US 83

US 83 is one of Texas' longest highways. It starts at the bottom tip of Texas at Brownsville, and goes all the way up through the Panhandle. These photos cover a 30 mile section in the western Hill Country. In terms of landscape and foliage, US 83 is somewhat of a dividing line. Anything west of it starts to become a very dismal, rocky, scrubby, desert-like landscape. To the east, you'll find nice trees and pastures (but also a lot of scrub brush, too.)

The northern part of US 83 in this section was a very good quality highway. I was able to cruise at 100 mph (160 mph) with no problems. As the terrain became more hilly to the south, the road no longer supported such high speeds.

Photos taken April 28, 2001

(click for medium resolution 93k) This is near the south end of this section, at Rio Frio.

(click for medium resolution 108k) A creek crossing.

(click for medium resolution 93k) A typical roadway view.

(click for medium resolution 108k) A typical roadway view near the southern end of this section.

(click for medium resolution 69k) A nice pasture along the roadway, with a rocky hill looming in the background.

(click for medium resolution 113k) This is what you typically see when driving along the north end of this section. Rocky ground, scrub oak, cattle, and wide open views of the rugged landscape. I frequently spotted automatic rainfall collection and reporting stations along the roadway. When it rains, flooding can develop very quickly because the rocky ground does not absorb very much water. Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of one of those automatic reporting stations.