Prairie Chapel Ranch

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President Bush at his ranch

Angela Merkel and Bush outside the main house in November 2007

Prairie Chapel Ranch is a 1583 acre (6.4 km²) estate located seven miles (10 km) northwest of Crawford, Texas, considered the Western White House of President George W. Bush.

Bush spends vacation time at the house as well as entertains dignitaries from around the world.

It derives its name from the Prairie Chapel School which was built nearby on land donated by mid-19th century German immigrant Heinrich Engelbrecht from Oppenwehe/Germany who also owned the land that now comprises the Bush compound. Engelbrecht also donated land for the nearby Canaan Baptist Church (the "Prairie Chapel").

1 History
2 House and Grounds
3 Activities
- 3.1 Visits from foreign dignitaries
4 Security considerations
5 Protests
6 Future of the ranch
7 Gallery
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History

USGS satellite photo of the ranch before Bush built his house. The elongated objects at the top are hog barns (on Mill Road). They were demolished and the drive extended to build Bush's house. He enlarged the lake on the upper right. In the lower right are more hog barns and the original Englebrecht house which is now called the "Governor's House." All of the lower barns except one were demolished. At the top is the Middle Bosque River. Prairie Chapel Road ends at the intersection in the lower left corner and becomes Rainey Road.

Engelbrecht and his heirs raised turkeys and hogs. The original Engelbrecht ranch house is about 4,400 feet (1,300 m) from the main house on Rainey Road and is now called the "Governor's House" and is used to house second-tier guests. The Bushes stayed in the house during construction of the new house.

In 1999 shortly after earning a $14.3 million profit from the sale of the Texas Rangers, Texas Governor Bush bought the land for an estimated $1.3 million from the Engelbrecht family.

Bush was to remove five large hog barns on Mill Road leading into the compound during the construction of a new house, guest house and garage. ^[1]

On May 10, 2008, the President's daughter Jenna Bush's wedding to Henry Hager was held at the ranch. This was a relatively simple ceremony attended by roughly 200 friends and family members.

[edit] House and Grounds

[edit] House

David Heymann, then an associate professor of architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, designed the four-bedroom ^[2] (although some reports indicate it is eight-bedrooms)^[3], 4,000 ft² (372 m²) honey-colored native limestone single-level home with painted white galvanized tin roof on the site. Heymann said the house was built from the less sought after portion of the local "Leuders limestone." The middle portions of the blocks of stone is a cream colored while the edges are multicolored. "We bought all this throwaway stone. It's fabulous. It's got great color and it is relatively inexpensive," Heymann said.^[4]

In addition there is an open 10 foot (3 m) wide limestone porch that encircles the house. The house was built by members of a religious community from nearby Elm Mott, Texas, and wasn't finally completed until after his inauguration because of needed accommodations for security, meeting space, etc.^[5]

Laura Bush said they decided to keep a single level ranch design because "We wanted our older parents to feel comfortable here... We also want to grow old here ourselves."^[6]

The passive-solar house is positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the residence. Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet (100 m) deep in the ground. A 25,000 US gallon (151 m³) underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the home.

[edit] Other structures

In addition to the house there is a guest house and a garage in separate buildings to the southwest of the main house.

The facility includes a helicopter hangar which is used as an auditorium on the rare occasions the president himself holds a press conference at the ranch.

In 2002, the ranch was wired for what Bush described in a 2003 tour of the ranch as "real time, secure videoconferencing" to be used for his briefings from the CIA and Dick Cheney.

Overnight visitors stay in the main house, or its associated guest house, or the original Englebrecht farmhouse, or in a double-wide five-bedroom three-bath mobile home, decorated in an early Pottery Barn motif according to a staffer.^[7]

News reporters, including the White House Press Secretary, stay in hotels in Waco. Press conferences that don't involve the president are conducted in the gymnasium of Crawford Middle School, ten miles (16 km) away from the ranch. The ramshackle barn often seen behind TV correspondents during their live reports is actually a shed used by the school's groundskeepers.

