SPRING BREAK 2009

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Not all the posts are showing up on this page - be sure to click the "older posts" button at the bottom to see the rest of our vacation pictures!

We took a long weekend over Spring Break to go have some fun and learn a little, too...what follows are the pictures from our great adventure together - we all survived, and that's a HUGE plus! Our first stop was Johnson City, Texas...the hometown of Lyndon Baines Johnson. We stopped in town at the visitor's center then walked over to LBJ's childhood home. We were the only ones there for that tour time, and it was wonderful to see how a house was structured back in the early 1900's. LBJ came from a family of educators...his mom went to college and, while his dad never formally went to school past the 8th grade, he studied and became a teacher. We learned a lot about running water and toilets (or lack thereof) while there, too!

Then, we trekked 14 miles west of the city to the LBJ Ranch, a state park and national park as well. We took the driving tour and saw the one-room schoolhouse where LBJ went to school, the home where he was born (the boys and Scott are walking up the lane to check it out), his grandparents' home on the property, the cattle, the airstrip (big enough for a DC-9) and the Texas White House.

These cattle were awesome - check out their horns! I had to get a shot of that!

This is the marker on the airstrip to indicate that it is the LBJ airstrip. On the driving tour, you drive around the entire strip and by the show barn as well. It was all really neat and a great start to our weekend.

The Texas White House Part I

Lyndon Baines Johnson was a car-man. Tyler's favorite car on display at the ranch was the hydrovehicle (that blue thing back there). Apparently, LBJ was quite the kidder and enjoyed taking people for rides in it, then pretending that the car was out of control and they were headed for the water. He loved to see if people would save themselves or the President first! Here's a shot of the front of the Texas White House. The Johnsons loved their ranch (and I can see why), so when he took office in the mid-1960's he created a workable office here in Texas. The technology was quite advanced for that time. Anyway, the house itself is slowly being restored to the 1960's era for the National Parks and Registry to open to the public.

This was etched into the cement on the sidewalk leading to the pool...

The Texas White House Part II

LBJ's office at the Texas White House is now open for tourists, with another two rooms in the house slated to open later this year. This is a shot of the interior of his office - check out the TV over on the right side - he had three of them in his office, and it is said that they were always on. Here's his desk from the presidency...

Here's an outside shot of the house. The stone part is the original structure. It originally belonged to his aunt and uncle, then LBJ and Lady Bird acquired the property in a trade (his aunt and uncle had added onto the house already). LBJ then added on another bedroom area and a pool after getting the property. The Johnsons acquired land around the house for years, and I believe the total acreage is around 600???? The National Parks system has 200 of it for the park.

This was his own fuel station for all the cars they had. LBJ loved his cars...

The Sauer-Beckmann Homestead at LBJ Ranch

On the Lyndon B Johnson Ranch historic park site is an operational homestead - the Sauer-Beckmann Farm. If you are ever in the need for something fun and interactive and educational, this is IT. We could have stayed there much longer and learned so much, from early 1900's farming to canning, to cooking and gardening, life at the turn of the 20th century. The park rangers and assistants are all in period-dress and in character. It was interesting to talk to them and see how the farm works. These turkeys made quite an impression on the boys...and I was thinking dinner!

This is their garden for the year - I can't even begin to tell you what all they're growing, but it is a great garden (much better than mine). Those planks of wood in the background are providing shade and shelter from the wind for the small plantings...they will be taken down in a few weeks. I wish I had snapped a picture of all the canning they do - I was really impressed!

Here's a shot of the entire operation - barn, house, a "laundry room" of sorts, another area where they store their food. In the back was the chicken house and a smokehouse.

The boys loved the chicken house - real chickens and eggs! I found it interesting that nothing is wasted here. After cracking the eggs, the shells are then toasted and crushed into a fine grain. They are then re-fed to the chickens as a source of calcium. Nothing goes to waste!

More Pictures from the Sauer-Beckmann Homestead

This was as close as we could get to the sheep on the property before the ram started to take it personally... I thought this was neat - nothing wasted on the homestead! They've lined the flower beds and herb beds with inverted Shiner Beer bottles...Scott could do this!!!!

I looked back at one point, and here's how I found Tyler. He doesn't want any chicken poo on his pants!

The boys LOVED the pigs...they were actually kind of fun to watch and listen! There was also a milking cow, but we didn't get a shot of her.

This was an EXCELLENT place to stop with the boys - oodles of educational activities, getting to see an operational homestead from the early 1900's and seeing how much WORK went into living - really puts a lot of stuff into perspective!

The Campsite At Glen Rose

We set up camp as soon as we got there and the boys were DELIGHTED. We have a 10x10 (or 12x12, not sure) Eddie Bauer Edition tent that I bought at Target a little over a year ago for $40 (from $150). Unfortunately, we got the entire thing set up this time before we realized that we had set the entire thing up backwards, so we just used the back window as a doorway this time - we know better for next time! What is camping without a cookout? We roasted weenies over the fire and then had S'mores for dessert...then it was time to turn in for the night!

I awoke to this sight Sunday morning - Scott cooking breakfast and making coffee, and Travis dressed and ready to play catch. It was wonderful.

DINOSAURS

Okay, okay, not a dinosaur, but part of me secretly wanted to see all the wildflowers that should be about to take over by now. However, a lack of rain has slowed them down considerably this year. We did manage to see one or two (literally) bluebonnets at the park (the state flower of Texas). THIS was one of the major attractions for the boys. WHOO HOO! DINOSAURS!

Apatasaurus...

And the T-Rex!

Shhhh...We're Hunting Dino Tracks!

In order to get to several of the track areas, we had to cross the river, which is interesting with a four year old. Actually, Tyler proved to be a much better hiker than his old mom. The boys thought EVERYTHING was a dino track, and maybe at one time it was, but for now, a lot of the places where you can walk around are simply worn out craters in the rocks.

It takes one pretty big dinosaur to make a track in which you can actually sit!

And, Travis enjoyed the heck out of the whole experience, too.

These were some of the clearer tracks we found - they are on a ledge just under the water's surface. It is pretty amazing to think about how long these tracks have been there.

Travis and Judy's Afternoon Hike

While Tyler and Scott took a nap Sunday afternoon, Travis and I explored the other side of the river where the "primitive" campsites are...yeah, a little TOO primitive for my camping skilz! Travis was definitely having a blast - the kid pretty much be-bopped the entire hour hike, while I barely made it back to camp...ah, the joys of being old.

Travis and I discussed how this rock ended up on its side like this - force of water is our assumption.

This was how we got from the main camp area (in the background and up the hill and trail) to the primitive campsite area (where I'm standing). People wanting to camp on this side of the river have to cross the water, then hike in a minimum of .5 miles to the first campsite. Yeah. Not necessarily something I'll be trying - EVER. The rocks were pretty fun to cross, though.

Travis needed to cool off from the hike, so a'wading he went and doused his head with river-water. I sat on a rock and watched, happy to not be moving my feet.

Travis And Tyler's Hike With Daddy

Scott took the boys down to the river to cool off while I took a shower (which was actually pretty nice there at the campgrounds!) and they had some fun in the Paluxy River!

Tyler's Vacation Picture Album

Okay, enjoy it - here is the ONE AND ONLY SHOT of me camping...glasses, shower-less and white-legged! THANK YOU TYLER! Giving Tyler free-reign of my camera was a small amount of stress for me since he broke my last one, but he did fine with it. He decided to take a couple of pictures of Scott and Travis playing catch in the field next to our campground... Here's Travis doing something - can't really tell...

And, of course, what four-year old's photo gallery wouldn't be complete without a gravel-shot?