“Notice the two large tanks to the north as well as some dams along Miller Creek.....”
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Not sure what you are referring to as ‘tanks’ (ponds that are north of the ranch house?)...As for the dams, I believe I’ve seen in other places where the water behind the dams is referred to as ‘ponds’.
“The road that runs along the creek is identified by 215, yet has remotely opened gates at either end....”
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Yes...... I saw that. What is not known (but could be found out with some investigation) is exactly how big this property is. The fact that there are gates at each end would seem to indicate that all the land in between the two gates is likely all part of one ranch, no? And as such was owned by Chao (or perhaps more specifically, by her husband Breyer)?
At one of the links that was provided on an FR thread posted some time ago, I think it was indicated (perhaps on an old real estate posting link) that it was a ‘sprawling property that had its own airstrip’. The only ‘airstrip’ I see close by is almost exactly straight north of what I think you have called the ‘east utilitarian’ gate which I might point out is just off a road called 202... just a bit north of 290 and you can see it at this link. https://www.google.ca/maps/@30.2093771,-98.3016813,3a,75y,311.31h,89.16t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sY0rQdQPLvRb0-sr5X-QUtQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DY0rQdQPLvRb0-sr5X-QUtQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D46.822273%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
The airstrip is just a bit north of this east gate and in fact, it runs almost parallel to 202 on the west side (can be see on a streetview from 202 at some locations).
In my post 62 I said that the ‘pond’ could have been any of the five ‘bodies of water’ that can be seen around the main buildings on the property that include the ranch house. However, because of how big the property may be if it extends to 202 and includes the airstrip, there are also some additional dams there that are on Miller Creek. In fact, the largest one appears to be directly west of the airstrip at this location (both the airstrip and the ‘pond’ created by another dam can be seen in this aerial view...
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/30%C2%B012‘54.5%22N+98%C2%B018’43.9%22W/@30.2156986,-98.3090874,996m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d30.215127!4d-98.312184?entry=ttu
With this in mind and because of how big the property may be, there may be as many as 8 or 10 locations that the drowning could have happened, of course depending on how deep some of these ‘ponds’ may be. While the north of hill country has apparently had a lot of rain, Blanco County has been extremely dry according to this drought map... if you go to the map at this link and zoom in, the location of the ranch can be approximated as being near the top end of what is shown in ‘red’.... https://www.drought.gov/states/texas/county/blanco
“Notice a strange, ratty sheet metal roofed building that straddles the road here:”
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Yes... that is strange and since there appears to be some type of excavation in the land immediate northeast of that, it seems that this might have been part of something going on there. Just for the record, that ratty building can be seen on a streetview from 290.....there is a chained gate on to this road. road.https://www.google.ca/maps/@30.2033399,-98.312844,3a,66.5y,356.86h,81.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfcMiCONeP11R2YjoRU7YUg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
“Ponds” are commonly referred to a “tanks” in Texas and other parts of the West.
More airstrip data
Hanger is 170*94 -— was built between 1/1997 and 2002
South end has garage 40*36 and an office(?) 40*58
North end has a lower leanto(?)20*80
Runway built between 1-1997 and 12-1997
Hanger built between 12-1997 and 12-2002
Putting green installed between 8-2020 and 1-2022
Housing area got a major upgrade during that time period as well.
Parcels: JWJC RANCH LP View More Property Information Click Here for GIS Shapefile Data Property Information Property ID: 10228 Legal Acreage: 269.40 GEO ID: 26870790000502001 Legal Description: ABS A0421 SURVEY 403 WILLIAMS & MC KINNEY,ACRES 269.4 Tract or Lot: Abstract Subdivision Code: A0421 Block: Neighborhood Code: 000 School District: SJC City Limits: Situs Number: Situs Street Prefix: Situs Street Name: Situs Street Sufix: Situs City: Situs State: Situs Zip: Owner Name: JWJC RANCH LP Mailing Address: 455 N CITYFRONT PLAZA DR #1730 Mailing Address City: CHICAGO Mailing Address State: IL Mailing Address Zip: 60611 Deed Sequence: 0 Deed Date: 11/20/2020 Deed Volume: Deed Page: Deed Number: 204885
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Selecting the surrounding property(s) indicates that JWJC or Owner Name: FLORENCE PROPERTY HOLDINGS LLC
have title to this area of texas