The Weekend Edition  Fri, Sat, Sun ...Sept 29, 30 & Oct 1, 2006....  

  Updated @ 10:40 AM Sunday    

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Our River Picture of the Day.. (Sunday) ....... is one I snapped at 

Kinder's Restaurant on Saturday night.  It's the lights of the new deck on the restaurant and the Golden Eagle Ferry at the ferry landing on the Calhoun County side of the Mississippi River.    Oh yeah.......And... that moon beam ! 

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Our River Picture of the Day.. (Saturday) ....... is one I snapped at Eagles Landing Marina..  It's Gary Fels and the flathead catfish he caught Friday on a trout-line in Dardenne Slough.  

RiverBill says....Looks like you get the "RiverBill's Catch Of the Day Award" ......When's the fish fry ?

 A new page has been added to RiverBill's.....named.....  "Catch Of The Day"

Click here to check it out ! ..........  Gary gets the first entry

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Our 2nd River Pictures and e-mail of the Day.. (Friday) ....... are from Kelly Young.  They were on the river this past Wednesday to celebrate his son's birthday and snapped us a picture of the Celebration Bell cruising past.

Kelly wrote: 

Bill,
We were on the river Wednesday 9/27/06 celebrating my son Jordan's 2nd birthday. He loves to go to the beach! This is a picture of the "Celebration Belle" as it went by going pretty fast.
First thing I do every morning when I turn my computer on is look to see what the picture of the day is. Great Website!

Kelly Young

Click here to read the article in the this week's on-line Telegraph about the Celebration Belle when they stopped in Alton.

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Our 1st River Pictures and e-mail of the Day.. (Friday)....... are from Frank and Cindy.  Last Sunday they almost "stayed home" because of the weather....but, decided to go boating away and ended up having a Great River Day !   

Frank and Cindy wrote: 

Ahoy River Bill,

   Sunday morning my wife and I woke up to a cool and windy day. It just didn't seem like a good day to hit the water, but we said what the hell let's bundle up and go for a boat ride.  It turned out to be a very interesting day on the water.  

    We pulled up to Enterprise island and was amazed by the new sand bar formed by the dredging of the channel. As we walked the sand bar we could see the America pumping sand and water up onto Iowa Island.   Quite an operation!! 

   As we headed down river to Grafton we seen a paddle wheeler docking at the Loading Dock.  It was a wonderful looking old boat named The Spirit of Peoria. 

    So even though the weather wasn't that great the river still provided us with a great day.....Ain't she great !!! 

Attached are pics from our day 9-24-06.

Keep up the good work.

Frank, Cindy
and our River Dawg B.J.

Last Year's River Picture of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

Friday  

      It was a picture of  a row of sailboats silhouetted against last  Saturday's sunset......What a picture......Look at those magnificent colors !

    The pic  was taken by Captain Harry Ragland, of the sailboat "Tapacolo".   

    Harry wrote:

" Saturday (last year) was a good day for sailing, with steady winds out of the East.   I sailed "Tapacolo"  from Portage Des Sioux to Alton and back.   By the time I got docked the sun was setting... and this is how it looked from the back porch of Palisades Yacht Club."

Saturday 

     It was a picture of  ... MaryBeth....one of the " Girls of Alton Lake" ----  We have some of the best women in the world boating on Alton Lake and  Mary is definitely one of them.    

    Here she is cruising along on the river,  looking beautiful, her gorgeous red hair all up in a bun,  sporting them Jamaican braids.....And soaking up that Summer sun.   

  Click here to check all the Girls of Alton Lake

Sunday 

     It was a picture of  Tom and Lou's clubhouse on the upper end of Dardenne Slough.  It is a really neat place ...all decorated in river stuff.    

   This picture was taken by Mike & Sherri Stanczak, who can be seen flying around above the river in the black and red powered parachute.

Tall Stacks Festival in Cincinnati......   Rick put a message on RiverBills Message Board about why we have seen so many riverboats in the area recently..  Thought I would put it on the front page and dig up some more info on it.

Rick wrote:

    Most of the river boats that are in the area are heading up to the Tall Stacks Festival in Cincinnati. Tall Stacks happens every 4 years and is next week. Its allot of fun it see 20 plus steam boats and replica all in one place. 

Thanks Rick of MOCONE

  Click here for more info on the Tall Stacks Festival

Look.....Wild Animals At This Weekend's Alton Block Party .....According to  the on-line Post Dispatch.....This Saturday's "Blues Fest" is going to be the last block party of the season at Alton.  Live music........wild animals and plenty of tasty treats.

   During the band breaks exotic animals take the stage.

  Click here to read the story in the on-line STLtoday.com

Kinder's Restaurant   has a live band scheduled for this Saturday night....

 "The Works"....... will be playing on the outside deck starting at 8 PM.    

    Lets Dance !

The Celebration Belle docks at Alton ------  According to the on-line Alton Telegraph ..... the Celebration Belle Riverboat docked at Alton, IL....... next to the Argosy Casino this past Wednesday.  

  Click here to read the article in the on-line Telegraph.

A Real House Boat .........   We received an e-mail from J.K. Chapman....He spotted an on-line story and picture of a "Real Housboat", but....... he wasn't sure it could lock-through.

    Click here to go to The Observer News and check it out !

Fishing Report  ------ The Missouri Department of Conservation has issued this week's Fishing Report.  

Mississippi River (above St. Louis):

66 degrees, normal, dingy; channel catfish good on nightcrawlers; flathead catfish fair on live bait; all other species slow.

(Report made on 9/28/2006)

Missouri River (below New Haven)

68 degrees, low, muddy; catfish good on natural bait;  all other species fair.

(Report made on 9/28/2006)

Check out the report for the entire state of Missouri

.................go to  http://www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/fishrt/

 Thursday ...September 28, 2006....         

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Our River Picture and e-mail of the Day ....... are from Kurt Jaeger, who hails out of the My River Home harbor in the boat "Patricia Ann".  He sent us a picture of his wife enjoying a beautiful river-sunset:

Kurt wrote: 

Bill,
In keeping with the sunset theme, here is a picture I titled "Cocktail Hour @ River Mile 214". This is my wife Patricia aboard our boat "Patricia Ann", enjoying the view. We are lucky to have such a great place to cruise so close to home. Really enjoy your website Bill.

Kurt Jaeger (My River Home)

RiverBill says......Thanks for sharing your sunset with us Kurt !

Last Year's River Picture of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

      It was a picture of  a River Sunset..........Look at that sky .........Look at those colors............What a great shot........ Robert Cope sent us the above picture with the following e-mail;

  "Yesterday's sunset was incredible.  The outer clouds from (Hurricane) Rita created an interesting effect that I've previously only seen at night around the moon." 

Bill says..........This is one of the pictures that made it onto the RiverBills.com posters that are posted in the river bars and restaurants around the area. Good shot Robert !

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The Mississippi River, A Towboat, A Railroad Bridge and A Train ........   

    In yesterday's edition, I challenged area photographers to come up with a photo of the Louisiana railroad bridge, the Mississippi River and surrounding landscape similar to what was on   www.railpictures.net. 

    Robert Cope sent us these pictures that he took of the bridges and scenery in Louisiana, Mo on his trip to Hannibal last May.

RiverBill says...Good shots Robert ......Thanks for sharing !

Kinder's Restaurant   has a live band this Saturday night...."The Works"....... on the outside deck starting at 8 PM.    Lets Dance !

For Sale ~ Cedar Hill Resort........Restaurant, 2 houses, 1 mobile home lot,  approximately 17 Acres. Turn key Operation.........  $ 750,000...... 

Call Dave Ash 314-280-8997                 Click here to view website

Upper Mississippi River Basin Association.........Added a link in hte left hand column to the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association.

  The UMRBA is a regional interstate organization formed by the Governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin to help coordinate the states' river-related programs and policies and work with federal agencies that have river responsibilities.

  Click here to go to UMRBA. 

