Historic Boerne Cemetery.   Around 1970, Hondo Crouch purchased the entire “town” and has preserved its “rustic” charm.  Made famous by the song by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, Luckenbach, Texas is the place to be for live music and dancing come weekends.

The “town” consists of 4 buildings, well 5 if you count the outhouse, on the banks of Grape Creek.  There is no creek this year, only the dry creek bed which now looks mostly like a ditch.  But I’m sure, in wetter years there would be a nice babbling brook there.  There is a deserted, dilapidated structure which was the fine home of the Engels in years past.  There is another structure which looks a lot like a barn which I suspect is now used for storage, if anything at all.

There is the dance hall which boasts standing room only on the weekends.  It was quiet yesterday, but the manager allowed us a look inside and solicited our opinion on a new type of bench for seating around the picnic tables.  The current bench is basically a picnic table bench with a back rest.  It seems those benches are heavy to move and take up more then their share of the space.  Just arrived yesterday afternoon was a custom made bench which looked for all the world like a standard picnic table bench with rounded ends so as not to snag clothing.  This bench fit snuggly against the legs of the table taking up much less room and was considerably lighter to move.  

The other building was a combination of General Store and saloon.  Everyone was in the saloon part, of course.  The General Store had some real buys, especially in armadillo fashions.  I suggested we get an armadillo purse for Ansley, but her dad thought perhaps the color wouldn’t go with anything she has.  The armadillo gun slinger was nice too, but I just couldn’t think of where I’d put it.  In days past this building also served as the Post Office and still has the sign out front, but those days are gone.

This is one of those great places you run across occasionally and we are glad we stopped by.

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park

Lyndon B. Johnson, America’s 36th President, was born, raised, and died in the Texas Hill Country near the small community of Johnson City.  We took the short drive today to visit the National Park unit which commemorates his life.

Cows on the ranch

LBJ birthplace

There are two parts to this Park—one in Johnson City and the other about 10 miles west on US 290 at the LBJ Ranch.  We started our tour at Johnson City at the National Park Visitor Center.  We toured the museum area as we waited for the guided tour to begin.  The Ranger led us across the street to the boyhood home of LBJ.  The house has been restored by the Park Service and furnished with period pieces.  There are only a few items which were original to the home.  We were the only tour participants so Gene got to asked several questions.  After our tour we returned to the Visitor Center to watch the film.  They offer two, but we felt we didn’t have time for both so selected to one which featured Lady Bird.  It was very well done. Since she lived until recently, it was nice to actually hear her discuss her life rather than have others speculate on what they thought she was like.

The Ranch

Also included in this portion of the park is the Johnson Settlement—a reproduction of Lyndon’s grandfather’s homestead.  Sam Johnson and his wife came to the area after the civil war.  Sam and his brother, Tom, were cattlemen who drove herds to Kansas.  This is no longer a working farm (I suppose the word is “ranch” in Texas), however, there were chickens, a couple horses, and a couple longhorns on the park property.  I have no idea why.

Boyhood home in Johnson City

After our self-guided tour of the settlement and a quick picnic lunch, we headed over to the LBJ Ranch.  In the past there have been bus tours of this portion of the park.  Those have been discontinued.  Today we stopped in at the Gift Shop and picked up the audio tour which we listened to as we drove our own truck around the ranch.  First on the auto tour was the one-room school which LBJ attended and at which, as President, he signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  A reproduction of the small home where LBJ was born is also located on the Ranch.  This home, as well as his boyhood home, was much nicer than what we would have imagined.   They were not “high-class”, but certainly more up-scale than most early 1900s frontier, working man’s home.

Sam Johnson home at Johnson Settlement

The ranch is still a working ranch, so there was cattle grazing and ranch hands ranching.  The ranch is now in the hands of the Johnson daughters and it was the wish of President Johnson that it be kept as a working ranch.

The Texas White House

The Texas White House has only be acquired by the Park Service since the death of Lady Bird in 2007.  The only portion of the home which is open to the public at this time is the office.  The rest of the home is being restored to the way it appeared when LBJ was President and will be open to the public sometime in the future.  We again had a guide for this portion of the tour.  The office from which Johnson conducted the business of our country was small considering what went on there.  There were a couple desks for secretaries, a sofa for guests (Heads of State, Cabinet Members, grandchildren, etc), and two recliners bearing the presidential seal in front of the fireplace.  The home, itself, seemed quite modest.  I wish it had been opened.

Also on display were several of Johnson’s cars.  That was pretty interesting, especially the “hunting” car and the aqua car.

President and Lady Bird Johnson are buried in a private cemetery on the Ranch.

Overall, we were impressed as we usually are with any National Park Service unit.  However, we both agree that it will be better when the Texas White House is open for touring.  We have been to the homes of Eisenhower, Truman, Franklin Roosevelt, Jefferson, and Jackson.  The ranch experience was good, but it is not his home and the home makes the whole experience so much better.

Boerne, Texas

It has been another overcast day without benefit of rain.

Peanut is somewhat confused with time change; as a result his 5 AM was a blessed 6 o’clock for me. It always takes a few days for him to adjust, but we have to get on with it because in about two and a half weeks we will be moving to Albuquerque which is in the Mountain Time Zone. Being out here on the edge of the Central Time Zone it was nearly 8 o’clock before we saw the sun this morning.

It gleams!

While I got the laundry done this morning, Gene finished his rubbing on the trailer and was so proud of his fine job that he met me as I returned from the laundry to show me his handiwork.

Kronkosky Tower

Old Boerne Depot, now a boutique

After our lunch of leftover sausages from Lindenbaum’s, we completed our driving tour around Boerne which we had started a few days ago.  I was surprised to learn that Robert E. Lee visited this settlement on trips to Fort Sam Houston.  The little house where he stayed was part of the O’Grady Inn.

Public Library, now a grocery store

Robert E Lee slept here

I just realized I have not said anything about the campground where we are parked.  Just south of Boerne immediately off I-10 is Alamo Fiesta RV Resort.  All interior roads are paved and most of the 200 or so sites have concrete parking pads.  The sites are about the standard; not nearly as wide as what we had at Tropic Winds in Harlingen.  There is a pool and a large activity building, but very few organized activities.  They have a potluck dinner each Monday and coffee and donuts each Thursday morning.  Boerne is about 30 miles north of downtown San Antonio and about 40 miles southwest of Fredericksburg.

St Peter's Catholic Church built in 1923

We are going to relax this evening in anticipation for a big day at Lyndon b Johnson National Historical Park tomorrow.