Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site, 10/7/17

53. This is a day-use only site, so we had to get creative!  The Inn was lovely, our tour guide was a Park ranger named Adam, who knew tons about the Inn's history.  Since the Inn was going to be difficult for us to visit in anything other than a camping trip, and there aren't any state parks with camping nearby, we discovered Gibbons Creek Reservoir, which is the reservoir that cools the coal-fired power plant that serves several municipalities in Texas, including Bryan.

Rainwater collection to the cistern.

Dining room for the Inn.  Notice the fans, also known as "Shoo-Flies".  

Room refurbished as if Sam Houston, the Inn's most famous guest, was staying there.

The cheap quarters.  There were 3 of these beds, plus the pallet on the floor.  3 adults, 4 if at least one body was a child, slept in one bed, along with all their bugs, weird habits, and diseases.

The Inn, from the picnic tables.

Tack for the mules who pull the stagecoach, Waylon and Willie. 

The Inn was located at the junction of 5 different stage lines, so they have a replica stagecoach.  Once a month, the Inn takes visitors on rides to town (Anderson) on the stagecoach. 

After our visit to the Inn, we proceeded to explore Bryan and College Station a little bit, notably the breweries.  Coincidentally, we picked the day of the Texas A&M vs. Alabama (currently ranked #1) football game, so town was a bit busy.  

New Republic Brewing, College Station.

We explored some dirt roads (190 & 192) and found Gibbons Creek!  The crossing is blocked off because the bridge has holes in it, but the creek is very pretty and apparently floods occasionally. 

Gibbons Creek and bridge. 

Gibbons Creek bridge. 

The coal-fired plant at the Reservoir used coal that was mined locally.  These mines haven't been used in years and the land is being monitored for contamination.  Theoretically, the lands will all be put on the market in 2020.

Our campsite, #9, at Gibbons Creek Reservoir.  

Gibbons Creek Reservoir.   The road to the campground goes on top of the dam. 

Gibbons Creek signage.

The power plant at sunset.  

Currently, it's not in use and is for sale.  Ideally, the plant and the reservoir would be sold privately as opposed to being decommissioned and draining the lake.  This is all due to the fact that solar, wind energy, and natural gas (of which Texas has a lot) are cheaper and less pollutive than coal-fired power plants.  

Other things to see and do in the area: Bryan has a brewery as well: Blackwater Draw and has a brewpub.  We tried to get BBQ from Fargo Pit BBQ, which was one of Texas Monthly's recent top 50 BBQ Joints, but being a huge game day, they sold out by 1:30!  Another time....

In the same warehouse-y area as New Republic Brewing was a distillery and winery (Perrines) and Messina Hof is also located in Bryan.  

Anything Texas A&M offers to the public will be interesting: football, vet school open house, etc. 

The Brazos County Courthouse has all new windows and looks better than it did when we first saw it, when some of the windows were covered with plywood, but it's still an ugly building. The old downtown part of Bryan is really cute and has great potential.  

Anderson, where Fanthorp Inn is located, is a sleepy little town, but it does have a cute courthouse and good antique shops.  Washington-On-The-Brazos isn't too far from Anderson also.