Texas has plenty of back roads to explore but none quite like U.S. Highway 83.
It begins at the Oklahoma Panhandle and runs almost 900 milesuntilreachingBrownsville, which is as far as any road in the state can take travelers north to south.
It’s derisively been called the Road to Nowhere, but don’t believe it. I’ve traveled its length almost twice researching my book The Last American Highway: A Journey Through Time Down U.S. Route 83 in Texas. I always find something new to explore that I didn’t see the first time.
Plains Trail Region
The highway begins in the Texas Plains Trail Region, in Perryton, the self-proclaimed “Wheatheart of the Nation,” where the Museum of the Plains features massive steam-powered tractors once used to haul the town, building by building, from its original site when the railroad came.
Next is the Canadian River Valley and the town of the same name. Its wagon bridge has been converted to pedestrian-only use and takes runners, cyclists and walkers over the spring-fed river. Canadian’s charming downtown over- looks the valley and its stands of giant cotton- wood trees.
Shamrock isn’t only the place to be on Saint Patrick’s Day — it’s also where Hwy 83 meets the much more famous Route 66. The Art Deco–style U-Drop Inn hosts travelers from all over the world. The town calls itself “the crossroads of America,” one of many to make that claim, but U.S. 83 extends all the way to the Canadian border, some 1,885 miles, so the nickname isn’t unwarranted.
Drivers in this region will be treated to the scenic forks of the Red River and its tributaries, where the water cuts through sandy ochre-colored channels.
Farther south, travelers enter the heart of cattle country. The picturesque 6666 Ranch has been a favorite of Western artists. Stop at its supply house in Guthrie to grab a cold drink.
Forts Trail Region
At this point, travelers have left the Panhandle and entered the Forts Trail Region, so named for its series of lonely frontier outposts.
Highway 83 wraps around the Jones County courthouse in Anson and passes its opera house. As beautiful as any building found along the road, it’s on the National Register of Historic Places, and once a year hosts events surrounding the Cowboys’ Christmas Ball festivities. Those who miss the ball can stop at the post office and see a 12-foot-tall mural of the event that put Anson on the map.
Abilene is the largest city on the Great Plains portion of the road. The Grace Museum, its center of art and history, features a children’s museum. Just off 83 is Frontier Texas!, an interac- tive museum that brings the
Old West back to life.
The loneliest fort in the region might have been the Presidio San Sabá in Menard. Now sitting amid
a golf course, the restored fort played a part in the demise of the Spanish Empire in North America. After Comanches overran the nearby Mission San Sabá in 1758, the Spanish crown gave up its aspirations to push any farther north.
Hill Country Trail Region
Highway 83 hits a big speed bump when it enters the Hill Country Trail Region. At the foot of the hills is Junction, known to sports fans as the set- ting for Texas A&M football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s brutal training camp that inspired the book and movie The Junction Boys. The campus where it took place is now operated by Texas Tech University, and visitors can still see where the Aggies trained.
Heading south from Junction, the road travels along a ridge until it swoops into the Frio River Valley at Leakey. The area is a favorite for campers, fishers and canoeists and offers a popular weekend ride for bikers, both motorized and human-powered. Garner State Park is an ideal place to camp.
The hills end at Uvalde, the Honey Capital of the World. Stop at the Aviation Museum at Garner Field to see a collection of World War II aircraft.
Tropical Trail Region
The first sighting of palm trees at Carrizo Springs is a good bet that drivers are entering the Tropical Trail Region.
By the time U.S. 83 reaches Laredo, it can no longer be called a Great Plains Highway. It’s now a river road, and will hug the Rio Grande for some 200 miles. It’s my contention that Texas has the most fascinating history of any state in America, and the Lower Rio Grande Valley has the richest history of any region in the state.
The Republic of the Rio Grande Museum on Laredo’s San Augustin Plaza will give an introduction to this short-lived movement to wrest control of the Valley from Mexico, and a taste for why the region is a history buff’s para- dise. Downtown Laredo’s mixed bag of architec- tural styles and centuries-old buildings make it perfect place to explore and shop.
To the south, San Ygnacio is the town spared by the construction of the Falcon Dam, and, as such, earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Falcon Lake, at the town of Zapata, is a bass fisher’s paradise. Like San Ygnacio, the entire downtown district in Roma is on the National Register, and it’s easy to see why the Marlon Brando film Viva Zapata!
was filmed here. It still looks like Old Mexico, although the streets are now paved.
When Highway 83 arrives at Mission, travelers can choose the hectic expressway or the legacy Business 83. Those who take the freeway will miss the block-long mural of Mission’s favorite son, former Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry.
Just east of Weslaco on Business 83, the last drive-in movie theater south of San Antonio, the WesMer, is a bargain at $10 per car.
San Benito is the hometown of conjunto legend Narciso Martinez and Tex-Mex crooner Freddy Fender. Both have extensive displays at the town’s museum. The town just broke ground on a new cultural arts center.
Brownsville was the staging point for two famous battles. The Palo Alto National Historic Park, about five miles east of the expressway, was where Texas struck its first blow to secede from Mexico. East of Brownsville is where Union and Confederate forces fought the last battle of the Civil War, at Palmito Ranch.
The road ends at Brownsville’s thriving downtown. Escape the shoppers and duck into its world-renowned Museum of Fine Art.
That’s just a taste of what the state’s longest two-lane highway has to offer. It’s not a road to nowhere — it’s a road into the heart of Texas.
