Trip Report: West Texas Trip
First published in 1998. Reformatted 2025. June, 1997. Terminal Leave, the final phase of an Air Force career. A time to celebrate. And a time to job-hunt. Why not combine the two with a road trip? Just a reminder PIN means Permanent Installation Number and ILC means Installation Location Code; I include these for Air Force properties when I know them.Sunday, 15 June 1997
Nike DY-10C TX, 32-33-53, 99-42-59. Departed Haughton, Louisiana, at 0520. My first destination was Dyess Nike Site DY-10, north of Abilene and west of Fort Phantom Hill Lake. The control site is now used by the Abilene Independent School District. Most of the buildings seemed to be in good condition.Gate and sentry box
General view
General view
General view
General view
General view Nike DY-10L TX, 32-34-50, 99-43-03. The launcher site was gated and locked.
General view
Gate and sentry box Nike DY-50C TX, 32-17-04, 99-56-37. Then I headed South of Abilene to Dyess Nike Site DY-50. The control site was gated and locked.
General view
Access road Nike DY-50L TX, 32-16-16, 99-57-35. The gate at the launcher site was open, and I spoke to the site owner. I was rewarded with a guided tour of the entire property! The outer perimeter fence is extant. The launcher bays are fairly intact minus the launchers and equipment. The maintenance building, generator building (minus equipment), sentry dog kennel, and sentry boxes are fairly intact. The owner has power to the ready building and the maintenance building. Also still standing are two security watch towers--we climbed one for the view. Much of the fence of the inner secure area is also still standing, as is the gate. The launcher shelters are intact in the berm behind each launch bay. The well house is also intact although an adjacent elevated water tank is gone. The warheading building is also intact.
General view
General view
Maintenance building
Sentry dog kennel interior
Sentry dog kennel
Building
Building interior
Ready building
Maintenance building
Security watch tower
Security watch tower
General view
General view
Gate to inner secure area
Gate to inner secure area
Launcher shelter interior
Launcher shelter
Launcher bay
Well house
Warheading building
Warheading building Dyess Small Arms Range Annex TX, ILC FNXA, 32-19-30, 99-52-00. While I was in the area, I stopped at the gate to to take in the view. I also noted the location of the Camp Barkeley historical marker, at the site of the camp's main gate. The marker is on the east side of Highway 277 at 32-21-24. The small arms range annex uses part of the original Camp Barkeley rifle range.
View from outside gate I obtained a nice suite in Dyess billeting for $10.00. I called up our former neighbors and good friends Brad and Robin and had a nice dinner with them. Covered 539 miles.
Monday, 16 June 1997
Avenger Field TX, 32-28, 100-28. On the road at 0600. First stop was this WWII contract flying school. Several buildings, including hangars, remain from the wartime days.Hangar Sweetwater AFS TX, PIN 3314, ILC WNWC, 32-27-49, 100-28-20. This radar site was built on the grounds of the former Avenger Field. I found a dormitory and recreation building; the dorm is empty but the recreation building is used by a college. A security guard told me the radar tower was obliterated by construction but had been near the WASP memorial.
Building
Buildings
Dormitory
Recreation building
Swimming pool
WASP memorial Sweetwater Family Housing Annex TX, ILC WNWQ, 32-27-36, 100-27-18. At the east end of the airport I found the former housing area for the radar site. Labeled "Avenger Village" on maps, it is fenced, gated, and uninhabited.
General view Webb AFB TX, ILC YQAZ, 32-14, 101-31. On to Big Spring. The former base is now the Big Spring/MacMahon-Wrinkle Airport (21XS). Clearly visible from the Interstate were the interceptor hangars at the end of the runway. Two maintenance hangars in obvious disrepair dominated the flightline area. I saw no aircraft, although it is still listed as an active airport. A large area of the base is now a federal prison. I noted several dormitories, the control tower, fire station, administrative buildings, and others I could not identify. I also saw the weapon storage area with multi-cubicle storage buildings and maintenance building.
