George W. Bush is no longer home on the range.
Residents in Crawford, Texas, say the former President is rarely spotted at his nearby ranch since exiting the White House — with a cardboard, life-sized cutout of the 43rd President among the few remnants of the famous local landowner.
During his administration, Bush often held court with world leaders at his Texas getaway, dubbed the Western White House, turning the sleepy town of 700 into a tourist destination.
Coffee shops and boutiques peddling Bush-themed trinkets popped up in previously boarded-up storefronts to serve the slew of reporters and gawkers hoping for a peek of the President.
But post-White House, Crawford has returned to its slumber.
“There is no reason to come to Crawford … (Bush) doesn’t have any connection to town,” advised Marilyn Judy, a town volunteer.
“He still goes out to the ranch about once a month, but we don’t know when he is there,” Judy, who answers the phone at the inactive chamber of commerce, told the Killeen Daily Herald.
The Bush tourist trade in Crawford started in 1999 when Bush purchased the 1,500-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch 7 miles north of the town.
Radean Damon, a local high school teacher, bought a vacant grocery store and renovated the building to create a gift shop and art gallery, the Red Bull.
“We were the first shop to carry Bush items then some of the other shops started to open,” Damon told the paper.
During his presidency the Coffee Station Café, a renovated gas station, opened up along with a general store, the Yellow Rose, with a wide range of inventory including Bush knickknacks, as well as firearms and ammo.
But the end of Bush’s presidency meant the end of visitors. The Coffee Station closed and was then reopened under new management and the Yellow Rose is now for sale.
When the rare tourist hoping for a Bush sighting sprinkles into Crawford, a cardboard cutout of Bush stands ready at the Coffee Station for a photo op.
Billboards, bearing the President’s face and declaring the town the “home of George and Laura Bush,” still stand throughout the town, but are now faded.
The Bushes have opted for Dallas over Crawford as their permanent residence, though the secluded home stills serves as host to the family on long weekends and holidays.
They “love to spend as much time in Crawford as their schedule allows,” Bush’s spokesman told The News.
“I can’t remember a month passing without them going to their ranch. I think the difference these days is that their comings and goings just aren’t noticed — no Presidential motorcades, helicopters or entourage to announce their presence,” he added.
Architectural Digest recently profiled Bush’s Texas retreat, reporting that the couple “regularly” make the trip to Crawford “where the former President is just as likely to be found handling a fishing rod or paintbrush as he is a chain saw.”
“The ranch remains an essential getaway for the couple, a place to unwind,” according to the Digest article.
Dallas, located 100 miles to the north, is home to Bush’s presidential library center and is the capital of the Texas social scene.
