Freeway Warrior Locations

[rhygar]

Ever wondered what the real life locations which Joe Dever based his Freeway Warrior books on look like? 

Ahead you see a tall observation tower that rises high above the surrounding hills. It once provided sightseers with a magnificent view of the Anza-Borrego Desert Park; now it offers the perfect location for a radio transmission, clear of the surrounding peaks.

This is the Desert View Tower from California Countdown. It's where Pop Ewell made the successful radio transmission to Pine Valley and where you spot Mad Dog Michigan's convoy coming through Devil's Canyon.

[rhygar]

And here's the nearby Round Mountain [found on google maps as 'Hippo Mountain'] where there was a last stand against the gangs. 

Cutter decides that the best place to delay the enemy is at a railroad bridge, located six miles west along Interstate 8 at a place called Round Mountain. Using the DC1 tanker, which is still laden with over 2,000 gallons of gasolene, and a handful of smaller vehicles, Cutter plans to block both freeway lanes and then set fire to the tanker, turning the road block into a blazing barricade.



With the rear-guard volunteers in position on either side of the freeway, some on the slopes of Round Mountain and a few holding the high ground directly opposite, overlooking the bridge, he is confident that you will be able to hold back Mad Dog’s clan long enough for the convoy to reach the safety of Pine Valley.

[rhygar]

From Book 3 the Tombstone Courthouse where you deal with Helmut Varken.  

Instantly you know that the motorcycle approaching Tombstone is being ridden by the assassin who murdered your three companions. The fear that has haunted you during the past two days returns once more to tighten your stomach as hurriedly you search for somewhere to hide. The Tombstone courthouse is the nearest building and you rush into its lobby as the assassin rides into town.

[rhygar]

I'm thinking this is the greyhound racing track at Ciudad Juarez. 

Warily you make your way through the streets of Ciudad Juarez, past the derelict stores of the Pronaf Shopping Center, and on towards the Juarez Race Track. The captain knows this border town well, and he is confident that Mad Dog Michigan will take delivery of the explosives at the town’s famous dog racing track, which he and the Mexican leader, Santiago, are using as their joint headquarters. Its size and defensive position are ideally suited to their needs.

From the ruins of a burnt-out café located opposite the race track’s east gate, you act patiently as lookout while the captain considers the team’s next course of action.

[rhygar]

A few hundred yards beyond the ramp you see another. It leads to the ruins of a once prestigious building—the North Texas State University.


you walk towards the centre of the campus in search of what was once the chemistry faculty. Most of the buildings are just burnt-out, rubble-filled shells, their contents either buried beyond reach or looted months ago by roving city gangs. A shattered sign indicates the entrance to the building you seek, and your hopes rise when you notice that it is the least damaged structure on the campus.



Here's a picture of the chemistry faculty today. I don't know if it's the building that housed the faculty in the late 80's though and I am poor at dating architecture. I wonder if they have tubs of salt, geiger counters and rad suits in the basement. 

[rhygar]

A hundred yards along the highway you see a sign that points to a road leading off to the east. It says:



CARSWELL AIR FORCE BASE

[Black Cat]

Darn, I should had thought of this myself, checking the RL locations of the Freeway Warrior series! Nice work! Google Map might be helpful for other spots describe in the series (I have yet to read past book 1... )

[rhygar]

Apr 8, 2022 23:06:25 GMT Black Cat said:

Darn, I should had thought of this myself, checking the RL locations of the Freeway Warrior series! Nice work! Google Map might be helpful for other spots describe in the series (I have yet to read past book 1... )

You are certainly welcome (as is everyone on the forum) to contribute to the thread. A screenshot of a map, an image of a location, by all means join in.

Some places are going to be hard to find by virtue of the fact that decades have passed and the buildings might not be there any more, but we'll see what we can do. 

Edit: and the books are certainly worth a read and I recommend them to you. Book 1 sets the scene very well but the tests (eg pick a number from the random number table and add it to one of your characteristics) are overly difficult and can be very punishing, like a series of 'falling masts' 
Later on, as your character develops, Joe seems to have gone a bit easier on the reader. Do make sure to boost your stealth score though. 

[rhygar]

Crossing the Trinity. 

At a junction on the outskirts of Fort Worth, you decide to leave Interstate 35 and follow a safer route that will take you around the city. The remains of Interstate 820 serve your purpose well, until you reach another junction where the Jacksboro Highway crosses your path. In order for the convoy to connect with Interstate Freeway 20, the highway that leads all the way to Big Spring, you must traverse one major obstacle—the Trinity River.



You consult your map. There are two places where the convoy can cross the Trinity, both of them close by. Two miles further along Interstate 820 there is a bridge over Lake Worth. Two miles northwest, along the Jacksboro Highway, another bridge crosses the river at a place called Lakeside Village.




For a mile beyond the junction, the highway passes through a corridor of petrified trees, the pitiful remains of a fertile city park that thrived before the holocaust. Then it crests a ridge of high ground that overlooks the sickly, tainted waters of Lake Worth. The bridge ahead is blocked by a manned barricade, and you slow to a halt, signalling to the others to pull off the road to avoid being seen.
----------------------------------------
The bus is fifty yards from the barricade when the defenders open fire, their automatic weapons filling the air with wave upon wave of lead. The vast bulk of the tanker shields you from this hail of death, but your heart goes out to those aboard the bus who must be bearing the brunt of this withering fire. Then you hear a tremendous crash as the bus slams into the barricade, and moments later you see the tanker shudder as it widens the gap that Cutter has made. It ploughs through with ease, but in doing so, it catches and spins the torn wreckage directly into your path. A cold chill runs down your spine as the twisted wreck of a car comes hurtling towards your windshield.



