Dallas, Fort Worth, and Bonham, Texas 3-29 & 30-90

Driving north from Georgetown, TX, a stop for gas provided us with a view of these Univ. of Colorado crew boats. Ted looked on the Net and discovered that they had been to the Univ. of Texas and were on their way to the San Diego Crew Classic being held April 4-6.

This is the Texas Speedway at Fort Worth on I-35W. The stand to the right is for the dirt track. People were beginning to gather at our RV park for the upcoming NASCAR race.

My friends of 32 years, whom I met in Richmond, IN, where Brent was born, took us on a tour of DFW that was amazing. We drove into the cul de sac and took this picture of the new home for George W. and Laura Bush. Can you believe that the secret service let us get up this close? Two doors to the left is a huge home with 22 acres behind it. It is owned by a very wealthy Texan. Our friends believe that is why the Bushes paid two million for this house in an area less desirable than others in Dallas. We made two turns through the cul de sac. The person reading a newspaper in the main window rose as we made the second turn. We decided that the secret service were now getting uncomfortable. I took the photo, waved, and we left. I would bet that the Bushes were not in residence or we would not have been so well received. Kris says that a privacy fence is planned.

Near the Bush home is this fairy tale house. It is in a neighborhood of very established upscale "English" style homes.

Skyline of Dallas. Building on right was the Ewing Oil Building in the TV show Dallas. In reality those are not oil derricks on top and the building has nothing to do with oil.

More skyline of Dallas.

Behind the tree is the Texas Book Depository in Dallas, TX. Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President Jack Kennedy from the corner window on the 6th floor. Dave and Kris encouraged us visiting the 6th Floor Museum. It is very well done and worth seeing.

It was amazing to me what a short distance it was from the turn in front of the Depository and the famous underpass.

There are two xs on the road. The first one is the location of the limo when the first shot struck and this is the spot where the killing shot reached President Kennedy.

This is part of a very long sculpture that starts at the top of a hill beyond the trees in the upper right corner. The second photo was taken by Kris and shows the steers coming down the hill. The sculpture is amazing and is located in heart of Dallas. That is real water in the first photo.

There are several vaqueros in the Cattle Drive sculpture. Here is the theater where Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested after shooting Officer Tibbetts. There is nothing to indicate that. Dave had visited all the sites related to the assassination so he gave us a tour most don't get.

The theater entrance.

This was once the sheep and hog pens at the Fort Worth Stockyards. There are lots of tourist shops here, too.

Twice a day the cattle drive is reinacted down the main street in the Ft. Worth Stockyards.

This is main street in the Stockyards, minus the long horns.

Bonnie and Clyde stayed here. The bar has saddles for some of their bar stools.

Just down the block from this sculpture is a huge cowboy belt work of art.

Billy Bob's is a HUGE honky-tonk next to the Stockyards. One room is an actual rodeo arena.

Fort Worth reminds us of Portland. It has a warm feeling and is a very walkable city with lots of trees and culture.

This Water Garden has three fountains below street level in downtown Ft. Worth. They cannot be seen driving around the block. This one was a set in the movie Logan's Run with Michael York.

One water garden had many of these cypress trees growing along the pool.

The cypress knees are aeration organs and grow wherever they can find the room. These are about three feet from the tree.

We drove 70 miles from Denton, TX to Bonham, TX, where Ted's paternal grandparents were married. This is looking at the SE corner of the town square. We found the marriage certificate in the courthouse and then searched deeds and death records for family names. Next we searched county histories in the town library. We have some leads to continue our search on Ancestry.com.

Georgetown, TX 3-27-09

Gail and I went through our Master's programs together 37 years ago in Indianapolis. She and her husband, Spiro, now live in Georgetown, TX. They took us to lunch and showed us Georgetown.

This is courtroom where Atttorney Dan Moody got the first ever conviction against the Ku Klux Klan. They do a full reenactment of the trial from the original transcript every other year. The courtroom is still in active use today.

This is former Masonic Lodge on a corner of the darling square of Georgetown.

Ted and Spiro in downtown Georgetown.

This another corner of the square in Georgetown.

Sculpture on corner in Georgetown. Fun afternoon with nice friends.

President Lyndon B. Johnson Ranch and Fredricksburg, TX 3-26-2009

The Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm is across the Pedernales River from the LBJ Ranch. It represents the typical farm that existed here in the mid to late 1800s. What a beautiful afternoon. We had driven through a very fierce thunder storm.

These sheep roam the yard.

The ram was amazingly docile.

I just liked this shot and the one below.

She is making cheese.

And we complain about shortage of counter space.

Picturesque.

The kitchen is in the building on the left, helping to prevent any fire from getting the house.

Tyler, Blake, and Austin, this is mistletoe. It attaches to a tree and grows there.

The house where President Johnson was born. It is down the road from the main house.

This is the view of the Pedernales River from the front of the Johnson main house.

Sorry about the window glare. This is President Johnson's office at his Texas White House. It is the only room visitors can see. Mrs. Johnson died in 2007 and the National Park Service is in the process of restoring the house to what it looked like during the 1960s and 70s. One of their biggest problems is finding shag carpet to match what was there during that period.

The Johnson Texas White House.

The graves of Lady Bird and President Lyndon Baines Johnson. The flowers are on her site. She doesn't have a stone yet.

We left the ranch and drove about 25 miles to Fredricksburg, TX for dinner. This is a really cute town founded by Germans. Present day residents play up that heritage so Ted got to eat some delicious German food. We then drove the 70 miles back to the coach. We went through Marble Falls, another really pretty town in the Hill Country. If it hadn't been so late, we would have enjoyed exploring it.

Austin, TX Area 3-25 through 3-27-09

We left the Gulf of Mexico this morning and drove to Georgetown, TX, about 30 miles north of Austin. Here is a view of Austin from I-35.
Taylor, TX is 25 miles from Georgetown and is home to a famous BBQ called Louie Mueller's. Very Texas. This was another recommendation from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. We arrived just as they were closing at 6 pm and got the last of the brisket and sausages - delish. Had a nice conversation with a couple from Greensboro, NC, who had seen it on D, D, and D, too.
We drove to Taylor through a thunderstorm, but didn't realize until we got there that there were tornado watches and some much fiercer weather nearby. This is what followed. The photo does not do the vividness justice.
While seeking the perfect photo of the rainbow, we found this darling county park just down the road from where we were staying. Those are pecan trees. The settler to whom this park is named is an ancestor of Audey Murphy.