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Tuesday ......
31 October 2006 ....
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HAPPY
HALLOWEEN !
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 Our
River Pictures and E-mail of the Day.....
Are from Robert, Slow Ride, Cope.
Robert
wrote:
Bill,
Was out on the river Saturday and Sunday to take in the Fall colors. Got a few good Panorama pics you may want to share with the group.
The Mi.Queen was at Grafton Sunday and I took a few up close pics. I'll send you those tonight when I get home.
Robert
Cope
RiverBill
says........Thanks for the great sunset pictures Robert ! Those colors
are beyond description this time of year.........
Look for a panoramic pic of the river bluffs from Robert on RiverBill's
tomorrow !
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------ What picture
held the anchor spot on RiverBill's last year on this day ?
The "Pictures of the Day" from one year ago
were sent in by Roy Jonas...And... you have to admit
this is something that you don't see on the river everyday........
Roy
wrote in his e-mail:
Attached
are some pictures of my
three daughters and a friend practicing some cheerleading on
Iowa Island
Sunday 10/30/05. This was our last boat outing as I winterized that
afternoon.
RiverBill
says........Roy took some good action shots of their routine........up,
up
and away, with
a safe landing. I love the expressions on the faces of the girls....
as the one becomes air born..... and again........ as they catch her. Good job, girls !
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Boat
Burning Halloween
Tradition...... The
Long Island Maritime Museum hosts a boat burning party around this time of
year for local residents .
Click
here and check it out !
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Pumpkin
Boat Races...... We
might make cardboard boats and race them in the St. Louis area.....but for
something a little different click
here for a picture from the MainePumpkins.com website of a "pumpkin
boat" equipped with an outboard motor and ready to race!
For
more pumpkin boat pic's click
here.
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Grafton
TV Ad ------ According
to an article on TMC.net....... the river town of
Grafton, IL received a grant from the state of
Illinois that will help pay for television ad's
promoting Grafton tourism.
Click
here and check it out on TMC.net
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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.
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Another
Flu-like Outbreak On The Mississippi
Queen ------ According
to an article in the on-line La Crosse Tribune .....The
the Mississippi Queen has cancelled it's cruise from St.
Louis to St. Paul after more people became ill with
flu-like symptoms
Click
here and check it out in the
lacrossetribune.com.
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Funding
For A New Research Center Near the National Great Rivers
Museum ------ According
to an article on on-line Alton Telegraph....Illinois
Governor Rod Blagojevich is expected to announce $6.8
million in funding fto build a field and research station
next to the National Great Rivers Museum at Lock and Dam 26
across the Mississippi River from Alton, IL..
Click
here to read the article in the on-line Alton Telegraph.
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River
Report on last weekend's Boat Trip to Mel's .........
from Jeff and Sherri Easley
Hey
RiverBill,
The trip to Mels was really nice, with a light jacket it was comfortable, I had Texas smoked chicken breast and it was excellent, the wife had smoked beef brisket and I think it was one of the tastiest things
I've ever had. I give mad props to Mels..lol..
There were about 5 of us, although I ran ahead of the pack. It was The slow ride (Robert), Whats up (Jim) and a coupla others. We had a great time on a nice day that will more than likely be my last trip til spring,
I'm already dreding it. You do a great job on your site, keep up the good work, I check in at least every day to see
what's happening. I think the water temp may be acting up on your site, my boat said 49 degrees water
temp...brrrr..
Take care, say hello to the Mrs.
Jeff and Sherri Easley
RiverBill
says...Thanks for the update Jeff and Sherri...Mel's a good Illinois River
destination....Good people and great food.
Dr Bike also alerted me
about the water temp not being right. We are working on it.
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Illinois
Department of Natural Resources - Fishing Report.........
for 10-27-06 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
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Monday ......
30 Boatober 2006 ....
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Our
River Pictures and E-mail of the Day.....
Hi Bill,
Here are a few pics of the recovery team loading the boat that burned in Grafton on Oct 2nd...I was just returning from the trip to Mels Dockside a few of us made and got back in time to get a few shots of their effort...
Jeff Easley
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------ What picture
held the anchor spot on RiverBill's last year on this day ?
The Pictures of the Day from one year ago are from a few of the River Halloween parties
in 2005.