 Wednesday ...September 27, 2006....         

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Our River Pictures and e-mail of the Day ....... are from Terrie and Brian Bert,  of the boat Gulliewash.  They snapped a shot of one of those marvelous sunsets we have this time of year.  

Bill,

  A few of us "River Rats" decided to camp out on Bolter Island last weekend (09/16/06) and this was our sunset--- you don't get to see one like this very often!! WONDERFUL!! 

Terrie & Brian Bert 

"The Gulliewash"

RiverBill says......Thanks for sharing your pictures Terrie and Brian. I think the top picture is one of the best sunsets that we have ever posted on this site !

Last Year's River Picture of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

      It was a picture from  Jeri Behnke's  birthday party at Capt'n Jack's last year.  From left to right are Linda, Jeri and Laura.

Must be close to that day again so....Happy Birthday Jeri !

The Mississippi River, A Towboat, A Railroad Bridge and A Train ........ Here is a link to a picture, sent in by a "Boat and Rail Enthusiast",  that looks like it could have been be snapped right up the river at Louisiana, Mo........but it was really taken at  La Crosse, Wisconsin. 

   I think it's a awesome photo ....Click here to check it out on  www.railpictures.net. 

  Do any of you photographers of similar quality photo of the Louisiana railroad bridge, the Mississippi River and surrounding landscape ? .........If so, please send it in !

Missouri ....Motor Fuel Refund Claim......... Don't forget to fill out the Missouri Motor Fuel Refund Claim Form, # 4923, and send it in to get your marine motor fuel tax refund.  

  Click here to access the on-line form.

Web Link Fixed.........Fixed our web link to the National Great River Museum on the left hand side of this page.  This one might be temporary........so click here and check it out !

 Tuesday ...September 26, 2006....         

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Our River Picture of the Day ....... is from Robbie Serfling of St. Charles........It's titled......

Early morning bass fishing in Burlington, Iowa on the Mississippi River

RiverBil says......Thanks for sharing your picture Robbie.....Hope the fishing was a good as the sunrise!  

Last Year's River Picture of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

      It was a series of 4 pics from the Cardboard Boat Races at Capt'n Jack's.  Four entries , 3 actually made the race.  Chuck and Sue in MoonDoggie II tipped right away, Dennise and MaryBeth screamed around the course in record time, the Pirate ship with Capt'n Bill, Egg Throwing Mike and Gary made across the harbor and last but not least the, the Pontoon Battle Ship manned by all of the "Off-Brothers" ruled the waters that day. This is just the highlights of the race..... keep your anchor right where it is....more pictures of the festivities tomorrow.

Dedication Celebration at the Confluence Tower........ According to an article in the on-line Alton Telegraph........There was dedication ceremony last Saturday for the Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower in Hartford, IL to mark the 200 anniversary of the return of Lewis and Clark to the St. Louis area.

   Click here to read the article in the on-line Alton Telegraph.

Missouri Conservationist on-line Magazine........The October on-line edition of  Missouri Conservationist on-line Magazine is out..       Click here to view it.

Fall Colors Predictions......Missouri Department of Conservation foresters update fall color reports weekly from mid-September through early-November.  

 Click here for this weeks forecast. 

Aiding Endangered Species Along Areas of the Mississippi River .....According to an article in the on-line Post Dispatch.....A federal grant will allow the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to expand a pilot landowner incentive program that helps landowners preserve natural habitat.  This should improve prospects for certain threatened and endangered species in a 300-mile stretch along the Mississippi River. 

  Click here to read the story in the on-line STLtoday.com

Press Release ...The U.S. Department of Homeland Security...United States Coast Guard issued a press release dated Sept. 7, 2006 about the "Preparedness of the Coast Guard Today Compared to One Year Ago"  

Click here  to read the Press Release  

New Web Link Added.........Added a link in the left hand column under the "River History" heading  for a website named  ...Steamboats.com.  It's  all about steamboats......pictures, history, stories and more.

Click here and check it out !.

 Monday ...September 25, 2006....         

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Our River Picture of the Day ....... is a shot of the dredge "America" working near the lower end of Iowa Island on Sunday.   The picture was sent in by Carl Seider, who hails out of Grafton Harbor 

.

RiverBill says...Thanks for the picture Carl.

Last Year's River Picture of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

    We didn't have a picture on this day last year.......So I went back to 2004 and grabbed one.    In 2004 it was a  picture of the Golden Eagle Ferry hauling cars and trucks across the river from St. Charles County to Calhoun County. 

   There was a new link added to RiverBills.com that day in 2004 named River Ferries.    It's a link to GreatRiverRoads.com. Take a look.

Boat Accident...Eagles Landing Marina........There was a boat accident at Eagles Landing Marina on Saturday night involving a 1994 Wellcraft and 1977 pontoon boat.  According to the Missouri Water Patrol Report the throttle stuck on the Wellcraft causing it to hit the pontoon boat and then the shore.

   Click here to read the Missouri Water Patrol Report N07060175

Boating on-line Magazine........The October on-line edition of  Boating Magazine is out..       Click here to view it

Attention Waterfowl Hunters......The Mississippi Valley Duck Hunters Association is having an informational meeting with the Missouri Department of Conservation on Wednesday, October 11.  Click here for more info..

Kids Fishing Hall of Fame ......The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation has launched their  Kids Fishing Hall of Fame on the takemefishing.org website.  Click here for more info.   

llinois Department of Natural Resources - Fishing Report......... is out for this week for the  Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.

Click here for the Mississippi River and scroll down to your favorite fishing area.  

Click here for the Illinois River and scroll down to your favorite fishing area.  

For the complete report go to http://www.ifishillinois.org

Events Mark Lewis & Clark's Return to the St. Louis Area........ According to a story on 5ksdk.com....... the past weekend was full of events to commerate the return of Lewis and Clark to the St. Louis area 200years ago.

• The National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial and the Osage Nation celabrated the anniversary of their return.

• Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower was dedicated. 

• A statue of Lewis and Clark, located near the Eads Bridge, was unveiled.

  Click here to read the story on KSDK NewsChannel 5

New web link Added.........Added a link to the Mississippi RiverWeb Museum in the left hand column.  The website contains all types of information about the Mississippi River..... such as the average flow rates of the Mississippi River at Grafton, IL and St. Louis, Mo. as shown below.

• Grafton, IL..........  67,100 cubic feet per second

• St. Louis, Mo .....118,000 cubic feet per second

 Click here and check out the Mississippi RiverWeb Museum.

 Sunday ...September 24, 2006....         

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Our River Picture of the Day .......  is a shot of some of the boats in Mason Chute a few weeks ago.  

  Thought it would be good to see a bit of sun shine on a gloomy day like today.

Last Year's River Picture of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

    It was a  picture of a Harley Colored Houseboat moored in the upper harbor at Capt'n Jack's Marina.  The vessel is owned by Kent and Judy Houdek from Stillwater, MI.  They told me that they have been on the river for 1 1/2 years since they departed from Lock and Dam #1... and...... "Yes"..... there is a Harley on the front deck.  

    Kent told me "This is the coolest spot they have visited so far."

 Saturday ...September 23, 2006....         

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Our River Pictures and E-mail of the Day ....... are from Kathy.  She sent us more pictures of our favorite River Dawg..........Cody !   

  Kathy and her husband found this adorable pup several months ago near Kinder's Restaurant........And ........Cody still needs a good home !   

Kathy wrote:

Hi Bill,

Here are a few updated pictures of Cody. He is now 11 months old and weighs 52 pounds. We haven't been actively seeking a good home for Cody since we've been contemplating keeping him. However, we are not in a situation where we can easily do that. He is a lovable and good-natured dog. He seldom barks unless he's outside and sees a rabbit or squirrel. Cody is in excellent health and is up-to-date on his shots. He's totally housebroken, comes when called and sits on command. Cody needs a loving family with a nice fenced yard. He would not be an outside dog since he prefers to be with his family. He loves walks and would make someone a wonderful friend. 

