The Agenda for the Rally at Sand Hills State Park, Hutcheson Kansas, which runs from September 22 through 25th has finally arrived. There are spaces left at the park. Please contact Bob Kelly (Bob@KellyOnTheRoad.com) if you are coming, or you and Bob will both be sad when he doesn’t have a sticker and and name tag for you.
Sand Hills State Park Rally
4207 E. 56th Street, Hutchinson, KS 67502
GPS: 38.1156, -97.857
| Thursday September 22, 2022 |
4:00 PM | Meet and Greet. Bring your favorite beverage and a snack. Campfire and talk. Play an instrument? Impress us with your talent. |
| Friday September 22, 2022 |
9:00 AM | Completion of a Solar Panel Project started at GNR. Installation of a Solar Power Junction box. Rob York’s RV |
| 10:00 AM | Ham Radio Demonstration | |
| 12:30 PM | Field Trip to Strataca, Hutcheson’s Salt Mine Museum. I suggest the whole package – the Salt Mine Safari. I’ve been on it once, and will do it again. Ticket for everything $32 https://underkansas.org/tickets/ |
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| 5:00 PM | Happy Hour | |
| 6:00 PM | Pot luck Dinner.
Bring something to eat for four people only, a plate, utensils, a chair and a table if you have one. |
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| 7:00 PM | Camp fire and comradery. Tall Tales, Adventure Stories and an occasional outright gilded fabrication. Beverages suggested. | |
| Saturday September 24, 2022 |
10:00 AM | The Cosmosphere Space Museum https://cosmo.org/visit/tickets
Hutcheson Kansas isn’t the most likely place for one of the best Cold War Space Museums, but the collection is superb, and the presentation and curation is one of the best I’ve seen at any Museum. All access Pass, 23.50 + Tax. |
| Whenever | For those not visiting town, Horseshoes and other RV associated things that need attention at the campground. | |
| 5:00 PM | Option
Someone will be in Hutcheson for the Cosmosphere Space Museum. There are two BarBQue restaurants in town, Hog Wild Pit Bar-B-Q, and Roy’s BBQ. Both are equidistant from the Cosmosphere. Options are to go to town in groups for something to eat OR place an order for pickup and have a Happy Hour with a contrast and compare from the two BarBQ places in town. TBD. |
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| Sunday September 25, 2022 |
A relaxing Camp day with options open. |
Sand Hills State Park is located north of Hutchinson, Kansas, about one mile east of K-61 on either 56th Street or 69th Street. The campground is available for reservation at ReserveAmerica.com.
The cost of the Rally is $10 per RV, and will cover Rally Name Tags, Stickers and incidentals. Members of the View Navion Specialty WIT Group are already paid for. Payment can be made at the campground, but you must let Bob know you’re attending prior to the Rally. Contact him at Bob@KellyOnTheRoad.com or text him at 973-229-7219, with your name, email, phone, year and floor plan of your rig for the nametags.
Sand Hills State Park, is a 1,123 acre natural area, of sand dunes, grasslands, wetlands, and woodlands. Park activities include hiking, bird watching, wildflower walks, and simple relaxation. There are eight trails in the park which are broken down into interpretive, hiking and horseback riding trails. There are 14 miles of trails which weave in between 10 to 40-feet high sand dunes, through grasslands and trees, and around ponds. Modern facilities are limited to two vault toilets.
There are two excellent attractions in Hutchison, The Cosmodrome, and Strataca.
The Cosmosphere was founded in 1962 and is one of the first affiliates of the Smithsonian Institution. The museum is located at 103 North Whiteside Street, Hutchinson, KS , on the campus of the Hutchinson Community College. The current 105,000 square-foot facility includes a planetarium, a three-level exhibit gallery, and one of the first IMAX® Dome Theaters. A SR-71 Blackbird fills the lobby, and the museum contains some of the finest artifacts from the Space Race on display.
Strataca is an attraction located 650 feet underground in one of the largest salt deposits in the world. There, you can explore environs carved from salt deposits formed more than 275 million years ago.
Tours are available with varying degrees of thrill and adventure, from tours conducted via an underground train ride, the 30-minute Dark Ride or a self-guided tours. Humidity below ground is a constant 40%, and ideal for preservation, so a private company, Underground Vaults and Storage, stores one-of-a-kind artifacts, including costumes from some of Hollywood’s popular blockbuster movies.
There are two highly rated Barbeque restaurants in Hutchinson. Roy’s Hickory Pit Bar-B-Q (https://roysbbq.com/) and The Hog Wild Pit Barbeque (https://hutchinson.hogwildpitbbq.com/). What a great opportunity to see which barbeque is the tastiest.