Underground Salt MuseumIn Hutchinson, you can - this should be their advertising, btw - explore the farthest reaches of outer space, and go deep into the heart of the earth, all within a couple of miles of each other. Both are fascinating museums - the Cosmosphere has an SR-71 Blackbird in the foyer, and the elevator ride 650' down to the salt mine is conducted in a darkness more complete than most people have ever experienced. The Cosmosphere is the type of museum where you can wander for an hour, or spend all day, with the restaurant, planetarium, and IMAX dome theater, while the Mine has preset, timed tours lasting appx two hours each (ending in the gift shop).
There are several RV parks near or in Hutchinson:
Melody Acres is a very basic, very reasonably priced RV park on the outskirts of Hutchinson, just about 10 minutes into town on hwy 61 (it is at the corner of 61 and hwy 50). It is right next to the Hutchinson Zoo and a golf course. I cannot review those places because I have not yet been to the zoo and do not golf. I am, however, staying at Melody Acres this summer. It was much cheaper than the fairgrounds, and has laundry/shower facilities on site, as well as a storm shelter (much appreciated in KS in May and June!).
There is also a small RV park in Yoder, The Hitchin' Post -
http://www.yoderkansas.com/hitchin_post.htm - which I would have chosen had I not been working at the hospital in Hutch this summer (would have increased my drive time to work by 15 minutes). Yoder is a small Amish town, and great for for a touristy kind of stay.
For those wanting a large park on a lake, there's Spring Lake RV Resort -
http://www.springlakervresort.com/ - which is about 20 minutes away from Hutch, but very nice according to the other temp I work with who stayed there last winter. It's the largest RV park in Kansas.
If you are there during the State Fair in September, the Fairgrounds also have an RV Park.
http://www.kansasstatefair.com/nonfair_description.php?pages=nsf&id=28The Fair this year is September 5th through the 14th.
If you don't want to stay at an RV park, there is also an exotic animal bed and breakfast in Hutch -
http://www.hedricks.com/ - I seriously need to stay there a night before I leave in September!
If you see any of this in a travel article by me in the future, don't be surprised. I seem to have finally broken the writer's block I've had for the last three months since I started the course I'm taking! :-) obviously it needs editing.