With your help, perhaps we'll find a happy home for Cody. 
Thank you so much.

Kathy
dkskarstad@frontiernet.net
.

.

Last Year's River Picture of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

It was a "first glimpse picture" of some of the white pelicans that migrate through our area.   Ron and Darlene Skeen sent us this picture of some the pelicans in flight that they spotted  on Turkey Island  (UMR 237 - 238)

 Friday ...September 22, 2006....         

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Our River Pictures and E-mail of the Day ....... are from Little John of Big Dicks Half Way In Racing Team.  Seems they have a new team member...baby Hayden.  The pictures are of Grandpa Little John, Randy and his baby Hayden. 

John wrote: 

Bill,
This is the new crew member to the KWITCHABITCHIN race team.
His name is Hayden.
With Little John, Randy, and Hayden, we can proudly say that we are a three generation team.

John
.

.

Last Year's River Picture of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

It was a picture, sent in by Captain Darryll Weil, of the 2nd tug for the Grafton Ferry.  The tug in dry-dock is named  Bluewater .  

Darryll wrote:

  "Went up to the River to do some work on my boat.  While at Sharky's Cove ran into Pete Tully from Polestar Marina who told me he was having extensive work done on the second tug for the Grafton Ferry.  After lunch I went over to see how the work was progressing and took some pictures of it while it's in dry-dock.  Judging by the amount of work going on it is obvious Pete is making it as reliable as possible as he told me they carry about 9700 cars a month now.  As far as I know the Grafton Ferry is the only ferry that actually crosses two rivers, the Mississippi and the Illinois, on each trip. "

Con Trios Website....... Captain Darryll Weil, who hails out of Woodland Marina in the cruiser named.... “After You”.... has recently taken over the webmaster responsibilities for the Con Trios Yacht Club’s website.  He has made lots of updates and improvements.  Good job Darryll !

Click here ....and... take a look.  

Delta Queen docks at Alton ------  According to an article in the on-line Alton Telegraph ..... the Delta Queen Riverboat docked at the Riverfront Park in Alton, IL. last Wednesday.  

