~~~~~~ RiverBill's Archives~~~~~~
September 2006

(Plus the 1st day of October)

 

A WEBSITE FOR THE  BOATING COMMUNITY 

OF THE 

MISSISSIPPI, ILLINOIS AND MISSOURI RIVERS


 

 

 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 ! 

        

 CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE

 

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 !

CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE

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....         

  

 CLICK ON BOTTOM 2 PICTURES TO ENLARGE

 

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: