Kerrville-Schreiner Park.

We drove into Kerrville to do some shopping this morning and thought we would check on a couple of parks, we had to pay $4.00 each to enter Kerrville-Schreiner so we decided to take a hike. We walked a combination of three trails, one was rated as steep and difficult, the second as moderately difficult and the third was rated as relatively easy but we felt that the “steep slope” was so short that we wouldn’t rate it as difficult.

We took the trail dog with us so we were a little nervous when we saw signs warning of animals such as fox and coyote in the park but we only saw several deer and what John thought was a fox. It was a warm day but we were comfortable in the shade of the trees, we walked about three miles and then headed back to Buckhorn.

 

This was the steepest part of the trail, other than some loose rocks it was a fairly easy climb.

 

KoKo had no problem climbing up the trail.

 

There was a nice view of Kerrville from the high point.

 

We saw several deer on the trail.

 

John tried to hold back KoKo while Sandy photographed the deer.

 

Nice image.

 

We took one water break for KoKo.

 

It was an enjoyable walk.

Admiral Nimitz Museum.

We were back in Fredericksburg today to visit the Admiral Nimitz Museum and the Pacific Combat Zone. Combined, these tours took much  less time than we spent in the Pacific War Museum yesterday so we took a walk down Main Street to do some shopping at the spice store.

The Admiral Nimitz Museum is located inside the Nimitz Hotel on Main Street, the museum documents several generations of the Nimitz family as well as the Admiral’s early life in Fredericksburg and Kerrville. We found it interesting that the Admiral didn’t graduate from high school, he skipped his senior year to study for the Naval Academy’s entrance exam, he attended the Academy beginning in 1905. 

After the Academy the Admiral started his career in the submarine service, he studied diesel engines in Germany and was instrumental in changing submarine power from gasoline engines to diesel. His first command of a surface vessel resulted in a court marshal hearing after he ran his destroyer aground, the hearing only resulted in a public reprimand; like most successful people he said he learned several things from the hearing and the reasoning of the finding that he later used while commanding his men.

During World War II Nimitz shared command of the Pacific Theatre with General MacArthur. Admiral Nimitz decided to employ the “island hopping” strategy that was used to cross the Pacific to Okinawa where the invasion of Japan would have been launched from. After the war he had a number of Battleships and Aircraft Carriers under his command but when he transferred his command he chose to have the ceremony on a submarine (where he began his career); he remained in the Navy after the war but was involved in other projects.

 

A bust of Nimitz and a photo of his Naval Academy Class.

 

 

 

After the Nimitz Museum we walked down to the Pacific Combat Zone where tours are conducted every hour on the hour, a tour is the only way to see the facility. The guide was very knowledgeable and the tour was interesting as we visited recreations of an aircraft carrier hanger deck, a “PT Boat” base, Japanese fortifications on the island of  Peleliu and a medical treatment facility. The tour took an hour and was worth the time we spent there.

 

 

A Grumman TBM Avenger inside a simulated hanger deck. The plane is listed as a “T”orpedo “B”omber but it also dropped other ordnance and was very successful as a submarine hunter; it had a crew of three (pilot, gunner and a bombardier/navigator). In this image a torpedo is under the plane, the wheeled carrier contains a bomb and an anti-submarine depth charge is standing in the foreground.

 

This is PT 309, it saw duty in the Mediterranean during the war.

 

A Marine Corps landing craft dubbed “Coral Crawler” and an example of Japanese fortifications and weapons found on Peleliu.

 

When we arrived back at Buckhorn we found that the resort is really filling up, we took our afternoon walk and counted the few remaining open sites.

National Museum Of The Pacific War.

We enjoyed our long Christmas weekend here at Buckhorn but we were anxious to get out and see something today. We got together for a short visit with Paul, Mary, Steve and Cathy on Christmas eve and on Christmas day the resort had a diner potluck that John, Sandy, Steve and Cathy attended. Steve and Cathy departed for South Padre on Monday, we hope to see them again somewhere down the road.

 

This morning we drove to Fredericksburg where we toured the National Museum of the Pacific War, it was a wet, rainy day and a lot of other people had the same idea that we did so it felt a little crowded at times.

 

The museum is very well done and provides a wealth of information about the Pacific Theatre during World War II through the use of displays, video and animation. The museum’s time line begins before World War I and documents Japan’s expansion into China and what led up to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

 

All major sea battles, invasions and resulting ground combat is presented in story form, through video and by animation that explains ship and troop movements. The displays include personal accounts, memorabilia, letters and other documents that show how the war progressed and the personal sacrifices made by members of the armed forces, their families and civilians.

 

General Doolittle’s raid.

 

Early action in the Pacific was limited as the war in Europe took precedence for scarce resources.

 

Signs denote the location of the conflict.

 

Some reproductions of ship and troop movements are presented but we found the animations to be more informative.

 

Examples of the detail presented.

