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We were coming back home via St. Louise after having a great time in South Dakota and Nebraska. We found this Lone elk park in St. Louise. It's a small park but it has many elks. We payed a quick visit and saw elks while driving around the park.

They say there are Bisons too but I don't think we saw any. However we enjoyed seeing elks.

World bird sanctuary is close to this park. That's also an interesting place to visit if you love birds. There are some big birds that you wont see everyday.

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After visiting Gateway arch which is nearby Mississippi river,  we went for a ferry ride. There were two steam boat style ferries named "Tom Sawyer" and "Becky Thatcher". We got into Tom Sawyer.

The ferry went about 2 miles down the river and came back. It was right before winter. Therefore the surrounding was not that beautiful. It could have been much better if we visited there in Fall or Summer.
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We visited Gateway Arch in Labor day 2011. It was 4 hr drive from Bloomington, IN. So we decided to make it a one day trip.

We crossed Illinois state and reached the border of Illinois and Missouri (the Mississippi river). The Gateway arch is built beside the river.

We had reserved tickets but had to wait in a queue for security checks. Ticket price for an adult was $10. Finally we got into small elevators and stayed seated till the elevators reach the top of the arch. The view from the top was beautiful. We could see the river and state of Illinois on one side and state of Missouri on the other side.

We had to wait in a queue to get down too. The staff said it's because it was Labor day. Then we headed towards the Mississippi river to take a Ferry ride.
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