[edit] Grounds

President Bush and Lance Armstrong on grounds in 2005

The land includes seven canyons and three miles (5 km) of frontage along Rainey Creek and the Middle Bosque River. In August 2001 while touring the canyons with reporters Bush noted that the cedars in the canyons would be a good nesting ground for the endangered golden-cheeked warbler although the warblers have not actually been seen on the compound.^[8]

Bush added an 11 acre (45,000 m²) man-made pond that he stocked with 600 largemouth bass and 30,000 bait fish. There are also bluegill and red ear sunfish. The pond has a maximum depth of 17 feet (5.2 m). In May 2006 in a question to what the best moment in his administration, Bush was quoted: "I would say the best moment was when I caught a 7 ½-pound largemouth bass on my lake."^[9]

At the urging of his daughters, the President has also built a large swimming pool ^[10] over the objections of Heymann who thought it would interrupt the stark views. President Bush calls it "the whining pool" — whine long enough and you get it.^[11]

[edit] Activities

One of the most highly prized souvenirs from the compound is a gray Under Armour athletic shirt (retail $19.99) emblazoned with a Texas star encircled by the words The President's 100-Degree Club. In order to qualify a visitor must run 3 miles (4.8 km), or bike for 10, when the thermometer hits triple digits.^[12]

President Bush uses the compound for vacations, occasional meetings, and entertaining foreign dignitaries. In the less formal setting, dress code for meetings calls for an open collar and no tie. Guests are typically treated to meals of Southern cuisine. When not holding meetings or briefings, Bush spends his time mountain biking, jogging, fishing, bird hunting, and clearing brush.

President Bush has made clear his preference for spending time away from his official residence at the White House in Washington, DC. In 2001, he said, "I think it is so important for a president to spend some time away from Washington, in the heartland of America."^[13]

[edit] Visits from foreign dignitaries

Putin and Bush in 2001

Visitors to the ranch have included:

Russian President Vladimir Putin, November 2001
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, April 2002
Saudi King Abdullah, April 2002, April 2005
Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, August 2002
Chinese President Jiāng Zémín, October 2002
Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar, February 2003
Australian Prime Minister John Howard, May 2003
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, May 2003
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, July 2003
Mexican President Vicente Fox, March 2004, March 2005
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, April 2004
Spanish King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía, November 2004
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, March 2005
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, April 2005
Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, August 2005
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, November 2007^[14]
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, February 2008^[15]

[edit] Security considerations

The Federal Aviation Administration has three nautical miles (six km) no fly zone around the ranch full time (designated Prohibited Area 49). When President Bush is there, a Temporary Flight Restriction is issued, expanding the radius to 10 nautical miles (19 km), with lesser restrictions extending to 30 nautical miles (56 km), containing some exceptions for Waco Regional Airport nearby.

President Bush normally flies in and out of TSTC Waco Airport (the former Connally Air Force Base that is now owned by state technical college) on Air Force One and is shuttled on Marine One to the ranch.

[edit] Protests

Protests are frequent outside the compound with one of the most prominent being Cindy Sheehan who spent several months there protesting the Iraq War.^[16]^[17] She created a peace camp called Camp Casey by pitching a tent by the side of Prairie Chapel Road leading to the compound in 2005 and was joined at one point by filmaker Michael Moore. She announced her intention to stay for the full five weeks or until such a meeting was granted. She also promised that, were she not granted a second meeting, she would return to Crawford each time President Bush visited there in the future.^[18] Several cabinet members went out to talk to Sheehan, but she refused stating that she would only talk to the President himself. Toward the end of her vigil, she said she was "very, very, very grateful" Bush did not grant her that meeting because it would have ended the momentum the peace movement gained from the popularity of her demonstrations.^[19] Pro-Bush supporters set up an alternative Camp Reality across Prairie Chapel Road.^[20]

[edit] Future of the ranch

Alberto Gonzalez and his wife with the Bushes at the ranch the day before Gonzalez resigned as United States Attorney General

Speculation about the future of the ranch has been stirred up in the location of the George W. Bush Presidential Library with reports that the Bushes may be considering a residence in the Dallas, Texas, area after the Presidency.

Baylor University in Waco made a bid for the library. However, on February 22, 2008 it was announced that Southern Methodist University in the Dallas enclave of University Park, Texas, would house the George W. Bush Presidential Library.

Laura is said to have told reporters they are considering buying a home in Dallas, and rumors have circulated that it would be the enclave of Highland Park, Texas.^[21]

The Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed White House official: "They'll have their place in Crawford. He just loves it."^[22] The Journal noted that in 2007 Bush had not visited the ranch as much as in prior years noting that in 2004 he visited 17 times compared with four times prior to August 2007.^[23]