Texas

It did seem a little odd for there to be an airplane as a symbolic reminder of the base's past. Even in the late 60's when I was stationed there, the runway was only used for the rare occasion of flying in some dignitary. At that time the base seemed to mainly serve as a training ground for intelligence operations, and my understanding is that it has expanded that role in recent years. If my recall is at all correct, some of the construction in the adjacent picture is on an area that was an apron of the runway. A satellite picture (see map link) confirms that the runways are not i use.

My reason for visiting San Angelo was that I had been stationed at Goodfellow Air Force Base in the late 60's and was curious about what had happened to the base and the town. I had heard some years back that it was one of the bases scheduled to be closed, so I expected an abandoned base and a town suffering from that economic loss. I was wrong on both counts. Though the base had been scheduled to be closed, the decision to close was revoked and in fact a number of operations were moved there. (See additional comments in adjacent photos).

Former Concho, San Saba & Llano Valley Railroad Station in Sterling City, TX.

Plaque describing former railroad in Sterling, TX. See adjacent pictures.

Former Concho, San Saba & Llano Valley Railroad Station in Sterling City, TX.

It was surprising to see a viaduct still paved in brick.

See comment in adjacent photo.

At one point in about 1970 I was taking a bus from El Paso to San Angelo, and due to some weather problem had to stay overnight in Big Spring before getting a connecting bus. I remember being impressed back then that the hotel in downtown Big Spring was one of the tallest buildings that I saw in the long stretch of West Texas between San Antonio and El Paso. I was surprised to find both that the building still exists, and that nothing had been built up around it (see adjacent photo).

Downtown Floydada, Tx.

Former Palace theater, Floydada, Tx.

Outside Floydada...

On a back road (FM (Farm-to-Market) 689) between Quitaque and Floydada. While most of the area was farms or ranches, this is in a section where you seem to be climbing from one plateau to a higher plateau. There was quite a bit of oil or gas exploration in the surrounding area.

On a back road (FM (Farm-to-Market) 689) between Quitaque and Floydada. While most of the area was farms or ranches, this is in a section where you seem to be climbing from one plateau to a higher plateau. There was quite a bit of oil or gas exploration in the surrounding area.

Scene from Caprock Canyon State Park. The park has many trails that appeared to be quite interesting, but I unfortunately didn't get to explore it much because of severe weather and risk of tornadoes.

Road sign welcoming you to Quitaque, Texas. Quitaque is the main town for Caprock State Park. Like most of the towns in that part of the state, it had a small section of older 'downtown' buildings that seemed to be largely abandoned.

First time I'd ever seen a sign to "Watch out for wild hogs." On the road between Quitaque and Turkey,TX.

Downtown Turkey, TX on a Saturday afternoon.

Still in use... the Gem Theater in Turkey, TX.