And here's a street-view of the bridge. Imagine a road block ahead of you and don't roll low!

[rhygar]

Washout Mountain, and meeting Mountain Goat


You are staring at the surrounding mountains, lost in thought, when you see a pinpoint of light flickering in the darkness. With your pulse racing, you grab your gun and set off to take a closer look.
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The broken ground is illuminated by the full moon but, after a short while, the shadow of Washout Mountain intrudes across your path and soon you find yourself in pitch darkness.

---------------

Carefully, you pick your way around the gully and follow a narrow path that ascends towards the flickering light. As you draw closer, you see that the light is being cast by a small fire burning at the entrance to a cave. You switch off your torch and approach with caution. As you draw level with the cave, you are greeted by a strange and curious sight.



I have found the place on the map, but have not found any good images of it. Just what is on google maps. Disappointing. 

[rhygar]

Sweetwater Lake, TX

Cutter signals for you to stop. The engine of the bus is overheating and, despite the risk of a clan attack, it must be allowed to cool down. The others take the opportunity to search the town for food, and you busy yourself by refuelling your roadster. ‘What do you make of that, Cal?’ says Uncle Jonas, as you finish rewinding the tanker’s fuel pipe. He is standing on the cab of the tanker, pointing at a shimmering ribbon of light to the south of the town. You climb up beside him and immediately you see that it is the sun reflecting off the surface of a small lake. ‘Water!’ you both exclaim, excitedly.



The chance of replenishing the colony’s depleted water supply is too good an opportunity to miss. Uncle Jonas helps you load some empty plastic containers onto your roadster, and Kate volunteers to come with you to help fill and carry them. As soon as she is aboard, you start the engine and drive off towards the distant lake.

The lake occupies the centre of a saucer-like depression and, as you bring your roadster to a halt at the edge of this rocky rim and stare down at the shimmering water below, you are heartened to see that clumps of vegetation are growing close by: a sure sign that the water is not contaminated.



The sides of the depression are steep and covered with loose shale.

[rhygar]

I20 bridge over the Colorado River

The apex of the bridge that carries Interstate 20 across the Colorado River has collapsed, leaving a gap nearly eight feet wide. You stop the convoy and Cutter examines the damage. He returns to report that the bridge is not beyond repair. ‘It’s gonna take at least three hours, maybe four, to rig a ramp across that gap strong enough to support the tanker,’ he says, squinting at the bridge.



It's around here you meet Rickenbacker, the Detroit lions catch up with DC1, and you blow the bridge up. 

In Freeway Warrior 1, Joe Dever seems to place this bridge closer to the town centre than it is in reality: 

As you reach the end of the bridge you notice two ideal defensive positions. One is a three-storey factory that overlooks the freeway; the other is an auto wreck overturned on the approach ramp to the bridge.

And the ensuing gunfight sounds like it takes place within the ruins of the city. But here's only one place where the I20 crosses the Colorado River.
Coincidentally just before reaching Colorado City, the I20 goes over a river called Lone Wolf Creek! I wonder if Joe Dever knew that?

 

[rhygar]

From FW2. 

San Angelo,  

Sears megamarket [assuming this is the same building as from the late 80's. Looking at it, it looks newer than the 80's so this entry is probably wrong]

An underground parking lot situated below the looted ruins of a Sears megamarket provides just such a safe haven, and it is here that you hide your car. 





And below is the San Angelo Stadium. It's not called the Ronald Reagan Memorial Stadium though, that's one of Joe Dever's little jokes. Imagine the bikers racing round the running track. 

[kolinovic]

What an absolutely fantastic thread!!!
Wonderful idea - never thought to use Google Maps or whatever to find these things! I wanna go do a runthrough and track myself on Street View now!!

[rhygar]

Slaughter Mountain Run

The convoy is travelling at break-neck speed as it passes through the blazing ruins of Allamoore and enters the pass beyond. Sweat trickles down your face as the ominous peak of Slaughter Mountain looms out of the smoke, and you witness the vicious battle taking place on its lower slopes. The bodies of slain Mavericks and Mexicans lie at the side of the freeway, tangled among the smoking remains of motorcycles and trucks once loaded with looted provisions. Small groups of desperate men are waging bitter hand-to-hand battles among this carnage, whilst others blaze away with automatic weapons, hiding in their foxholes dug by hand from the barren, stony soil.



The arrival of the convoy brings a lull in the fighting. Some turn their guns on you and a hail of bullets begins to rake either side of the colony vehicles. The tow truck approaches a bend in the freeway, and, as it turns, you see a Maverick kneeling at the side of the road with a missile launcher perched on his shoulder. He tracks the truck, but a burst of Mexican fire makes him dive for cover. When he appears again he no longer has the truck in his sights: he has you in his sights!




You swerve and accelerate to avoid the missile, and it hits the ground a few feet behind the trunk of your roadster. The blast takes your breath away, but you recover quickly and bring your car under control with consummate skill. In your mirror you see the convoy coming under small-arms fire, but it is light and sporadic and it claims no victims. Soon you are all safely out of the battle zone and racing away from the Slaughter Mountain run towards Sierra Blanca.


In fact the I-10 between Allamore and Sierra Blanca isn't as described in the book - the hills are much too far from the road itself. Below is a screen shot of the road west of Van Horn near a point marked "Mountain Time Zone Highway Sign" where the Interstate cuts through a hill. Feels like it's close enough for gangs to swap fire at each other and maybe it's the place that inspired Joe Dever. There's no actual Slaughter Mountain nearby as far as I can make out! If anyone's got a better candidate location, let us know.