  Click here to read the article in the on-line Telegraph.

~~~River History~~~

   On this day in 1842.......Abraham Lincoln and James Shields, then State Auditor of Illinois, rowed out to an island in the Mississippi River across from Alton, IL. to duel with broadswords. 

   The duel was over Lincoln's severe criticism of Shields' proclamation that ordered tax collectors at that time to accept only gold and silver for payment of taxes and school debts.   The issue ended up being resolved peacefully...and ...the duel never took place.

Click here for more info on the Lincoln - Shields Duel as published on the ILLINOIS PERIODICALS ONLINE  website.

Fishing Report  ------ The Missouri Department of Conservation has issued this week's Fishing Report.  

Mississippi River (above St. Louis):

71 degrees, normal, dingy; channel catfish good on nightcrawlers; flathead catfish fair on live bait; all other species slow. 

(Report made on 9/21/2006)

Missouri River (below New Haven)

70 degrees, low, muddy; catfish good on natural bait; all other species fair. 

(Report made on 9/21/2006)

Check out the report for the entire state of Missouri

.................go to  http://www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/fishrt/

 Thursday ...September 21, 2006....         

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Our River Pictures and E-mail of the Day ....... are some sunset pictures from John Payne:

John wrote: 

HI Bill,
Pic's are from 09/13/06. Just before sunset on the main channel side of Two Branch Island. The catfishing was slow.

John
.

.

Last Year's River Picture of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

  We didn't have a picture of this day last year for some reason......so, I went back to 2004 when we posted a shot I named  Red Sky over Two Branch Island  that was taken while was heading back up-river after a trip to Kinder's.

   RiverBills.com was relatively new at the time ......... Our very 1st edition was published only 10 days prior......on Sept 12, 2004.     Below is a copy it with our very first River Picture of the Day.  

9-12-04.

Our River Picture the Day ---is of the Bluffs along the River Road between Grafton and Alton.

Jamaica Daze 2004 pictures.... are located under "River Links" in the upper right hand corner of this page...... or .....  Click here

Cardboard Boat Races    ------ This Saturday at Capt'n Jacks at 2:00 PM.

 Mid-Rivers Eagles Youth Football Team will be selling hotdogs starting at 12:00 Noon.

Click here for pictures of last year's races

Lewis and Clark Reenactment ......  Members of the Lewis and Clark  Discovery Expedition re-enactment  will  return to the St. Louis area this weekend.

    The re-enactment expedition will arrive at  St. Charles on Sept. 18, and will stay through the weekend.   The boats are scheduled to arrive on Sept 21....several members of the crew will cast off from St. Charles on Sept. 22 and head down the Missouri River to the Mississippi, stopping at Fort Belle Fontaine.  The next day, they will head further down the Mississippi River to the St. Louis riverfront......arriving on Sept. 23.....exactly 200 years after the original landing

Thursday,  21 Sept.......St. Charles, Riverfront Park on the Missouri River

Friday, Sept.22..............Fort Belle Fontaine  on the Mississippi River

Saturday, Sept, 23........St. Louis  Riverfront

• Click here to view a calendar of events published by Missouri Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission

• Click here for information about the events going on at the St. Charles Riverfront as published in Stltoday.com

• Click here for information about the events going on at Fort Belle Fontaine as published in the on-line edition of the Edwardsville Intelligencer.

• Click here for information about events at Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford, Illinois as published on the..... campdubois.com.... website

• Click here for information about the all of the canoes joining the Lewis and Clark boats for the last 10 miles of the journey to the St. Louis Riverfront....Should be something to see.

• Click here for information about more events going on at the St. Louis Riverfront as published on the... currentsofchange.org ......website.

 Wednesday ...September 20, 2006....         

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Our River Pictures and E-mail of the Day ....... are from Bob and Jo Ann Tucker of the boat "Tunes - 2".  They sent us some really good river wildlife shots !

Bob wrote: 

Bill,
Just wanted to share some photos that my 
wife (Jo Ann) has taken of her "critters" on 
the river. I'm always amazed at what we see
each time we go boating.

Thanks Again for the great site!
Bob & Jo Ann Tucker (Tunes-2)

"A day not spent on the boat... Is a wasted day!!!!
.

.

RiverBill says....Those are some really good pictures JoAnn....Thanks for sharing them with us.

Last Year's River Picture of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

   It was another aerial shot of a beach and some boaters on  the  Mississippi River  taken from Mike and Sherri Stanczak's red and black powered parachute that you see flying around  from time to time.   What a view !

  I think this picture is looking down river at the beach at the lower end of Island No 52 (UMR 222 mile marker) where the Dardenne Slough dumps back into the river channel. The river channel is on the left and Mason Chute is straight ahead. 

Cardboard Boat Races    ------ This Saturday at Capt'n Jacks at 2:00 PM.

 Mid-Rivers Eagles Youth Football Team will be selling hotdogs starting at 12:00 Noon.

Click here for pictures of last year's races

More on the Flying Carp !......  We received an e-mail from Kevin Szczuka with a link to a video about those pesky flying carp.

Kevin wrote:

Bill,

Just thought you would find this interesting.

Thanks for the great site!!!

Kevin J Szczuka 

  Click here  to watch the video on the AOL video Blog

 Tuesday ...September 19, 2006....         

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Our River Pictures and E-mail of the Day ....... are from Irvin S. of Granite City.  It's another Asian Carp encounter....A real nightmare right here on the Mississippi River.

Irvin wrote: 

Dr. Bill

It was amazing to find your Asian Carp Page  on your web site, after a horrifying experience we had a couple weeks ago on the Mississippi river. We were enjoying a wonderful day of boating on the river with our new pontoon and was returning late in the evening to Piasa Harbor where we started, when we were attacked by these flying fish. As we got close to Piasa Harbor on the Illinois side these fish jumped violently and landed in our new pontoon boat. For 20 to 30 minutes it kept 3 people busy throwing them back into the water. They kept hitting the sides of our pontoon and made several dents in the sides, not to mention the bloody mess they made when they landed in the boat. A couple days after, I even discovered a smaller fish stuck in the framework of the pontoons and had to remove some parts of the boat to dislodge it. 
What a mess. My wife was hit in the side of the head by one of these jumping fish, she was terrified and crying. Not sure I'll ever get her out on the river again. What a nightmare!!! 

Irvin S.

from Granite City, Ill. 

August 2006

Last Year's River Picture of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

   It was a picture of the burnt out hull that was left from the cruiser fire on 9-17-05.  The hull was resting in Dardenne Slough near Sharky's.  This picture was taken Captain Tony Trice out of Woodland Marina.  Tony reported that it looked like the hull was pulled to shallow water to keep it from sinking.  

Mike and Debbie Creamer ------  I left the most important picture of all out of yesterday's edition.   It's Mike and Debbie on their wedding day. 

Congratulations 

Mike and Debbie 

The US Coast Guard Auxiliary is looking for volunteers .....click here for more info.

Press Release...National Hunting and Fishing Day... Sept. 23 is  National Hunting and Fishing Day.  A poll shows that the majority of Americans 18 and older support hunting and fishing.......and support for "hunting"  has increased over the last decade.

 Click here to read the press release.

I'm a Safe Boater. Are You ?  ... The National Safe Boating Council has launched this year's...Boating Safety Sidekicks.... contest.   The theme is  "I'm a Safe Boater. Are You?"    Kids between 4 and 15 years of age are eligible to enter.   

Click here for details

For Sale ~ Cedar Hill Resort

Turn key Operation

Restaurant, 2 houses, 1 mobile home lot,  approximately 17 Acres 

$ 750,000

Call Dave Ash 314-280-8997

Click here to view website

Illinois Department of Natural Resources - Fishing Report......... is out for the  Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.

Click here for the Mississippi River and scroll down to your favorite fishing area.  

Click here for the Illinois River and scroll down to your favorite fishing area.  

For the complete report go to http://www.ifishillinois.org

Cardboard Boat Races    ------ This Saturday at Capt'n Jacks at 2:00 PM.

 Mid-Rivers Eagles Youth Football Team will be selling hotdogs starting at 12:00 Noon.

Click here for pictures of last year's races

ITCS Memo # 2426    ------ USACE Repair Schedule for Remainder of 2006 for the Illinois And UMR, dated 9/14/06....includes  Lock & Dam 24

Click here to read the memo.

Mississippi River Overlook......  Ground was broke last Saturday for a Mississippi River overlook platform that will be directly across the river from the Gateway Arch.  It's planned opening will be next Summer. 

Click here  to read the story in  STLtoday.com

Click here  to read the story in  5ksdk.com

 Monday ...September 18, 2006....         

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Our River Pictures and E-mail of the Day ....... are of Mike & Debbie Creamer's Wedding that took place at Our Lady of the River.

Debbie wrote

Bill,

   These pictures were taken last Saturday, September 9, 2006. Our wedding was on the back of our boat, in front of Our Lady Of The River, at sunset. We are from Palisades Yacht Club. It was beautiful!!!!! 


- Deborah

Last Year's River Pictures of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

   It was a dramatic picture a boat on fire in front of Woodland Marina.   This picture was sent in by Barbara Rhoades, Commander of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 17-04.  

Additional pics :

-  Another picture of the burning boat,  sent in by Captain Gary Bowers, shows the Water Patrol boat in the foreground. 

 - Another picture of the boat fire was taken with Brad Hefferon's a camera phone. Brad owns the boat "What Was I think'N"

- Captain Robert Cope, of the boat "Slow Ride",   took some pictures of the burning boat as the rescue team was was working to put the fire out.  Robert had a whole series of good pictures on his website that captures the this dramatic incident. Make sure you take a look at them.   Click here  

 Fri, Sat & Sun ...Sept 15, 16, 17, 2006....         Updated Sun @ 6:50 AM

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Our  1st River Picture and E-mail of the Day (Friday) ....... is from Captain Darryll Weil, who hails out of Woodland marina in the cruiser named "After You".

Darryll wrote:

We took the boat down to Alton Marina over the weekend to attend the Con Trios Yacht Club Alton Getaway.  After getting the boat settled in our slip for the weekend we went up on land to enjoy the party.  Check out the pictures at:

CTYC Alton Getaway 2006

After turning in for the night we were awakened by someone pounding on our boat.  Come to find out a group led by Mark Miles had decided to go on a walk about in Alton.  Well, we got up and joined them of course.  First stop was "The Boat at the River Bend" where we enjoyed the piano bar for a while and Maureen and Terry ran into Karen Foss from Channel 5, then on to a place called Tacos (I think) and the last stop we made was "Bubby and Sissys", an "Open minded kind of place" according to their website.  Well, we did go upstairs there to "JP's Show Lounge" for the drag show!  Thanks to Mark for helping Maureen get me back to the Alton Belle Casino so we could catch the shuttle back to the Marina.

Boat at River Bend pics

JP's Show Lounge pics

Enjoy, Darryll

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Our  2nd River Pictures and E-mail of the Day (Friday) ....... are from Captain Greg Sadowski, who hails out of Woodland Marina ..........More pictures are from the Con Trios Yacht Club's Alton Get- Away last weekend.

Greg wrote:

River Bill,

Con Trios Yacht Club at Alton Marina.

Great Party by Tim and Lynn Tighe.

Good music by Charlie Hillard and Lisa.

Out-Standing Bar-B-Que by Jim Farr, Bill & Linda Mixon.

Greg

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Our River Pictures and E-mail of the Day (Saturday) ....... is from Courtney Turner, who hails out of Polstar Marina ..........

Courtney wrote:

Hey Bill -

I brought my nieces to their first "River" experience this past 
weekend. We thought we would send you a couple of pic's.   We enjoyed a day out on Iowa,  took the girls over to Grafton on the Ferry, (of course standing by the www.riverbills.com sign) 

We're trying to hold on to the summer as loooong as possible. 

Thanks,
Courtney-n-Matt @ Polstar Marina.

Last Year's River Pictures of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

Friday

   It was a picture of    Mindy ...... a beautiful river maid.     What a great combination...The Mighty Mississippi and the beautiful Miss Mindy.....    

  Photography by Marty Henderson of www.fotou.net .

Saturday

   It was an aerial shot of  the  Mississippi River  taken from Mike and Sherri Stanczak's red and black powered parachute that you see flying around  from time to time.   What a view !

Ernie Moretti described the picture in an e-mail the next day:

   "The pic was taken down river from Iowa Island .  That is lower Iowa with the partial sand bar sticking out next to the Ski Chute that snakes between Iowa and Enterprise.  You can see Anchor Yankers in the distance where the barge is at.  The pic was taken directly above Royal Landing"

Sunday

   It was a picture sent in by Ron and Darlene  out of Two Branch Harbor. It is a powered parachute that dropped in on them last Saturday afternoon on Hat Island.

  Capt'n Bert's River RamsPage 

For you boaters that are Rams Fans too........Check it out !   

Team Analysis, a Bit O' Poetry, Sports Humor, Game Plan, Injury Report, Other Strange Sports News....And more!

Click here to check it out....Enjoy !

Fishing Report  ------ The Missouri Department of Conservation has issued this week's Fishing Report.  

Mississippi River (above St. Louis):

75 degrees, normal, dingy; channel catfish good on stinkbaits and nightcrawlers; flathead catfish fair on live bait; drum fair on nightcrawlers; all other species slow. 

(Report made on 9/14/2006)

Missouri River (below New Haven)

70 degrees, low, dingy; catfish good on natural bait;  all other species fair. 

(Report made on 9/14/2006)

Check out the report for the entire state of Missouri

.................go to  http://www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/fishrt/

Judge rules much of Mississippi River off-limits to anglers ------ We got an e-mail from Kevin Chapman, who hails out of Port Charles Harbor.  He sent us a couple of links to articles about a ruling that a US Federal Judge made that makes boating, fishing and hunting on the Mississippi River and other navigable waters in the US a criminal trespass.........  Read on !

Kevin wrote:

Bill:

I came across this story on fark.com. Here are the links:

http://www.ybw.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20060814154923ibinews.html

http://www.louisianasportsman.com/details.php?id=213

It seems that this judge in LA has decided private boating on the river is not legal......Law suits to follow in 3...2..1..

Thought this might be of interest.

J. Kevin Chapman

P/V RiAna
Port Charles Harbor

RiverBill says.....Thanks for the info Kevin.......Lets keep a close eye o this one !

Cedar Hill Update ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

Bill,

Please let everyone know that there will be football and music on the deck this weekend.
Also, Please let everyone know we are trying to sell Cedar Hill not close Cedar Hill. 

   We will be open Friday-Sunday until October 29. The kitchen now closes at 7:00 on Sunday nights. We will reopen in the spring sometime around May 1st depending on the river and weather.

Thank you, 

See you Soon

Carrie Ash

 Thursday ...Sept 14, 2006....

Our  River Picture and E-mail of the Day  ------ is from Betty Bannister, who hails out of Grafton Harbor.  

 Betty wrote:

Bill,

Jan DeSherlia from Grafton Harbor thought it would be a good idea to have a memorial boat parade to remember September 11th. Here are a few pictures from our small but heart felt parade. I thought it was ironic that the "red, white and blue" River Explorer was there at that exact time. Maybe next year we can make the parade larger. We also had to have a little humor.........see Tom and Danny's picture.

Betty Bannister

Click here for more pictures.

RiverBill says....Jan DeSherlia, of Grafton Harbor fame, sponsored the commemorative boat parade as a way of remembering the events of Septemeber 11th and our U.S. Soldiers.

Last Year's River Pictures of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

   It was a picture of the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers as seen from the Timber Ridge Condominiums that sit on the bluffs above Grafton, IL.   What a view of the river.  Photo by Sue Ferguson.

For Sale ~ Cedar Hill Resort

Turn key Operation

Restaurant, 2 houses, 1 mobile home lot,  approximately 17 Acres 

$ 750,000

Call Dave Ash 314-280-8997

Click here to view website

Officer Lou ------  We received an e-mail from Phillip about his experience with the law last weekend on the Mississippi River.   Read on .........

Phil wrote:

Bill,

    Just thought I would drop you line about our visit with Officer Lou. On Sunday Sept 9, my 15 year old daughter and 2 of her female friends went for a boat ride.

    After tubing, we decided to run up to Cedar Hill for lunch.  

One of the girls was sitting on the sun pad while I was idling over towards Cedar Hill.  Officer Lou pulled up next to us and reminded us that she should not be sitting up there while the boat was under power.   I apologized, and after a boat check: vests, extinguisher, and registration we were on our way.

   Thanks Officer Lou, for the warning.   I did buy new numbers in white so they show up better and they will be on before the next outing.

    Oh, and by the way the girls all thought you were cute.

Phil

The US Coast Guard Auxiliary is looking for volunteers .....click here for more info.

Delta Queen ...A Real American Treasure------  We received an e-mail with some links to photographs and interesting facts about the delta Queen from Mike Vessell, who hails out of Port Charles Harbor in the house boat...... “Pointe of View”.

Mike wrote:

Bill,

Isn’t the Delta Queen a real American treasure!

My wife Cathi and I cruised past the Delta Queen in our house boat, “Pointe of View” near Enterprise Island on Sunday.

I hadn’t seen the Delta Queen close up like that since growing up in Hannibal, MO in the late 70’s.  One thing that caught my eye was that the smoke stack looked different that what I remembered.  I think it’s been re-done since then.

Attached are links to a couple of pictures your readers may enjoy.  One is of the Delta Queen when she was delivering troops in WWII (from cincinnati.com);  the other is a recent photo of her smoke stack fully retracted (cincinnati.com) 

Also enclosed is a web site link to the National Park Service http://www.cr.nps.gov/MARITIME/nhl/delta.htm for their historical landmark info on the Delta Queen.  Excellent reading.

Enjoy !

Mike Vessell

Port Charles Harbor

RiverBIll says....Thanks for the links and info Mike .  The photo you found of the stack laying down explains it all.

More info on the Delta Queen ------  Carl Tiemann, who hails out of Eagles Landing Marina, sent us a link to the "Peter Knego Blogs from DELTA QUEEN".  

Take a minute and look at this blog.....it contains a lots and lots of interesting information.  

For example , did you know about the sister ship named the Delta King ?

Click here  to read part one  the "Peter Knego Blogs from DELTA QUEEN"

Click here  for part  two

RiverBIll says....Thanks for the links and info Carl 

The Mississippi Queen lowering It's Stacks ------ Robert Cope, of the boat Slow Ride, sent us an e-mail and some wonderful pictures of the Mississippi Queen lowering it's stacks.

Robert Wrote: 

Bill,

   You must be right about them lowering the stacks for the power lines.   I had a bunch of pics of the Mississippi Queen running thru pool 26 last July, and she dropped her stacks as she was passing Iowa Island.  The last 5 pics in the series show her passing 521, royal landing and Iowa as they dropped her stacks.  In a couple of the pics, you can even see the crew on the upper deck near the stacks.

Robert Cope

Click here to view Robert's pictures on his photo page on sbcglobal.net

RiverBIll says....Thanks for the pictures and info Robert. 

 Wednesday ...Sept 13, 2006....

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Our  River Picture and E-mail of the Day  ------ is from Timothy Miller.......It's another shot of the Delta Queen passing through Pool 26.

 Tim wrote:

Bill,

I heard the calliope and knew the riverboat was coming!

Saturday's view was through the trees but Sunday was wide open from my dock.

Location, Harbor Point Yacht Club, Sunday

Timothy Miller

RiverBill says....Good picture Tim !   ....I think that the flags and the rock jetty in the foreground and the house on the bluffs in the distance really add character to it.

The Smoke Stacks on The Delta Queen.....   Captain Geogre Shindel noticed that the stacks on the Delta Queen were straight up in the picture that Carl Seidler sent in ..and.... down at a slight angle in the picture that MaryBeth sent us.   

   I think the reason behind this is that the riverboat was nearing the power lines that go across the river near the UMR 225 mile maker in the picture that MaryBeth sent in and they were being lowered for safety.

