CRAWFORD, Texas - With a breeze from the southwest barely moderating the 100-degree heat, Governor George W. Bush surveyed a long, hardwood-dotted stretch of his central Texas ranch with satisfaction.
''It gives me a lot of balance. I relax out here. You never forget that you're running for president. But it does help give you perspective,'' he said.
Furthermore, he said, ''The heat doesn't bother me in the least.''
It was here, to the 1,600-acre spread that Bush and his wife, Laura, bought less than a year ago, that the presumptive Republican presidential candidate came to make his final decision on a running mate.
When he returns on Monday to the governor's mansion in Austin, 90 miles to the south, he will have made up his mind, Bush suggested.
But first, Bush gave a tour of his ranch, and the new house he and his wife are building, to about two dozen news media representatives who have been following his campaign.
After getting questions about his running mate out of the way - Bush said he would decide this weekend but offered little other insight - he slipped behind the wheel of a Chevy Suburban.
He led a caravan of pickup trucks and small vans along bumpy dirt roads.
''I'm what they call a windshield rancher,'' Bush said, noting that one of his favorite pastimes is to drive around the ranch.
Bush stopped to show off the new house, still under construction.
Bush noted that the house, built low to the ground with a huge wrap-around porch and divided by two breezeways, was scheduled to be done on Election Day.
''This is where I definitely want to spend a lot of time - a place to look forward to,'' he said.
Bush has not released financial details of the purchase but local real estate agents have said the land is probably worth $800 to $900 per acre, or at least $1.2 million. The county tax appraiser's office says the market value is $988,353.
