There is one midwestern city that always deliver with lots of free or inexpensive entertainment ideas that are, for the most part, kid friendly. In 2018, we loaded up the camper and went to St. Louis, Missouri after making a prior visit a few years ago. We stayed at Casino Queen RV Park, which is the RV park attached to the Casino Queen Casino in East St. Louis, Illinois. As you can see from the cover picture, we had a great view of the Arch. Yes, East St. Louis is a little rough neighborhood, but the casino had 24/7 security that was always visibly present. One of the great perks of staying at Casino Queen was we were provided a free shuttle up to the casino and discounts on all the buffets. So after a long drive in on Friday night, we enjoyed the All-You-Can-Eat buffet complete with seafood for a discounted price.
The next morning, we drove up to the casino to enjoy their breakfast buffet before heading across the Mississippi River into St. Louis.
Our first stop was Grant’s Farm. Grant’s Farm is the ancestral home of the Busch family, famous for the brewer Anheuser-Busch. For $15, you can park and explore everything Grant’s Farm has to offer, including the Budweiser Clydesdales. These horses are beautiful, strong, large, and graceful. They are treated in complete luxury. Explore the farm where the are born, raised, and trained to pull the wagon carrying beer to one and all with their trusty dalmatian keeping watch from above.
Once you’ve explored the Clydesdales, head across the parking lot to the wildlife park and take the tram ride around. You’ll see a number of various animals including deer, various cattle, water buffalo, and other four-legged friends.
Another free experience is the World Bird Sanctuary. World Bird Sanctuary’s mission is to aid in the rehabilitation of injured and rare birds. There are a number of rare birds to see and photograph. I apologize about the quality of pictures from the Bird Sanctuary. I didn’t have my big camera, but I wanted to share this wonderful place because we really enjoy birds and the World Bird Sanctuary serves such a great cause!
Our last stop for this trip takes us to Lone Elk Park! If you ever wanted to get up close and personal to the American Buffalo without having to drive out to the National Parks out west, then this is how you do it! Also, it is completely free and just barely west of the Mississippi! (BTW, that is NOT us outside of our car. I think some people forget that these animals are still wild and I do not recommend getting out of the vehicle.)