  ~~~ Comments anyone ??  ~~~

The Delta Queen..... should pass through pool 26 again on the 20th or 21st of this month when she returns to St. Louis from her trip to Ottawa, IL, with scheduled stops at Grafton and Alton.

   The riverboat's schedule shows it cruising up the Illinois River to Peoria, Havana and Ottawa.  I am not sure why it was headed up the Mississippi towards Lock and Dam 25.

   Click here for the Delta Queen's schedule.

News Release - American Queen, World's Largest River Cruise Ship..... Looks like we will have another riverboat cruising our rivers !   The  American Queen will make her debut on March 9, 2007 as the flagship vessel for Majestic America Line. In 2007 the American Queen will cruise the mighty Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

  Click here to read the news release.

Last Year's River Pictures of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

   It was a picture of (left to right)  Water Patrolman Lou Amighetti, Ron and Marty, with Ron's daughter Alyssa.  Ron and his daughter went to the beach for the afternoon with Marty right after this picture was taken.  Ron is the guy that had his legs badly cut by boat props in an accident on the river the year before.  Lou and Marty were key in Ron's survival that day.  Marty says a boater named Jeff, that also helped that day, was not available for this photo. 

  Remember .....BOAT SAFELY !

KWITCHABITCHIN Again was #1 qualifier in New Athens Ill, IL ------ Little John from Big Dicks Half Way In Racing wrote us the following e-mail: 

Bill

  KWITCHABITCHIN Again was #1 qualifier in New Athens Ill.