The first is from the Sand
Bar.....Who said they weren't having a
party !
Fred and Wilma at Sharkys
Some scary folks at Capt'n Jack's
Some soldiers ( ? )In line waiting for the ferry
A
lovely couple at Kinders
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Happy Birthday
Brandon Slayden
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Elsah,
IL.....
A Bit of History ------ There
was an article in the on-line Alton Telegraph last week about the river town of
Elsah, IL that is located around the UMR 214 mile marker of the
Mississippi River. It contains a lot of interesting information about the
town.
Click
here and check it out !
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Fri,
Sat & Sun ......
27, 28, 29 Boatober 2006 ....
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Our
River Pictures and E-mail of the Day..(Saturday)......
were sent in by
Luttrell Marine
Bill:
Here are the pictures of Tip's Boat who is returning to the river from Florida for the 2007 Boating Season.
Florida boating just couldn't beat boating with all his friends here at home
on the Mississippi.
Richard Luttrell picked up the boat last week in Florida on a return trip after a delivery to Marco Island.
Welcome Back to the River Tip!!!
Who
in the heck is "Tip" you say...Click
here and .Click
here
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Our
River Pictures and E-mail of the Day....( Friday ) ....
were sent in by Steve Schulte
Steve
wrote:
Hello Bill,
I was doing a helicopter photo job last Friday afternoon down town and we had a few minutes to make a quick detour to the river front for a
few pics!
Enjoy Steve
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------ What picture
held the anchor spot on RiverBill's last year on this day ?
Friday
The Picture of the Day on this day last year was
sent in by Mike Kolisch of the boat "Cool Breeze". Mike wrote
in his e-mail:
My
wife Joan and I were cruising along the bluffs below Grafton today
(Tuesday, Oct.25) checking out the Fall colors and the Mississippi
Queen came by..... What
a sight !
Saturday
The Picture of the Day on this day last year was
of a river
dredge and it's dredging equipment locking through Winfield Dam about 4:50
PM on a Thursday afternoon. Looks like there is a towboat in the
back pushing everything down river.
This picture came off of the Winfield
Live-Cam.
.
Sunday 2:30 PM
The Picture of the Day on this day last year was of a small section of a much larger river
landscape (that stretches for 42 inches ) sent in by Mike Kolisch.
Mike took this river landscape in seven different shots and pieced it together
for us. What a picture. This is one of the best
pictures I have seen of the bluff
area. It just keeps gong and
going.
A scaled down version of this picture was the header
picture for RiverBill's for almost a year. Thanks Mike !
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Capt'n
Jack's Bar and Grill..Closed For The Year.......
Matt, one of the bar tenders at Capt'n Jack's sent us the
following e-mail:
Hi Bill,
Denise closed Captain Jack's last night for the season, we will not be open this weekend. Thanks to all our great customers for joining us during our second year. We'll be open next Spring bigger and better and under new management.
Matt
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Zebra
Mussels........
This one is sort of
river related........
According to an article in the on-line news service.....Kansas.com.........An
alert marina worker in Texas stopped the spread of the dreaded zebra mussel
into that state.
Click
here to read the story in the Kansas.com news service.
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The
River Trip to Mel's in Hardin........
The group trip up to Mels has been moved from this Sat to this Sunday due to more favorable wind/weather on Sunday. We'll be leaving ISL 526 and heading for Mels at 11:30 Sunday. (don't forget to set your clock back Saturday night). Given my Slow Ride, I'll get to Mel's at about 1:00 others with go-fast boats will prob arrive a bit sooner.
Additional / Developing Info is here: http://whatsupontheriver.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=714&start=30
If anyone is interested in joining but doesn't have/want a login to the bulletin board, I'd ask that they send an e-mail by noon on Sat to me at:
rcope2@sbcglobal.net. Let me know how many people in your party and when you think you'll be arriving, and I'll make a reservation for a room or tables depending on how many confirmations I get..………
Robert Cope
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Cedar Hill Resort Update .......Stop by this weekend and say
goodbye for the year.
Carrie
Ash e-mail us an update on Cedar
Hill.
Bill,
Please let everyone know this weekend will be our last this year. We
will re-open 1st weekend in May with new docks on the river.
This weekend's Hours-Saturday.... 11:00 to 9:00
Sunday....... 11:00 to 7:00
Tell everyone we would love
to see them.
