Wednesday Afternoon Off Options
There are several things, or combination of things, you can do on Wednesday afternoon with your group.
Columbia Park Cookout, Pool and Concert, Park Hills
Beginning around 5:30 p.m., the city pool in Park Hills, located in Columbia Park, will be available to World Changers exclusively. The local Christian motorcycle club will provide hamburgers and hot dogs, and Parallax View, a local Christian band, will provide a concert. All of this is free of charge, and is a good time to get to know your fellow World Changers in a friendly sort of way. Local church youth groups also participate. You can stay as long as the food holds out, the music will end about 9:00. For further information, you can email our associational coordinator, Aaron Radford, at aradford@fbcbismarck.com .
Bonne Terre Mine, Bonne Terre
Bonne Terre was once a lead mining community, and the Bonne Terre mine is an underground labyrinth with a large lake. Tours are limited, so if you want to take your group to the mine, you will need to call them and make arrangements in advance. Their website is http://www.2dive.com/btm.htm .
Bonne Terre Family Fun Center, Bonne Terre
Mini golf, bowling, batting cages, go carts and other fun stuff. Web site http://bonneterrefamilyfuncenter.com/
Movie Theater, Farmington
Website: http://www.kerasotes.com/Home.aspx
Float Trips, Bonne Terre Area
http://www.cherokeelanding.com/
Several groups have asked about float trips. There are several well known landings about 40 minutes from the area, but they are not recommended, due to the crowds there in the summer, and the fact that the atmosphere of floating the river is probably not conducive to a youth group outing. The website above is for a local landing in Bonne Terre which does float trips on the Big River. You would need to make advance reservations, and inquire about their group rates, and whether or not they could accomodate your group during an afternoon, since they request that trips be concluded by dusk.
St. Louis Area Attractions
Website: http://www.stlouisattractions.com/
St. Louis is an hour’s drive. The closest indoor shopping mall to St. Francois County is South County Mall, on I-55 at Lindbergh Blvd. in St. Louis.
The Zoo is great, and closes at 7:00 p.m., which would give you three or four hours to be there, and then go to dinner somewhere. http://www.stlzoo.org/yourvisit/hourspricesdirections.htm
You would probably not be able to get tickets to the train that goes up inside the Gateway Arch in time to get in line that evening, but there are a lot of good eating places next door in Laclede’s Landing, including the Old Spaghetti Factory at 727 N. First Street.
Riverboat Cruises are available, including dinner cruises aboard the Tom Saywer and the Becky Thatcher. Here’s a website http://www.mytravelguide.com/attractions/profile-78224705-United_States_Missouri_St_Louis_Gateway_Riverboat_Cruises.html. If you do a cruise, please note the time of departure and arrival.
State Parks in the Area
Several nearby state parks offer swimming on river beaches, and some interesting attractions. Many of them are within an hours drive of the area.
Lots to do!
