Western Nebraska, Part 1

About a month ago I was able to take my first trip out to see western Nebraska for a quick assignment about an out of service oil shaft that may be used to dispose of salt water byproduct from fracking in Mitchell, Neb.

I drove the 500 miles there on March 17, shot the oil well at dusk and drove back the next day. It was an exhausting but beautiful drive, once I was several hours in I'll admit, and I was excited to see some new places.

I visited a few of the "predictable" sites including Front Street, a recreated western old town, Carhenge, an imitation of Stonehenge built of cars, and Chimney Rock, a prominent geological monument for the pioneers as they explored the west, but I also checked out some small towns off the beaten path. Western Nebraska can feel like an entirely different state because of the landscape and some of the smaller towns truly feel frozen in time.

A man walks in front of Front Street on March 17, 2015 in Ogallala, Neb. SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

The multicolored Lazy U Motel pictured on March 17, 2015 in Broadwater, Nebraska. SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

Chimney Rock pictured on March 17, 2015 in Bayard, Neb. SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

A car sits in a field on March 18, 2015 in Bayard, Neb. SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

Carhenge pictured on March 18, 2015 in Alliance, Neb. SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

The view from the Scott Lookout Tower  in the Nebraska National Forest on March 18, 2015 in Halsey, Neb. SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

Skulls hang on the fence in Lewellen, Neb. SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

This oil well head pictured on March 17, 2015 on an out-of-service oil shaft on rangeland about 14 miles north of Mitchell, Nebraska marks where a Colorado oil company would like to create a disposal well for saltwater that is the byproduct of oil production. The proposal has alarmed many local people opposed to the size and nature of the project. SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

The area surrounding a wellhead on an out-of-service oil shaft on rangeland about 14 miles north of Mitchell, Nebraska marks where a Colorado oil company would like to create a disposal well for saltwater that is the byproduct of oil production. The proposal has alarmed many local people opposed to the size and nature of the project. SARAH HOFFMAN/THE WORLD-HERALD