You don’t just drive over the Pecos River bridge—you experience it. At 1,310 feet long and almost 300 feet above the water, the highest highway bridge in the state—on U.S. 90, between Comstock and Langtry, in Southwest Texas—offers heady views into the Pecos gorge, once one of the biggest obstacles to travel in the Southwest. At the northeast end, pull over onto the scenic overlook and marvel at the canyon walls of gray, orange, and white limestone. Look north toward a cliffside overhang that shelters the White Shaman mural, a masterpiece of rock art—dating back as far as four thousand years ago, it depicts the creation story of the hunter-gatherers who once populated the Lower Pecos Canyonlands. (You can’t actually see the art from here, but just knowing it’s there is a powerful feeling.) Look south toward where the Pecos and the Rio Grande, two of the great rivers of the Southwest, converge at the upper reaches of the vast Lake Amistad, which is shared by the U.S. and Mexico. You might hear the whistle of a train traversing the nearby Pecos High Bridge, known to train aficionados as the Pecos Viaduct. This overlook is about as scenic as they come.
This article originally appeared in the January 2024 issue of Texas Monthly with the headline “Do Look Down!” Subscribe today.
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