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