BANDERA, Texas – Seventy years after it became the nation's first dude ranch, with its own air park for the rich and famous, the Flying L Ranch is going on the auction block Tuesday morning at the Bandera County Courthouse.
Bankruptcy records show Trey West Vacations, the current owner of the 291-acre property, has $5,996,626 in debt, owes $216,621 in delinquent taxes and $96,375 in penalty, interest and attorney fees.
All that remains of the air park is an old hangar and a pilots lounge with a Texas historical marker next to it. The marker had to be replaced when it was later determined famed architect Frank Lloyd
Wright had not designed the lounge or other buildings.
The air park later was replaced by an 18-hole golf course that is a favorite among locals and winter Texans.
"This is one of the big things that draw us to Bandera," said Terry Stadstad, of North Dakota. "We could go to Kerrville or down in the (Rio Grande) Valley. But we get everything we want in Bandera."
In return, Stadstad and his golf buddies said they contribute to the Bandera's economy every year.
"It makes us quite nervous what they will do," said Jerry Vetterkind, of Wisconsin. "Are they going to continue being a golf course? That's our main concern."
Karen Queen, who lives at the Flying L, is crossing her fingers about the new owner.
"I hope whoever buys it will invest a little money in it, and won't take everything it makes out of it. And doesn't run it into the ground," she said.
See photos of the dude ranch here.
Queen and her husband, Clint Bock, said while they're not surprised the Flying L is about to be auctioned off, they are disappointed.
"You can only ride a horse so long before you let it rest. Or if you don't, it'll drop over. I think that the horse dropped over," he said.
Flying L foreclosure sale.pdf by David Ibanez on Scribd