Road Trip 2025: Day 28

We are in Texas, home of the mythical cowboy. Last night, in Fredericksburg, G3 saw a cowboy boot store and decided a pair of boots would make the perfect souvenir from our trip. As a result, we started our day boot shopping. His grandmother, upon hearing that G3 wanted authentic boots,  said she would gift them to him. That made G3 happy. Thank you mom. Watching G3 shop was entertaining. He enjoyed trying on different boots and comparing them. As soon as we walked out of the store he put on his new boots—along with the jeans we bought him yesterday. Kati also bought herself a pair of boots.

After boot shopping, we drove to Lyndon B. Johnson’s ranch which is run by the National Park System in conjunction with the Texas state parks. Upon arrival, I was disappointed to discover that we could not go in the house because the entire Texas White House complex is under construction. But, we were able to drive by the house to see it, as well as the plane in which LBJ flew when he was traveling between Washington and his home in Texas.

On the ranch property, we did get to go inside the reconstructed house in which LBJ was born. The original house was torn down, but LBJ had it rebuilt as a guest house. The Junction School, the one room school house LBJ attended briefly when he began school at the age of four, is also on the park grounds. Johnson’s mother was an educator and it was she who taught him to read. Something G3 has in common with the former president. They were both taught to read at home before attending school. LBJ’s mother enrolled him in school at an age younger than most kids which is why he was a first grader before he turned five.

As president, LBJ signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which promised $1.5 billion in federal funds to support schools. Much of that money was earmarked for students in areas where education was poor. The money was intended to reduce class sizes, hire remedial teachers, and to provide breakfast. It also provided funds to ensure disabled and bilingual students had access to education. When LBJ signed the act into law, he did so at the Junction school and his first grade teacher was present. It’s probably important to note that LbJ’s college degree was in education and he spent a few years, post college, teaching. Unlike politicians today, he understood the challenges teachers face and what students required to be successful. I am almost certain he would be against socially promoting students,

a practice that is all too common today. He would also be angry at the price tag we now attach to a college degree. He would want college to be accessible and affordable for all who wished to attend.

Unfortunately, LBJ’s legacy is severely tarnished by his actions regarding the Vietnam War. His decision to escalate the war and put American boots on the ground killed thousands of Americans. This is what we most remember him for—death. But Johnson was a complex individual and while we often focus on how he failed this nation by engaging us in a war we couldn’t win, we need to also remember that his domestic policies were incredibly inclusive. If I were personally affected by his policies in Vietnam, if I were alive at the time and someone close to me died, I’d probably hate him. But through the unbiased eyes of history, it is hard not to have some respect for him. His War on Poverty was far reaching. Growing up poor affected him enough that he wanted to lift every American out of poverty, and he genuinely believed education was the ticket to a better life, which is why he signed more than 60 education bills into law. He also advocated for a Great Society where the arts were valued and racial inequality was eradicated. He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Right Act.

LBJ loved the Texas hill country. It’s where he was born and raised. As a child he loved swimming in the Pedernales River. As an adult, the river bordered his ranch and he enjoyed having barbecues on its banks. His love of the land and the river inspired him to want to protect it. In office, he signed more than three hundred conservation bills into law. These laws ensured clean air and water, protected endangered animals and governed the use of pesticides. It was the beginning of the modern environmental movement.

Like Teddy Roosevelt, Johnson was passionate about conservation. As a result, he added nearly 50 national parks areas—including Guadalupe National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and Assateague National Seashore—and expanded others. The year before he died, he and Lady Bird deeded their ranch to the National Park Service in hopes that it would be used to teach people about US history and agriculture.

On our self guided tour around the ranch we saw some of the cattle. All cattle on the grounds are descended from the cattle that lived on the ranch during LBJ’s lifetime.

By the time we finished our tour, G3 was famished and wanted barbecue since we are in Texas. En route to our next destination was Pig Pen BBQ, so we stopped in there for lunch. Kati and G3 both had brisket sandwiches. I had green beans and loaded meatless nachos and they were quite possibly the best nachos I’ve ever had.

By the time we finally got to LBJ’s boyhood home, we had missed the last tour of the day. Our plan had been to head down to San Antonio this evening, but not being able to take the tour derailed those plans. We will now need to return to LBJ’s tomorrow. You can’t get into the house unless you are on a ranger led tour.

Since it was still early and we had technically been to a president’s house, we decided to do a tasting at William Chris Vineyard. The wine was good, but way too pricey for a teacher. Fifty dollars a bottle is a luxury I can’t afford. I could barely afford the tasting, which was twice what we are accustomed to paying. The best part of the winery was all the butterflies. They were so pretty landing on the flowers and fluttering their wings.

We are camping at Pedernales Falls State Park. After setting up our tents, we drove up to the falls. I was unimpressed. The water level is so low all we saw was bald rock with pools of water tucked into it. I imagine after a heavy rain, when water is rushing downstream, the falls are gorgeous. But today, G3 had fun climbing over the rocks and exploring. All through the park are signs warning visitors to be aware of the possibility of flooding. I imagine it occurs frequently, and when it does the falls are probably amazing.

We ate dinner in at El Agave. G3 ordered fajitas and said it was the best Mexican food he’s ever eaten.