Highway 12, Nebraska's so called Outlaw Highway...

Left Valentine, Nebraska after breakfast on 8/22 for the last leg of our Nebraska journey for the year, Highway 12...

dubbed the Outlaw Trail by the Nebraska Division of Parks and Tourism for some reason that eludes me.  The brochure and web sites about the trail talk a lot about kayaking, eating, bison and prairie dogs, B&Bs and biking, but barely a word about outlaws.  It is a narrow and desolate stretch of road running from Valentine to the Iowa border and skirting the border with South Dakota the whole way.   It is desolate and foreboding much of the way, an easy place to get lost and "hole up" when needed, and if the posse was closing in, it was a quick run to the border.

And anyway, The state of Nebraska has posted signs all along the way to remind you where you are.  

Our first stop, and the first town we encountered was Sparks, a short blip off the Highway.  There was only one commercial building in Sparks, but it was all purpose, and a beauty.

The post office, general store, coffee shop and meeting place, all in one.  You wouldn't expect traffic problems in a town this size, but just as I was lining up this shot, a tough looking hombre in a pick up pulled up.  I mustered up the courage to ask him to move.  He grumbled a bit, but did.  Somehow I got the feeling this happens often.  The next town about 20 miles down the way was Norton.  All the buildings in town with the exception of one or two has burned to the ground.  There was this blonde, great looking linewoman for the phone company doing something amid the rubble.  She told me there was a forest fire due to the drought near by and all the buildings caught fire.  

Not sure why I didn't take pictures of any of the 3 towns between Norden and Naper.  And just a few of the highway that all basically look like this...

and the corn, that all basically looked like this or worse...Bone dry and stunted, not what it should be for late August.

As I mentioned, Naper was the next town that caught my eye.  Probably the sun was just right and the desolation and decay stood out.

That was Naper....On to Main Street in Butte...

There was a lot to see on Highway 12 and many more photos along the way, but I am getting ready to head out to Nevada  and Arizona for the next few weeks, and am leaving tomorrow, so I'll have to pick up where I left off when I get back.  Till then...

                                                                       Pablo

Still on Highway 20 west, for another few hours...

Saw Johnstown.  Happened upon Long Pine at the most interesting of times...

If you look toward the right of the picture near the flag, you will see that an older woman drove her blue pick up truck onto the sidewalk and mildly dented the building in front of her.  Clicking on the picture to enlarge it might help to clarify the situation.  Other than than not much to see.

Back onto highway 20 and feeling like it was time for lunch, I was intrigued by Big John Full Service Cafe and stopped in to see what was on the menu...

There were three or four pick ups in the lot and a whole bunch of farmer looking types eating, laughing and making small talk with the waitress.  The specials were a meat loaf or roast beef sandwich, mashed potatoes and the salad bar for $5.99, a pretty good deal.  Being a vegetarian, my options were limited, but the salad bar looked pretty good and I sort of decided on that till the waitress/female bouncer type told me the salad bar was $5.99.  I tried to point out the inequity of the situation, but she either didn't get it. didn't want to get it, didn't like my looks, couldn't care less, or all of the above.  By now the farmers had stopped eating and laughing and were focused on the outcome of this losing battle, so I said thanks, tried to leave as unobtrusively as possible and got a Vegi-Delight at the Subway about a half mile down the way.  And they only charged me $2.00, which didn't make ay sense either, although in the opposite direction.  This was on the outskirts of Ainsworth, which I drove through after, but must have been so rattled by this culinary quagmire that I couldn't really see anything to take a picture of.  But I always need some kind of marker of where I was (look over the door), so there was this on the 20, kinda faux, but better than nothing...

Looking at the map, I decided that Bassett, Nebraska, 20 miles down the road, would be my end point for the day, given that I did have to make it back to Valentine to meet Jackie at Milo and Max for dinner.

Bassett was a quiet and mostly eviscerated like most others along the 20, but did have the most spectacular Post Office, which made the journey worth while.

Looking down Clark Street, the main drag,

it would appear that about the only place to buy anything is the R.F. Gotke Variety Store...

The soda fountain next door was closed down, as was Allen's Pizza...

But if you head back to Highway 20, there is no shortage of fast food places, and Walmarts, which probably explains why there is nothing left to sell on main street, except for what they've got at Hometown Variety.

Looking back on my photo log, I realized that I did forget to mention the Range Cafe...

next to the Second Chance Thrift Shop on Clark Street, established in the early 1950's, and by all accounts, the menu and the decor haven't changed one bit, which appears to be a good thing in this case.  Farm fresh food well prepared and predictably good, served up by the owners, who are said to take great pride in their restaurant.  A good recommendation which I will have to follow up on next time I pass through.  

                                                                   Pablo