  We were # 1 qualifier in 4 out of the last 5 races,                                                           

 Won 2nd. in the whole show

 The stage is set for final point standings for the year.  It looks very promising.  In two weeks we are going to Melborn Ark. for an outlaw race.    $5000.00 pot for our class, one winner, and winner takes all.   A little maintenance to do, but we are dead on our numbers

  After that we will get ready for the World Finals in Phoenix.

This race will be the determining factor for Ashley Ruf.

She does stand a very good chance of being in the top five in the nation.

After a hard year of very consistent running, on our first year, our budget is getting thin.  If anyone one out there wants to help us get to the world finals, it would be appreciated.

One way or another We Will GIT R DONE !

                                      Little John

Captain Jack's Cardboard Boat Races   ------  are scheduled for Saturday, September 23rd at 2 PM.  Capt'n Jack's has cardboard...Free to anyone that wants to build their boat at the at the bar.

  So ...come out and build your boat....Get ready to race !

Click here for pictures from last year's race.

News Release- Importing & Transporting Live Silver Carp to be Banned.....  There is an article in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website about a news release published on a proposed rule about importing and transporting live silver carp.

  Click here to read the news release.

  Added a link to the US Fish and Wildlife Service website in the left hand column of this page.

Barge Worker Sues Two Barge Companies......Says He Contracted Legionnaires' ------  There was a nice article in the on-line Post Dispatch..... about a barge worker from Jefferson City that filed a lawsuit against two barge companies saying he contracted Legionnaires' disease while working on a barge.

  Click here to read the story in the on-line STLtoday.com

Tuesday ...Sept 12, 2006....

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Our 1st River Picture and E-mail of the Day  ------ is from MaryBeth Tiemann, who hails out of Eagles Landing Marina.   She sent us some pictures the Delta Queen and of their RAMS tailgate party on the beach last Sunday afternoon.

 Mary wrote:

Hi Bill,

  Now this is the way to Tailgate for the Rams

Its the BEST of all worlds

River-Boating AND Watching a WINNING Rams Game on the Beach!

Had blast in our tailgating party!!  Good Friends & Food-We'll all be there next Sunday for another Rams football game! 

And then a special treat the Delta Queen came up river so course the

Queens in front of the Queen!

What a beautiful boat!

See you soon

MaryBeth

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Our 2nd River Picture and E-mail of the Day  ------ is from Carl Seidler, who hails out of Grafton Harbor.  Carl sent us a picture of the Delta Queen heading up river.

 Carl wrote:

Bill,

Here is a shot of the Delta Queen I Took from Enterprise Island on Sunday afternoon.    Got to love that old boat.

Carl

Last Year's River Pictures of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

   It was a picture of some sent in by Mike and Sherri Stanczak. They named it "One of the marina's on the Mississippi".  

   It was  Heartland Marina last year....Now it's Eagles Landing Marina...here is a picture of the  Eagles Nest Clubhouse as seen from the slough that runs in front of the marina..

Clarksville Skyride ------  According to an article in the on-line Quincy Herald Whig....   the Clarksville Skyride is scheduled to be open for business once again by the end of the year..

  Click here to read the story in the on-line Quincy Herald Whig.

Highway 79... Clarksville,  Louisiana and Hannibal ------  There was a nice article in the on-line Post Dispatch..... about launching your "land cruiser" and driving up Highway 79 to  Clarksville, Louisiana and then on to Hannibal, Mo.  The article contains an interesting picture of the Mississippi River taken from the Riverview Cemetery in Louisiana.

  Click here to read the story in the on-line STLtoday.com

FIRST ANNUAL ACBS FAll CLASSIC!

WANTED:  ALL BOATS

Date:  Saturday,  October 21, 2006   (Rain date:  Sunday, October 22, 2006)

Time:  11:00 - 1:00 Meet at Grafton Harbor.  We have permission to tie up to the outside of the walkway in front  of the harbor and use the new walkway to go to the Harbor Restaurant where they will be offering the "CLASSIC SPECIAL"!

Grafton Harbor will also be providing entertainment!

After a great lunch, all boats will "parade" down the river taking in the beauty of the fall colors!  We will begin the parade at 1:00 from Grafton Harbor and hope to keep going til the Alton bridge.

This is going to be a great time!  Tell your friends! 

The river road will be busy with visitors taking in the fall colors, let's give them a beautiful sight on the river too.

COME ON AND CRUISE......If you can't make the parade at the beginning, join in anywhere...but, you won't want to miss the great food, drink and entertainment at Grafton Harbor before and after the FALL CLASSIC!

MORE INFO TO COME!

See ya on the river,

 Alice Lockhart

 Monday ...Sept 11, 2006....

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Our River Picture and E-mail of the Day  ------ is from Sherri Stanczak, who  wrote...... " Just when I thought I saw everything on the river, I was wrong"........Why? you ask....... 

Because she witnessed a Doggie Wedding at Captain Jacks this past Saturday....

Sherri wrote in her e-mail........

   Bill,

   Bosco, a chocolate Labrador, owned by Kelly and John McVey married K.C., a yellow Labrador, owned by Carl and Michele Sondker.  Both of the dogs are about 3 years old and weight approximately 110-120 pounds.  Bosco was wearing the vest and bow-tie from his owner's tuxedo.  K.C. was wearing a pink skirt with a garter belt around her neck.  They were married at Captain Jack's about 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 9, 2006. 

  My dog, Angel, is a 3-1/2 pound Yorkshire Terrier.  She was the guest of honor and was wearing a black formal.  She felt like she needed to be part of the show.  Everyone said that she made a cute little bridesmaid.

   I have attached a few of the pictures.  

   Talk with you soon.

Sherri

Last Year's River Pictures of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

1st Picture of the Day  

   It was a picture of some of the boaters at the Con Trios Yacht Club's... Pool Party at the Duck Club Saturday afternoon.   What a great day for a Pool Party.....And... as usual...the entertainment was good....the food was good ...and ...everyone had a good time....

2nd Picture of the Day   

It was a picture of the Pudding Wrestlers at Capt'n Jack's as the 1st round of the wrestling match was just starting.  Notice only a little pudding here and there.  Well.....That soon changed....Pretty soon it was pudding everywhere....including on a lot of the fans and for sure....on the 2 coaches.....What a blast.

FIRST ANNUAL ACBS FAll CLASSIC!

WANTED:  ALL BOATS

Date:  Saturday,  October 21, 2006   (Rain date:  Sunday, October 22, 2006)

Time:  11:00 - 1:00 Meet at Grafton Harbor.  We have permission to tie up to the outside of the walkway in front  of the harbor and use the new walkway to go to the Harbor Restaurant where they will be offering the "CLASSIC SPECIAL"!

Grafton Harbor will also be providing entertainment!

After a great lunch, all boats will "parade" down the river taking in the beauty of the fall colors!  We will begin the parade at 1:00 from Grafton Harbor and hope to keep going til the Alton bridge.

This is going to be a great time!  Tell your friends! 

The river road will be busy with visitors taking in the fall colors, let's give them a beautiful sight on the river too.

COME ON AND CRUISE......If you can't make the parade at the beginning, join in anywhere...but, you won't want to miss the great food, drink and entertainment at Grafton Harbor before and after the FALL CLASSIC!

MORE INFO TO COME!

See ya on the river,

 Alice Lockhart

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Jon Boat Thursday   ------  We got an e-mail from Carl Seidler, who hails out of Grafton Marina.  He sent us a picture from last week's Jon Boat Thursday Party.  

   What the heck is it ?.....well, some of the Illinois crew get together and head out on some Thursday evenings to the sandbar in their jon boats....Looks like fun !  

Bill ,

   Wayne and Betty Bannister invited me to join them at Jon Boat Thursday (last week) at 521 Island.    Great bunch of people and a good time was had by all on a beautiful evening.