 

 

Site of some of the last combat operations of the war.

 

We enjoyed our day at the museum and will be back in Fredericksburg tomorrow to visit the Admiral Nimitz Museum and the Pacific Combat Zone; our $12 tickets allow us into both attractions during a 48 hour time period.

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.

We got out for a hike today at Enchanted Rock, Paul, Mary, Steve, John and Sandy drove out to the State Natural Area to walk the .6 mile long Summit Trail 425 feet up to the top of this “Rock”. It was cool and cloudy for most of our walk so it was comfortable despite the exertion of the climb.

Enchanted Rock is a large dome that is fairly smooth and easy to walk on so when we got up to the top we were able to move around and enjoy the view in several directions. There was a number of people in the park but there was room in the parking lots and despite the number of people on the rock it did not seem crowded and everyone seemed to be enjoying the day. We spent about an hour on the top before heading back to the car.

 

Enchanted Rock.

 

We start up Summit Trail under a blue sky.

 

Some of the climb was steep.

 

We aren’t there yet!

 

Sandy was enjoying the exercise.

 

At the top we enjoyed the view in several directions.

 

 

 

 

After our hike we decided to have a late lunch or early dinner, Mary suggested that we drive into Llano and eat at Cooper’s Barbeque. When you arrive at Cooper’s you stop at the Pit and order your meat which is cut and placed on a tray for you. Everything looked tasty but we decided to have a mild sausage and beef brisket; Paul, Mary and Steve chose the same but also added ribs to their lunch. We took our tray inside where we picked out our sides (corn and potato salad), while the brisket was sliced for us; after finding a seat the condiments were at the tables and beans, onions, barbeque sauce and silverware were available at the side of the room. The meal was great, the only thing we would change would be to purchase enough meat so we could bring some home.

The Dodging Duck.

Today the crew from Kerrville (John, Sandy, Paul, Mary, Steve and Cathy), drove to Boerne to meet up with the crew from San Antonio (Jim and Ellie, Rod and Debbie, John and Brenda); this was not a gang war, we all got together for lunch at the Dodging Duck Brewhaus. John and Sandy have been following the blogs of Rod and Debbie, and John and Brenda for some time so it was nice to finally meet them; it was also great to see Jim and Ellie again. We enjoyed the two hours we spent with the group talking about our travels and discussing future destinations, we hope to see them again somewhere down the road.

 

 

(Back row, from left), Steve, Cathy, Paul, Rod, Debbie and Ellie.

(Front row, from left), John, Brenda and Jim.

 

(Back row, from left), Steve, Cathy and Paul.

(Front row, from left), Sandy, John and John.

Photos courtesy of Mary and Paul…Thank you!!!!

Fine Dining.

The weekend flew by again; during Friday and Saturday we worked around the motor home and on Sunday we enjoyed the company of two new couples that we met. One year ago while we were getting ready to embark on this adventure we never anticipated meeting and befriending as many people as we have been fortunate enough to get to know.

On Friday John flushed out the hot water heater and removed the faulty gauge from our water pressure regulator, it was damaged by rust and was not reading properly anymore. Sandy baked Christmas cookies and worked on our budget and planning for our route after we leave Kerrville in January. Saturday we did our grocery shopping and John was able to find a replacement for the faulty gauge; we also walked over to the kitchen here at Buckhorn for a chili supper.

On Sunday morning we drove out to Fredericksburg to meet a couple that is in the final planning process to start full timing within the next couple of years. They have been following our blog and wanted to ask some questions to validate some of their ideas, we were glad to answer their questions and we hope we were able to help them. It was an enjoyable experience to meet them and talk over lunch, we will check in with them early next year and hope to get out for a walk or hike.

After returning to Buckhorn we walked a few laps around the park to wear off a few calories; Paul and Mary were expecting friends and we had decided to go out for supper with them. Steve and Cathy pulled in a little sooner than we expected and after a quick introduction by Paul and Mary we left them alone to set up. We all got together for supper and drove into Kerrville for a good meal at Mamacitas, after some arm twisting John was even convinced to enjoy a couple of Margaritas. It was a fun day for us, the food and company were great which meets our definition of fine dining.

 

(From left), Steven John and Paul.

 

(From left), Sandy, Mary and Cathy.

 

 

Our little buddy KoKo has been a fun companion for us, she is a playful Bichon who has always enjoyed chasing her ball and demonstrating her abilities on the agility course, but she has never been a “lap dog”; we had wanted a playful dog but we had expected her to also be a lap dog just as our first Bichon was. We were a little disappointed that she did not have time to relax on our laps during the evening but were grateful that she was active and enjoyed running and playing. Lately we have noticed that she is changing and seems to enjoy being picked up for hugs from Sandy and lately has found her way onto John’s lap during the evening; after two years as the wild puppy she seems to be calming down a little.

 

KoKo makes herself at home on John’s lap.