Carrie
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With
Deepest Sympathy........
We report a great loss for Debbie House of John's Boat
Harbor. Debbie's
father passed away last Sunday.
The memorial service will be
this Saturday.
Visitation starts at 1:00 and memorial service will start at 2:00 at the
Discovery Church,
8134 Mexico Rd (at corner of Belleau Creek Rd) in St. Peters.
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Corn
Maze
......Is
open for business this weekend !
Hey Bill,
The corn maze is owned and ran by my Dad (Wayne Boschert), Brother (Scott
Boschert), and I (Don Boschert). This is our first year doing a corn maze and plan on doing a corn maze with a different theme every year. It has been something we talked about for a couple of years now. With me being in the party rental business already (Fund Ways of Missouri 636-250-4200), it worked out pretty well. We did not design the picture of the maze, it was done by an expert threw a company in Pennsylvania. They helped us get started and taut us how to make the maze. We start designing the corn as soon as it starts growing the first weeks of June. Some of the techniques are secret so I cannot get into that. It does take about a month to lay everything out and cut the corn. Believe me, you do not want to be standing in a corn field in the months of June and July ITS HOT!
Their are two different mazes here. We have our big maze which take about an hour and half to complete because its just not a maze its also a scavenger hunt, and our mini maze which is shaped as a cow for the little guys with a different game.
We do have a lot of different things besides the corn maze when you come here. We have a pumpkin patch, so you can pick your own pumpkin along with Indian corn, straw bales, and corn stalks everything you need to dress up you house. A petting zoo with live farm animals to feed and pet. You can take a hay ride in our corn field. Eat some BBQ we have prepared under our huge tent or buy some canned goods we have for sale to take home. Something the kids love to do is go swimming in our pool filled with shelled corn.
There are lots of things to do when you come out. So plan on spending the day when you come!
Look Forward To Seeing You,
The Boschert Family
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River
Thursday ...... 26 October 2006 ....
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Our
River Pictures and E-mail of the Day........
were sent in by Captain Carl Seidler, who hails out of
Grafton Harbor.
Carl
wrote:
Bill,
Marsha and I took a cruise this evening (Tuesday). Was a little cool but sure was pretty with the best colors to come yet.
Here is a
few pictures I took.
Take Care ,
Carl
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------ What picture
held the anchor spot on RiverBill's last year on this day ?
The River Picture of the Day was
sent in by Robert "Slow Ride" Cope. He snapped a shot of the
ferry heading towards the Missouri side of the confluence with the
changing colors along the bluffs in the
background....And ..there are a few motorcycle riders up front enjoying the
view.
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Cedar Hill Resort Update .......Stop by this weekend and say
goodbye for the year.
Carrie
Ash e-mail us an update on Cedar
Hill.
Bill,
Please let everyone know this weekend will be our last this year. We
will re-open 1st weekend in May with new docks on the river.
This weekend's Hours-Saturday.... 11:00 to 9:00
Sunday....... 11:00 to 7:00
Tell everyone we would love
to see them.
Carrie
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Missouri
River Relief - Collects Info on Missouri River Trash........
According to an
article in the on-line Post Dispatch .....The Missouri River Relief
Organization recently passed through the St. Charles area gathering
information on trash in the Missouri River. The data will
be compiled and used for future river clean-up efforts.
Click here to read the story on STLtoday.com
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October 26 & 27,
2002 in River History
------ The
Grafton Ferry celebrated it's Grand Opening Weekend. The ferry began
regular operation the following week.
Click
here for more information.
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River
Wednesday ...... 25 October 2006 ....
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Our
River Pictures and E-mail of the Day........
were sent in by Sherri Stanczak. They are some
aerial shots of Captain Jacks Marina.
Sherri
wrote:
Bill,
Here are the aerials of Captain Jack's. I am doing a marina profile on them for Heartland Boating Magazine next spring. We may send in a couple of these pictures. My husband, Mike, took these last week from his powered parachute.
Talk with you soon.
Sherri
RiverBill says....Thanks for the pictures Sherri....and...Good luck on the
article, we will be looking forward to reading it.
Note:
You may have seen Mike and Sherri flying around above the river from time to
time in their back and red powered parachute.