   That moon was awesome on the ride home down the River Road after I left the Marina.

Take Care,

Carl

 Weekend Edition Fri, Sat, Sun ...Sept 8, 9, 10.. 2006.... Updated Sun @ 6:10 AM

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Our River Picture and E-mail of the Day (Friday)  ------ is from Chuck and Maralee Britton.  They took a river trip to the St.Louis Arch last weekend and sent us an e-mail and a few of their pictures from their trip.

Bill,

My wife and I and the children spent Sunday September 3rd in our SeaRay running down river from the Alton pool to downtown St. Louis.  Joining us were a couple from Terre Haute, In who had visited for the weekend with their Crownline.  We started at Riverside Harbor and spent most of the day as we took our time and enjoyed the ride.  The kids had never been through the locks and they had quite an adventure. Once we got there,  we dropped anchor beneath the arch and took some pics and ate lunch.  We had a great time and thought we would share these pictures with you.

Chuck & Maralee

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Our 1st River Picture and E-mail of the Day (Saturday)  ------ is from 

Robert, Slow Ride, Cope.  He took a trip up-river last weekend with a small group of boaters from Alton Pool.....and he sent us an e-mail and some neat pics from the trip......

Robert wrote: 

Hey bill, 

A small group of boaters took a trip up to pool 25 (last) Sat/Sun.  Some locked thru, some put in at Timberlake.  I put a little over 130 miles on my GPS.  I'll speak for the whole group and say we had a blast.  We found a little spit of sand covered with firewood and camped out on Sat night. We stayed up until the moon set, and I haven't seen that many stars in a long time. Cruised around all day Sunday, and locked through right at sunset on Sunday.  Attached are a few of my pics and below is a link to the slideshow......

    http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rcope2@sbcglobal.net/slideshow?.dir=/753ere2&.src=ph

Robert Cope

RiverBill says....What a good sunset picture ....with "Slow Ride" in the foreground !

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Our 2nd River Picture and E-mail of the Day (Saturday)  ------ is from 

Sharon Gwillim.  She was on the up-river trip last weekend too.....and sent us an e-mail and some of her pics ......

Sharon wrote: 

Bill, 

Here is a beauty of the sunset with Rob's boat from the lock-thru.  It was truly a great time...

Link is here...    http://www.photoshow.net/sgwillim/favorites

You have a great site, thanks for keeping it so up to time.

Sharon

RiverBill says....Another great  sunset picture ....with "Slow Ride" in the foreground !

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Our River Picture and E-mail of the Day (Sunday)  ------ is from 

Mark Muckensturn, of Edwardsville, IL.  He took a river trip from Portage De Sioux Harbor on the Mississippi River all the way to Hermann, Mo on the Missouri River.....

Mark wrote: 

Hello Bill.... 

   I thought I would send you some pictures of my recent trip up the Missouri River to Hermann, Mo.   It was a great trip.   I went by myself in our 16 Foot Carolina Skiff with a 30 HP Mercury.   I left Sioux Harbor in Portage Des Sioux at 7:15 a.m. and I got to Hermann at 2:45 p.m.   I spent the night with friends and headed back the next day.   The Missouri is a beautiful river.  There is lots of current and pretty scenery.   It was 230 miles round trip.   I used about 26 gallons of fuel which as you can see I had to bring with me.   There are no gas docks.   It's a great trip if you have a small boat.  The river is not very deep and the channel is not well marked.  

   A hand held GPS is a must for the trip.    Going home with the current was a lot faster. 

   I thought some of your readers might have some interest.

Best Regards,

Mark Muckensturm

Edwardsville, IL

Picture 178.   Stopped for lunch near the new Page Avenue Bridge

Picture 161     Approaching Hermann, MO

Picture 162    Hermann, MO  Harbor    ( No Shore Power Hookups Here )

Picture 143    River Scenery

RiverBill says....Mark....looks like you had a good trip !  Thanks for the pictures and e-mail.

   We used to run the Missouri River all the time a in the early 80's.  For a while we had quite a large crew going to one of the sandbars by the water plant.   It's a different river than the Mississippi...more current, channel not marked as well, very few people on it, almost no barge traffic, no gas , no docks.......still fun !

Con Trios Yacht Club's - 2006 ALTON GETAWAY

Alton Marina

BBQ Dinner

Music By Charlie Hillard

For more information click here.

Call.............. 618 - 656 - 1327

Last Year's River Pictures of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

Friday     

   It was a picture of sent in by Dot and Carl Fisher of Hazelwood, Mo.  

It's a bow-load of kids riding on the river between Portage Island and the Missouri shore just above Hide-A-Way Harbor / public access.   Dot also sent us a picture of a rainbow on a rainless day that was taken from the sandbar near the Grafton Ferry.

RiverBill says.....Looks like those kids are really enjoying the boat ride  and  they all have their life jackets on.  

Saturday

  It was a picture of sent in by Captain Ronnie Stevens.  It is some of the Alton Pool Crew at Two Rivers Marina last weekend

Sunday

  It was a picture sent in by Mike and Sherri Stanczak, which they appropriately named "The inauspicious beginning of the new Grafton Harbor".   

        By the way, Mike and Sherri can be seen flying around above the river in a red and black powered parachute and when they are on the water, look for them in a 17 Larson.  Here is a shot of Mike and Sherri with a  red-river-sunset in the background.  

Doggie Wedding at Capt'n Jack's ------  this Saturday....On the deck ! 

Fishing Report  ------ The Missouri Department of Conservation has issued this week's Fishing Report.  

Mississippi River (above St. Louis):

78 degrees, normal, dingy; channel catfish good on stinkbaits, grasshoppers, and nightcrawlers; flathead catfish fair on live bait; drum good on nightcrawlers; all other species slow. (Report made on 9/7/2006)

Missouri River (below New Haven)

78 degrees, low, dingy; catfish good on natural bait; all other species fair. (Report made on 9/7/2006)

Check out the report for the entire state of Missouri

.................go to  http://www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/fishrt/

Haden Mansfield Benefit ------ 

When: September 9^th, 2006

Where: Capt’n Jacks

Time: 5:00 PM to 10:00PM

50/50 Draw, Silent Auction, And Raffles FUN FOR ALL

Click here for more info

Get a boat insurance quote ........Complete the on-line quote form below & click e-mail button to send it to Bill Mixon

Welcome Mixon Insurance....As the newest sponsor on RiverBills.com.

Mixon Insurance

A Full Service Insurance Agency  

618 - 874 - 1386

314 - 570 - 1333

Mixon Insurance Agency offers exceptional packages for all types of boats

And all of your boating insurance needs

Contact us today for more information about Boat Insurance

 or 

fill out our on-line quote form

Click here to find out more about  Mixon Insurance Agency 

New Hours...Capt'n Jack's ------  Starting next week on Monday, Captain Jacks Bar and Grill will be open as follows: 

   Mon, Tue, Wed.....Closed

   Thu......................11:00 AM until 10:00 PM

   Fri &  Sat............ 11:00 AM until   1:30 AM.

   Sun.....................11:00 AM until 10:00 PM 

For more information click here to check out their website

 Thursday...... September 7, 2006......   

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Hi Bill!  

   I have attached a couple of wakeboard pictures for you!  These were taken in the ski-shot two week ago.  The young man on the board is named Justus Heiland, a visitor from Germany .   He stayed with us for 5 weeks and during that time period, learned to love the river also.  Justus is a snowboarder that adjusted to the water with no problem!   I hope you will post his pictures so all his buddies and family from home can see him doing his thing on the Mississippi River !   

THANKS

Susan Cutler

Cutty’s Ark

RiverBill says...Good job handling the wakeboard guys...Wow ! !    

                            Susan...you did a great job taking those action shots.

Bill  

   This colorful sailboat was anchored behind Slim Island on Sunday.  I believe it's a Pearson 29.  Looks to have everything… a Shoot Scoop, Force 10 gas grill, Anchor Shade, Life Sling, Horseshoe Buoy, Sunbrella Dodger and Naval Ensign.  All of the lines look to be properly laid up too.

