After going through Colorado to visit our kids and our grand kids in late May of 2022 we headed to Springfield Missouri for an extended stay to see how Anna’s uncle John was doing. He would be 90 on July 4th and we were beginning to question how well he was really doing living by himself. Just before we arrived, he ended up in the hospital due to a foot infection related to his diabetes. He would never leave the hospital and he passed two weeks after we arrived. Dealing with the hospital was difficult, particularly for Anna but we managed and John was put on hospice the day he died. As hard as it was, we were glad he had been able to live at home until the last two weeks and that he passed relatively easily.

After that we had to plan a funeral and then get his house ready to sell as Anna was his representative. The rest of the family had already planned to come over July 4th for his birthday so the funeral was set for that week and Anna’s brothers helped by going through all the “stuff” with her brother John renting a truck and taking a lot of the things. Anna and I spent another month afterward clearing things out and getting the house sold. It sold on August 23rd and we went down to Branson for a show to celebrate a couple of weeks later where we both got COVID. I guess it was time as we had escaped it until then.

After Springfield, we left for a nice park on Table Rock Lake south of Branson and then on to Hot Springs, Arkansas. I’ll have two posts for those parks coming up soon.

Blanco

Blanco Buggy Barn Museum

At first this might just seem to be a tourist attraction but it’s actually a part of western history.  They have over 140 unique buggies and an old west town here. This family-owned and operated museum offers a range of buggies and wagons dating from the 1860s to the 1900s, including a stagecoach, doctor’s buggies and a hearse. Many of the exhibits have been used in various movies including the remake of “True Grit” and “There Will Be Blood.” It’s really worth a stop of a few hours if you are in the area.

LBJ Boyhood Home

The 36th President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson, lived here from the age of five until his high school graduation in 1924. The home is furnished in the early to mid-1920s period and as such depicts a rural Texas lifestyle of the time. Unfortunately, it was closed for tours while we were there due to COVID.

Johnson Settlement

In the late 1850s, Samuel Ealy Johnson Sr., Lyndon’s grandfather, settled with his brother Tom in a one-room log cabin on 320 acres. It later became headquarters for the largest cattle driving operation in seven counties. After serving in the Civil War, Sam married Eliza Bunton of Caldwell County. In 1867 the newlyweds set up housekeeping in the log cabin, which by now also had an east room and breezeway (dog-trot).

LBJ State Park

Home of the Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm a World War I era farm.

LBJ National Historic Park

Known as the Texas White House, this is the final resting place of Lyndon Johnson and his family. There is a self-guided driving tour of the park as well as a visitor center with lots of information about the president and history of the times.

Park Review – Blanco Settlement

Park Review – Blanco Settlement

Rating: 3/4
Location:  Blanco, TX
Site Quality / Amenities: The roads and pad sites in the park are all concrete. Each site has a picnic table.
Type: Commercial Park
Access: Easy access from FM165 just east of Blanco. The entrance to the park is a bit narrow but not too difficult.
Staff: Staff were friendly but were not experienced RVers. Some of our neighbors had problems due to that but other than some problems mentioned below, which the managers likely had little to do with, we did not see any issues. They did mention they didn’t like being on duty 24×7 so they may not last too long.
Cellular/Wi-Fi: Fast, reliable speeds on both Verizon and AT&T with Verizon at over 80 Mbps.
Restaurants: The restaurant at the park closed after new owners took over the park but they are working to improve and reopen it in the future. In town, Old 300 BBQ served great BBQ; Chess Club Café had a good breakfast and also serves lunch as does Josie’s Kitchen. The Uptown Blanco Restaurant looked good but we could not get there when they were open (weekends only). We also ventured over to the Salt Lick BBQ in Dripping Springs. This is a well known Austin area joint known for good BBQ but unfortunately it was off, way off, when we went the day after Easter. Hopefully this was just timing and next time will be much better! The Branch Neighborhood Grill in Bulverde had excellent catfish and shrimp.
Nearby parks: There are several along US 281 and elsewhere in the area but we didn’t have time to take a close look at any of them.
What we liked: Small park on the Blanco River with nice concrete sites and roads for the rainy season. The owners are working hard to make improvements so it will be interesting to see how the park changes over time. Cabins are available for non-RVers.
What we didn’t like: After upgrading the park to concrete roads and sites, the prices went up significantly so weekly or shorter rates are high. The sewer connection at each site is in the center of the space between each site so it is awkwardly close to the picnic table or other personal space. The roads and sites are pretty narrow and the sites have a few inch drop off from the pads making navigation difficult. Trees have been planted near the ends of each site and they were in the way of being able to deploy slides. You had to park between them but this reduces space for a toad or tow vehicle. Lots of road noise from FM 165, particularly early in the morning.
Verdict: This is a nice park for a few days or a few weeks and we’d stay here again despite the awkward design.