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Our
2nd River Pictures and E-mail of the Day........
were sent in by Lockhardt. They are pictures from
last Saturday's ACBS Fall Classic..Parade Down the River.
Alice
wrote:
Bill,
The first annual ACBS Fall Classic was a GREAT success! We have lots of pictures that will be ready to share later this week! It was exciting to see everyone at Grafton Harbor enjoying lunch and conversation before the "parade down the river" began!
The colors were beautiful as well as the sight of the boats together.
Looking forward to next year! Here are a couple pictures sent by Timothy Miller from the bridge of Timtation (1968 Chris Craft Commander Express)....Thanks Tim!
WHAT A GREAT DAY ON THE RIVER!!!!!
Thank you to the staff of Grafton Harbor and the GREAT service and food at the restaurant!!!
Alice
RiverBill says....Can't wait to see your pictures of those classic boats.
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------ What picture
held the anchor spot on RiverBill's last year on this day ?
The River Picture of the Day was
aa Golden
Sunset taken from the Grafton Ferry by Debbie House, of Affiliated Insurance
and John's Harbor, while on a motorcycle ride last year.
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Capt'n Jack's Is Coming Back Next Year... BIGGER and BETTER .......
Denise
Groecki, one of the owners, told me the following items are
currently......... "in the works"...... for Capt'n
Jack's in 2007.
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New
50' & 60' docks in the lower harbor.
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3
new buildings for 280 rack storage spots.
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To
make the bands sound even better:
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New
paint for the bar and restaurant.......
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Mississippi Queen .......According
to their on-line schedule....The Mississippi Queen is scheduled to
depart from the St. Louis Riverfront today and head up-river towards Hannibal,
Mo. The excursion boat should pass through pool 26 today, unless there
are still problems from the flu like illness they recently had to deal with
on-board.
Click
here for more information on the schedules
See yesterday's edition for more information on the on-board illness.
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Illinois
Department of Natural Resources - Fishing Report.........
for 10-20-06 is out for the Mississippi River.
Click
here for the Mississippi River and scroll down to your favorite fishing
area.
Click
here for the Illinois River report dated 10-14-06 and scroll down to your favorite fishing area.
For the complete report go to
http://www.ifishillinois.org
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River
Tuesday ...... 24 October 2006 ....
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Our
River Pictures And E-mail of the Day........
Are from Captain Robert Cope of the boat "Slow
Ride". Robert took a boat ride this past weekend and sent us an e-mail
and some pictures.
Robert
wrote:
It was cold, and it was windy, but I had to see the bluffs. Even had whitecaps on the way out, but the wind died down a little as the day wore on. Wandered up to Grafton Harbor and saw the Classic Cruisers getting ready for their trip down the bluffs. there were some pretty boats there, but, I chose to stop on an Island , build a fire and cook some hot dogs with my daughter instead of making the run down to Alton.
A couple of barges and a bright red sailboat were waiting for me while I was on the way back to the harbor, so I had to take a few pics.
According to the pictures I took last year, next weekend should be the best weekend for fall colors. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.
Reminder: this Sat 10-28 is the date set for a group trip up the Illinois to Mels. Keep an eye on this thread for details:
http://whatsupontheriver.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=714
Robert
Cope
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------ What picture
held the anchor spot on RiverBill's last year on this day ?
The River Picture of the day was
a shot of the American
Queen Riverboat locking through Winfield Dam about 9:30 on Sunday
evening. According to the on-line
itinerary, the American Queen is heading north on the Mississippi to
St. Paul Minnesota on a Fall Foliage Cruise, with stops in Hannibal, Dubuque,
La Crosse and Red Wing. This picture came off of the Winfield
Live-Cam.
Note:
There is a good article about the history of the Delta Queen, a sister ship of
the American Queen, on the Delta Queen
Steamboat website. Click
Here.
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Flu Like Illness On Board St. Louis Bound Excursion Boat .......According
to a story on 5ksdk.com.....
Dozens passengers
aboard the Mississippi Queen Riverboat got sick from some sort of stomach
virus on a trip from Cincinnati to St. Louis. The boat to make stops in
Paducah, Ky and then Cape
Girardeau, Mo. where the sick were provided medical treatment.
Click
here to read the story on KSDK NewsChannel 5
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Grafton.....
