Road Trip Pics: The Hand Dug Well in Greensburg, Kansas

We were driving through rural Kansas when we saw signs for the hand dug well. How could we not stop? The pallasite meteorite was just icing on the cake.

I say this without condescension: the whole setup was adorable. Un-touristy, un-sophisticated...just pure, innocent fun.

(So, it was heartbreaking to read that the town of Greensburg, Kansas was leveled by a tornado in 2007.)

Here's what we saw:

The well has a sort of canopy over it. You actually enter through another door off to the side.

Side view of the well.

The view heading down into the earth. It was cooler, but not cold, in the well.

At the bottom of the well, people had scrawled their names on a pipe. Talk about a crime you can really get away with. But I'm not into that kind of thing. Standing there in the cool, dim silence, an intense feeling of solitude came over me.

When I looked up, the surface - and my family - seemed miles away.

Climbing back out. The lighting gave everything an orange hue.

Back at sea level, a well-appointed gift shop featured the World's Largest Pallasite Meteorite (not for sale).

More about the hand dug well.