Washington-on-the-Brazos

Washington-on-the-Brazos (85 images)
We decided to go to Washington-on-the-Brazos today since they were celebrating Texas Independence Day (March 2) this weekend.

We drove past a catfish farm where there was a building in the center of a pond that had a sign saying Heartbreak Hotel.

Our route took us through Navasota, a small town that is famous because the Frenchman Robert de LaSalle was murdered there by one of the men in his crew while they were searching for the source of the Mississippi. They were a long way off, and perhaps the killer was trying to tell him he was wrong.

When we arrived at the entrance to the Washington-on-the-Brazos State Park, we almost left without entering because cars were parked along the road leading to the entrance for at least a mile in each direction. Not only would that be a long hike, but the park itself is very large and the visitors area is at least a mile from the entrance. Since we hadn't left home early, we asked at the gate if there was parking inside, and they informed us that there was, so in we went. There are advantages to not getting up early.

The Park normally consists of four parts: the Visitor's Center, a recreation of the building where the Declaration of Independence was signed, the museum and a living history farm. For the weekend festivities groups of living history reenactors were invited, and they are encamped on the grounds where they stay for the weekend. Reenactors perform around the park, and on Sunday there were going to be two performances of a musical play of the story of the history of Texas. There were also several food trailers that are there only for the weekend.

On the way home we drove through the very tiny town of Chapell Hill and I snapped a few photos through the window. .

Click a picture to see a larger view.

Heartbreak Hotel in Catfish Pond