After passing through the attractively rugged but shallow canyonlands south of Menard—which make US-83 into a roller coaster of a road, by Texas standards—the two-lane road crosses high-speed I-10 at the aptly named town of Junction. Once a major crossing where the east–west Chihuahua Trail met a branch of the north–south Chisholm Trail (now I-10 and US-83 respectively), Junction (pop. 2,618) sits at the edge of Texas’s famed Hill Country, where the Edwards Plateau crumbles into limestone canyons and cliffs along the Balcones Escarpment. As in the areas to the immediate north, wool and mohair production are the main means of local livelihood, supplemented by pecan farming.
Places to eat line Main Street (US-83) through town—try Mexican places like La Familia (915/446-2688), at 1927 N. Main Street; or, in summer especially, the Milky Way Drive Inn (915/446-4683) at 1619 Main Street. Motels, including a nice Days Inn, congregate around the I-10/US-83 junction, a mile east of downtown.
To continue south along US-83, you can wind along Main Street or follow I-10 southeast for one exit, roughly two miles, to rejoin the old road. Another nice drive is along US-377, which traces a scenic route along the Llano River southwest of Junction, bisecting typical Edwards Plateau tableaus of limestone arroyos studded with mesquite, oak, prickly pear, and yucca. South Llano River State Park (325/446-3994), four miles southwest of Junction off US-377, protects 507 wooded acres and abundant wildlife (white-tailed deer, Rio Grande turkey, blue birds, finches, and javelina), and offers facilities for picnicking, camping, hiking, mountain-biking, canoeing, and swimming.