Harry Ragland 

Last Year's River Pictures of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

   It was a picture of (left to right) Dan, Sue, Ernie, Sandy and Sue on Iowa  Beach on Labor Day (2005) sent in by Tom and Sandy.  I

Ready to Race in New Athens, IL ------ Little John from Big Dicks Half Way In Racing wrote us the following e-mail: 

Bill

   Two weeks ago, we took a trip down into Kentucky. KWITCHABICHEN was #1 qualifier and took third place overall.

   Ashley started doing a couple of exhibition runs, and ended up running grudge matches with some of the locals that thought they had hot wave runners.

   This weekend,  Sept. 9th and 10th, we will be in New Athens Ill.  We will have all 4 boats for this race.   Also we are planning to take Ashley's new boat for a couple of safety passes on the clock to see how it does.

New Athens is only about an hour from here and they have are having a town day that is really a lot of fun.

   Lets try to get some people over to here the noise, and cheer us on.

                                      Little John

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RiverBill says ......I see Little John and team are doing well in the St. Louis Drag Boat Association current point standings with their boat Kwitchabitchin

Pro Eliminator (8.00 - 8.99 Seconds):
1st: #697 - HILLBILLY EXPRESS - JIMMY BOOHER
2nd: #069 - KWITCHABITCHIN - SELDON HEMBREE

Click here for more info

Click here for pictures from last year's event

New Hours...Capt'n Jack's ------  Starting next week on Monday, Captain Jacks Bar and Grill will be open as follows: 

   Mon, Tue, Wed.....Closed

   Thu......................11:00 AM until 10:00 PM

   Fri &  Sat............ 11:00 AM until   1:30 AM.

   Sun.....................11:00 AM until 10:00 PM 

For more information click here to check out their website

 Wednesday...... September 6, 2006......   

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Bill,

 This picture is from Saturday night, Sept 3.  We took a new Sea Ray 48 Sundancer, and a 341 Meridian Sedan Bridge over to Grafton for Dinner and an evening out.  The picture is from the bridge of the 341 my dad took as we made the turn at the confluence.  Left is the Mississippi Channel and Right is straight up the Illinois River as the sun splits them down the middle.

        Brad Hefferon

        Port Arrowhead Marine Max.

Last Year's River Pictures of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

   It was a picture of the  Cardboard Boat Races at Two Rivers Marina this past weekend.  The competition was heating up in this picture as these guys were on the last leg of the race and heading to the finish line.  There were a couple of boats that sank during the different heats of the race with one right at the starting line.   The cardboard boats were taken out of the water right away after the each heat to dry-out a bit before the next race.......   What a blast !

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Boating For Life event.......Two Rivers Boat Club, Louisiana, Mo 

River Bill,

Could you please post our Thank you letter, from our Boating for Life event.  We have one picture to post, our Vanna's holding the pictures of Busch Stadium from Arteaga Photography with the winner John B, standing off to the side,  he was the highest bidder during the auction.   We have more pictures to come.

Thank you,

Shannon Sprock

Boating for Life Chairman

Illinois Department of Natural Resources - Fishing Report......... is out for this week for the  Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.

Click here for the Mississippi River and scroll down to your favorite fishing area.  

Click here for the Illinois River and scroll down to your favorite fishing area.  

For the complete report go to http://www.ifishillinois.org

Kathy Vaterott ------  Received the following e-mail about the death of Kathy Vaterott.

Bill,

    KATHY VATEROTT DIED IN A 4-WHEEL ACCIDENT ON SUNDAY NIGHT.  SHE IS A LONG TIME BOATER AND HAS MANY FRIENDS. I DON'T KNOW OF THE ARRANGEMENTS YET...SINCE IT HAPPENED BETWEEN 8 AND 9 SUNDAY NIGHT.

BETTE VANKIRK    

For the 4KMOV.com report on the accident  click here.

Fishermen Aid In Mississippi River Rescue------  According to an article in the on-line Post Dispatch..... A pair of fisherman and a game warden came to the rescue of some people trapped in a  boat that was pinned against a barge on the Mississippi River just south of the Poplar Street Bridge.

  Click here to read the story in the on-line STLtoday.com

 Tuesday...... September 5, 2006......   

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River Bill,

Here's a picture of the "Captain Crunch" riverboat cruise on Saturday of Labor Day Weekend.  DJ Rick Paul of RPM, and his crew provided awesome entertainment from the top deck of our houseboat. They really rocked the river!  We left from Woodland Marina and cruised around before landing at Iowa Island where a crowd of people joined in the fun.  We danced all day and night, and had a blast with Rick Paul's Mobile Music.

Stan and Sharon Asberry

Last Year's River Pictures of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

   It was the 2005 Jamaica Daze Poster.....A picture is worth a thousand words and this says it all.  Yah Mon !..........

Photo by Marty Henderson 

Kathy Vaterott ------  Received the following e-mail about the death of Kathy Vaterott.

Bill,

    KATHY VATEROTT DIED IN A 4-WHEEL ACCIDENT ON SUNDAY NIGHT.  SHE IS A LONG TIME BOATER AND HAS MANY FRIENDS. I DON'T KNOW OF THE ARRANGEMENTS YET...SINCE IT HAPPENED BETWEEN 8 AND 9 SUNDAY NIGHT.

BETTE VANKIRK  

RiverBill's Visitor Stats ------  The visitor stats are in for August 2006....

42,538 unique visitors !

 -  Up almost 10,000 from the July 2006 numbers

 -  Up  7,744 from the August 2005 numbers.

Click here to look at the visitor stats chart.

Report Suspicious Marine Activity  ------ Added a new section with links for reporting  suspicious marine activity.   

Marine Safety Office - St. Louis Homepage.....The place to go for information on how to report suspicious marine activity.

America's Waterway Watch ..... (AWW) program, a nationwide initiative similar to the well known and successful Neighborhood Watch program that asks community members to report suspicious activities to local law enforcement agencies.

Flood of 1993  ------ Added a link to the Flood of 1993 web page on the U.S. Geological Survey website.  Lots of information ...click here.. 

 Fri, Sat & Sun... Sept. 1, 2, 3, 2006......  

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  Boy you cant beat this, Mississippi River, Island 521, 9-2-06, Sun Set, Rick Dorn's 24 foot Sun Runner,  this is the way to live. 

Pop Dorn

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  Stop by and checkout  the restaurant first chance you get.....Dock in the harbor and it is located above the marina office......They are planning regular entertainment and a full menu soon ! 

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Glen wrote in his e-mail:

 Hi Bill,

Thanks for the nice write up on RiverBills today.

 Here is a photo that I took today on Lake Borgne, near New Orleans. I have arrived to my destination, near New Orleans and will fly home tomorrow.

Glenn

Click here to see pictures of Glen and Greg Sadowski from Aug 30 on their recent  travels delivering boats. 

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John wrote in his e-mail:

 Bill

Hi, my name is John Payne. 

My freind Tutty Grigsby lives right across from two branch island, we were fishing last night and these are some of the pictures of yesterdays sun set. 

Hope you like them.

John

Last Year's River Pictures of the Day ------  What the heck was the picture on RiverBills.com last year on this day ? 

Friday

Visit-Louisiana-mo.com ------  The latest edition of Visit-Louisiana-mo.com is out.  To read it click here.

Fishing Report  ------ The Missouri Department of Conservation has issued this week's Fishing Report.  

Mississippi River (above St. Louis):

80 degrees, normal, dingy; channel catfish fair on prepared baits and live baits; flathead catfish fair on live baits; all other species slow. 

(Report made on 8/31/2006)

Missouri River 

79 degrees, low, dingy; catfish good on natural bait;  all other species fair. 

(Report made on 8/31/2006)

Check out the report for the entire state of Missouri

.................go to  http://www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/fishrt/