 

The LBJ Ranch.

Today John, Sandy, Paul and Mary drove over to Johnson City to visit the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park. The historic park is on property that was in the Johnson family for several generations; the ranch was about 2,000 acres when it was owned by Lyndon Johnson and an additional 7,000 acres were rented or leased in the area to bring the total to 9,000 acres. After the death of Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson a portion of the ranch was deeded to become State and Federal property to be preserved as a park for the local communities and visiting public. 

We stopped at the visitor center where some of the 36th President’s belongings were displayed and a brief history of the area was documented. Admission to the park was free and a CD was provided to take a driving tour of the ranch. Upon leaving the Visitor Center we listened to the CD as we toured the ranch and learned the Johnson family’s history and attachment to the hill country of Texas.

 

Our first stop was at a recreation of Lyndon Johnson’s birthplace, the family home located along the Pedernales River. When LBJ owned the ranch this was used as a guest house. Lyndon and Lady Bird are buried in the family cemetery which is across the road from where he was born.

 

Our tour took us along the east side of the 6,000 foot runway that was in use during the Presidential years when the ranch was known as “The Texas White House”; LBJ spent about 25% of his time conducting business from the ranch.

 

Our next stop was the Show Barn which was the center of ranch operations, the Johnson family raised registered Herford Cattle; the animals currently on the property are descendents of LBJ’s herd.

 

We then drove back along the west side of the runway to the hanger which was used by the president to conduct press briefings and meetings while at the ranch. A history of his Presidential years was displayed here and we (Paul), paid $2 apiece for a tour of the Texas White House.

 

This is a view from the area of the Show Barn looking south toward the Texas White House complex.

 

Herford Cattle are not the only animals on the property.

 

The tour of the house was lead by a Park Ranger, no photos were allowed inside. Only the first floor is toured and much of it has been redone to be period correct; we walked through the President’s office, front room, den, dinning room and kitchen but we did not see his bedroom (where he passed away) or Lady Bird’s bedroom, both will be opened to the tour shortly. The house is large but not ornate, it is reminiscent of  many old farm houses that John has been in, but it is obvious that it was an important location during the Presidential years. There are a number of phones visible (including one on the table leg next to LBJ’s place at the dinner table), there were 72 phone lines coming into the house at that time. There were also three television sets placed side by side in the front room so the President could keep up with what the three networks were reporting, if he didn’t care for the story a phone was nearby so he could call the network president at home.

 

The Texas White House.

 

Hosting visitors was a big part of what the ranch was for LBJ, dinners here were generally large barbecues and dignitaries did business with the President on his turf at his rules. Important visitors did not sign a visitor log, they wrote their names in a block of fresh cement which became paving stones at the ranch, they have been collected and are now displayed near the house.

 

Admiral Nimitz.

 

John Glenn.  Many other astronauts have a block on display here.

 

The President also owned an aqua car, John had to have a picture of it.

 

After our tour of the hanger and the house we ate our lunch in the CRV before completing our enjoyable afternoon of the park. We all found the park to be enjoyable and interesting.

Lost Maples State Natural Area.

Sandy, John and KoKo took a ride to Lost Maples State Natural Area today to take a walk. We drove out on Hwy 39 which follows the Guadalupe River and matches it turn for turn, in fact Hwy 39 probably has more curves than the Guadalupe so it was fairly slow going until we turned onto Hwy 187, 187 was straighter, faster and it took us to the entrance of Lost Maples.

 

Hwy 39 curves along the Guadalupe River.

 

Hwy 187 was straighter and faster, the entrance to Lost Maples is just ahead.

 

 

After paying a $10 ($5 each), entrance fee we drove to the parking/picnic area near the Maple Trail. We walked the .8 mile loop of the Maple and East Trails, this route looped a short stretch of the Sabinal River. The East Trail was somewhat rough for KoKo with lots of sun and stones that were a little large for her small paws but she was the alpha dog, leading us all the way.

 

KoKo enjoyed the Maple Trail.

 

The Maple Trail took us up, down among some large boulders along the river.

 

We returned to the parking area on the East Trail which was a gravel road with some stones a little larger than KoKo was comfortable on.

 

 

When we got back to the parking area we decided to give KoKo a break while we ate our lunch in the picnic area. After lunch we walked down to the other trailhead for the East Trail, we intended to walk up that portion of the trail for about a mile and then return. This end of the trail follows Can Creek up a valley, there were some of the same rough areas for KoKo but she hiked with us like a Trooper to where we turned around but she was getting tired so Sandy carried her part of the way back to the car.

 

At the other trailhead Sandy cheers KoKo on as the Diva crosses Can Creek.

 

Can Creek.

 

We walked for about a mile before turning around.

 

 

We had another nice day, the temperature was in the 70s without a cloud in the sky; we didn’t hike as far as we would have liked but we were able to get KoKo outside with us which made it more enjoyable for us.