General view
Fighter-interceptor alert hangar
Hangar
Hangar
Dormitories
Dormitories
Control tower
Buildings
Building
Building
Building
Weapon storage area
Multicubicle storage magazines
Munitions maintenance building Hobbs AFB NM, PIN 1183, 32-46-30, 103-11-30. Then I drove a few miles into New Mexico to this former base that is now a private industrial airpark. It is also home to the National Soaring Foundation. There is not much to indicate Air Force roots here. A couple of munitions igloos, an elevated water storage tank, and a few hangars were the best visible evidence.
Airfield pavement
Hangar foundation
Munitions igloo
Elevated water storage tank
Hangar Reese AFB TX, PIN 1178, ILC UBNY, 33-36, 102-03. Back into Texas, and to Lubbock to see this base while it was still open--barely. It closes in a couple months, on September 30. Quite a ghost town, although it was maintained better than other near-closure bases I have seen. I stopped at the lodging office and booked a comfortable suite for $8.50. I didn't do much sightseeing on base due to thunderstorms. Covered 406 miles.
Control tower
Hangars
Lodging office
Hangars
Hangar
Hangar
Parachute training equipment
Tuesday, 17 June 1997
Pecos AAFld TX, 31-24, 103-31. Got an early start, 0430, and proceeded directly to Pecos Municipal Airport (PEQ). The airport manager told me the only original items were the airfield pavement, the wind tetrahedron, and the beacon tower. He let me drive out on the flightline across the runway to photograph the wind tetrahedron. He stated that Interstate 20 had cut right across the northern end of the main runway. In fact, a car dealership on the access road of I-20 was built on the airfield parking ramp. I noted the foundation from a former hangar, and a fence across the ramp.Building
Airfield pavement
Beacon light tower
Wind tetrahedron
Hangar foundation
Building foundation
Modern fence on airfield pavement Pyote AFB TX, 31-31-00, 103-08-30. This former base was also visible from I-20 but not accessible on public roads. Some remnants of a hangar stand out in the distance, reminiscent of Stonehenge.
View from highway
View from highway Pyote Housing Annex TX, 31-31-36, 103-07-41. The housing area for Pyote AFS was built on the former Pyote AFB cantonment area. It is now owned by the state of Texas, and supports the adjacent state school. The receptionist at the state school confirmed the former and current ownership.
General view
General view Midland AAFld TX, 31-56-30, 102-12-30. On to Midland International Airport (MAF). AAF use was fairly well obliterated with just a few buildings and hangars left.
General view
Building foundation
Buildings
Hangar Traveled on to San Angelo. Attempted to get a room on Goodfellow AFB, but no luck. I stayed overnight in town. Covered 547 miles.
Wednesday, 18 June 1997
Ozona AFS TX, PIN 3232, ILC RSQZ, 30-42-15, 101-07-01. Hit the road at 0600, heading for this former radar site. The housing area is in private use, as "Crockett Heights." The main AFS area is a curious mix. Just past the traffic check house is a sign saying "Posted, Private Road, No Trespassing" I saw a man exit a mobile home and walk down the road so I gained his permission to look around. There were several mobile homes on the property; and a couple of the Air Force buildings are converted into homes. Most of the complex, including a row of dormitories, sits abandoned. At the rear of the site is a large radio antenna in a fenced compound. I'm guessing that is also where the former radar towers were sited.General view
General view
Traffic check house
Building
Building
Dormitory
Dormitory
Dormitories
Dormitory
Building Then it was on to San Antonio for the next two nights. This concluded the sightseeing portion of the trip! Covered 442 miles.
Friday, 20 June 1997
Spent all of Thursday, and Friday morning, job-hunting. I drove straight home with no sightseeing on Friday afternoon (7 hours). Total trip was 2,449 miles. Updated January 26, 2025If you like what you find here, please consider making a monetary contribution. Domain name registration, web hosting, and travel cost plenty. You won't find any ads here to annoy you.