Our Stay in Hay Springs, NE
July 2021
Driving to the Middle of Nowhere in Nebraska
- July 18, 2021
- ~ 200 mi
- ~ 3.5 hrs
We arrived at around 2 pm in Hay Springs, NE, a tiny town literally in the middle of nowhere! After settling in, we drove to the nearest city with a Walmart store, which was a whopping 20 miles away. Apparently, in Nebraska, you can only buy alcohol at dedicated liquor stores, so we were glad to find one still open on a Sunday evening. After dinner, I crashed on the couch and didn’t wake up until 4:00 am.
Endless Fields and Abandoned Tracks
During our stay, we kept the car parked in front of the Airbnb and just explored the local area.. When we walked around, I often had my camera in hand. Wandering past abandoned railroads and weathered old farmhouses, I found the landscape sad and beautiful at the same time. Once, I took a dirt road into the total emptiness of Nebraska. The absolute silence was incredible. Endless grain fields stretched on forever, and “heavy traffic” meant having only three cars passing me!
Running was also part of my routine here. On one five-mile run, I followed part of a former railroad track, enjoying the fresh breeze, but had to turn back when I reached an old trestle bridge. I just didn’t dare to cross those open gaps!
Escaping the Heat
When the heat wave hit, it got hot, really hot. Stepping outside even as early as 9 am felt like walking into a warm blanket. I kept my walks shorter, headed into town to hide under the beautiful shade trees before returning and staying inside. During one of our breaks inside, we watched the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launch and were happy for 82-year-old Wally Funk, who finally fulfilled her dream of becoming an astronaut.
A Fading Town?
Hay Springs itself was a bittersweet experience. It wasn’t a ghost town, but it felt like it was in the phase just before becoming one. A lot of empty houses, closed stores, and neglected grain silos lined the streets. The little park had nice playgrounds, but it was deserted. The pool had no water, and the golf course hadn’t been maintained for a while. We wondered if Hay Springs had given up on its attempt to breathe life back into itself, which would be a shame, because it could really be a little oasis in this part of the country.
Packing Up and Heading North to Lily, SD
We left early since we had a long drive ahead of us, complete with a detour to Pierre to add another item to our list of state capitols.
