RV Fun Trips --- On the Road to Albuquerque ---

On the Road to Albuquerque
October 2002
Page 1

Pratt to Greensburg

After the excitement of the previous day and experiencing a very stormy night, the next day was downright tame by comparison. The campground, where we spent the night in Pratt, is a small, older place located behind a motel next to U.S. 54. The campsites were very close and obviously designed before motorhomes had become as long as they are today. The sites were also very close together which gave me the idea that the sites were designed before RVs had slideouts.

A calm place after a very stormy night

With us being a day ahead of schedule we had time to get around at a casual pace. We all began our day with breakfast in the cafe next to the motel. The food was okay; you really can't go wrong with bacon, eggs and toast. While we were waiting for our food, I made a couple of observations that stuck in my mind. One was that a lot of the regular clientele seemed to be real cowboys. They appeared to be no-nonsense ranch owners and ranchhands with several of them wearing big, rodeo-prize buckles.

Familiar water tower next to Big Well

The second observation was how unusual it seemed to me that a place that serves food had a couple of small squadrons of flies buzzing around overhead. None of the personnel or the regulars seemed to even notice the flies. I guess it is something a person gets used to in this part of the world.

After breakfast, it was time to get on the road again. Our little caravan didn't need to travel very far on this day, so we would have time to do some touristy things. After a short drive across flat farmland, we came to a place very familiar to me, Greensburg, Kansas. This was the first time in Greensburg for Tom and Nora while it was the second time for Tina and Kevin.

On an earlier trip, I brought Tina and Kevin to Greensburg to show them the World's Largest Hand Dug Well. Unfortunately, on that trip the place was closed. So, I figured that on this trip I could show the Big Well to everyone.

Stairway to the bottom of the Big Well

When we arrived, I was glad to see that the Big Well visitors center and gift shop was open. However, as luck would have it, the well itself was closed for maintenance, bummer. At least the lights were turned on in the Big Well so we could at least look down into the depths of the unusual structure. After looking around the gift shop for awhile, it was time to get back on the road.

NOTE: On May 4, 2007 the small town of Greensburg, Kansas was destroyed by an F-5 tornado that ripped through town. Most landmarks are unreconizable, so what you see here is now historical.

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