"It's a zoo," said Terry Ayers, who drove into town from Spokane, Wash., slept in his truck, and found a job within hours of arrival, tripling his salary. "It's crazy what's going on out here."

The reason?

Billions of dollars are coming into the state and thousands of people are following—all because millions of barrels of oil are flowing out.

The result: A good, old-fashioned oil boom.

Here are some examples of what a boom is like in 2011.