Our 36^th president worked hard to manage the message and public perception.  By donating the ranch and boyhood home to the National Parks Service he has managed to control that message even after his death.  Well done.

Johnson spent more that 400 days relaxing, strategizing, and entertaining at the ranch during his time in the White House. He was the first VP to be assigned an aircraft and made good use of it throughout his presidency.  He dubbed his Jet Star Air Force one-half.  The 6000 ft runway on the ranch couldn’t handle the “real” Air Force 1 of the 1960s, a 707.

As you stroll the grounds and visit the Texas White House it is easy to see why he might have felt more at ease and more in control in this environment.

He raised registered white face Hereford cattle here on the ranch.  A few of that herd’s offspring still walk these pastures.  Adorable twin calves (one of them very persistently hungry) and their mama are on display in the show barn.

His young life was spent in Johnson City where they have recreated Johnson Settlement to better showcase that period of his life.  I met two of the longhorns that reside in that settlement.