This past weekend we drove out to Johnson City (about 60 miles west of Austin). Johnson City is the place where former president Lyndon B. Johnson was born and raised. I assumed the city was named after him, but a fairly knowledgeable government employee informed me it wasn't.
Johnson City is one of those very small American towns where everything still seems frozen in time from the early 1900's. You almost expect to see people riding on horses and carriages.
We then drove on about 10 miles to a place called "Sculpture Ranch." This was a pretty cool place. It's a ranch owned by a Texas millionaire who is also a pretty good artist. While most Texas ranchers post signs all over their land threatening to shoot you if you go on their property, this guy opens his entire ranch to anyone who visits. He even told us to park in front of his house, walk around and see all the animals and exhibits (without charge).
His entire ranch is filled with artwork. Most of it was displayed outside, but he also had an indoor gallery featuring many of his paintings (which were also good). The prices were a bit too steep for me (one piece cost $40,000), but I assume he's sold enough of his art to make him a millionaire.
(Pictures: The first five pictures are from Johnson City, including LBJ's childhood home. The second five pics are from "Sculpture Ranch."
Johnson was born and died in Stonewall, TX.
ReplyDeleteJohnson City was named after his father's cousin or father's uncle or some such relative, much like Grover Cleveland and Cleveland, OH. The cities existed before the presidents.