A Bit of History ------ There
were a couple of articles about the City of Grafton, IL in the on-line Alton
Telegraph...Check them out !
Early City
History through 1993......
Click
here to read the article in the 10/22/06 on-line Telegraph.
Still Reeling
From The 1993 Flood......
Click
here to read the article in the 10/23/06 on-line Telegraph.
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Monday...Monday
......23 October 2006 ....
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Our
River Picture of the Day........
is of
the colors on the bluffs along the Great
River Road last Saturday afternoon.
We did notice that the colors were better on the Illinois side of the
Mississippi River !
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------ What picture
held the anchor spot on RiverBill's last year on this day ?
Well....we didn't have a picture of the day
last year on this day for some reason.... so I went back into my archives and
chose a picture of North
Shore Harbor that I took back in October of 2004.
How things have changed !
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Con
Trios Website Updated ........ Captain Darryll Weil, Con
Trios Web Master, has updated their website with some pictures from Saturday's
Con Trios Yacht Club's cruise on the Grampa Woo.
Click
here and check them out !
Stay
anchored right here...
There's
more pics from the cruise coming down river.
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Illinois
Department of Natural Resources - Fishing Report.........
for 10-13-06 and 10-14-06 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
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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.
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The
Weekend Report ......20, 21, 22 October 2006
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Our
River Picture of the Day........(Sunday) is of the Grampa Woo
docked at Sharky's yesterday afternoon. The captain brought the boat in
to the dock with precision and ease and the crew quickly secured it to it's
moorings...then they readied the boat for the waiting Con Trios Yacht Club
members to board. The day was a bit rainy and overcast......but weather it
didn't dampen anyone's spirits.
Another great Con Trios Yacht Club outing !
Keep
your anchor right here ....we will have more pictures soon !
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Our
River
Pictures of the Day........ were sent in by Debbie Luebbert.
She sent us some pictures of the Tall Stacks Festival held in Cincinnati,
Ohio.
Debbie
wrote:.
Bill,
Attached are some great photos of the Tall Stacks Festival which was held October 4 thru October 8. This event is held every 3 years on the Ohio River. Both Ohio & Kentucky riverfronts join in the festivities. It was great to see all the old steamboats gather at one site for this fun event.
Debbie
Luebbert
Click
here for more info on the Tall Stacks Festival
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Our
River
Pictures of the Day........ were sent in by John Payne. He
took these pictures of the sunset through the clouds last Monday, October
6.
RiverBill
says........Incredible pictures !
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------ What picture
held the anchor spot on RiverBill's last year on this day ?
Friday
It was a picture was sent in by Captain Randy Bicknese of the boat
"Lady Di".
Randy wrote in his e-mail:
"The pic was taken last Thursday ( 10-13-2005) while we were
skiing
in Dardenne Slough. The water was great and there was not many other
boats around. If all goes well, we'll be back out there this week. The
girls ( Diane of Lady Di and Susan of Cutty's Ark ) won't give up on ski season
which helps keep me out there too."
Bill
says ....Randy's picture made
it on to the "RiverBills.com
posters" you see at river bars& restaurants, boat
dealers and other river businesses in the area.....Thanks for sending it in
Randy !
Saturday
It was a picture of the start of the changing
of the colors on the bluffs that grace our river along the Great River
Road between the cities of Grafton and Alton, IL.
Captain Robert Cope, of the boat Slow Ride, sent this one in and I think its a
really good shot of the bluffs, the river road, the blue sky and the blue
water. Its worth putting in a frame.
Bill
says ....Thanks for sharing your picture with us Robert.
Sunday
It was a picture of the Grafton Ferry as it crosses the confluence
of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers heading for the ferry landing in Grafton, IL. I think that most folks would agree that the scenery we have in this area of the river has to be some of the best around.
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Sunday........ THE FIRST ANNUAL ACBS FALL CLASSIC
Well, the weather report looks like we will have rain on Saturday...That is why we made a rain date for the ACBS Fall Classic! The Fall Classic will be on Sunday, October 22nd instead of Saturday. The schedule will remain the same. Meet at Grafton Harbor 11:00am - 1:00pm..."parade" down the river starts at 1:00..Entertainment and "Classic Special" at Grafton Harbor before and after! ALL BOATS WELCOME!!
Any questions Email Alice at aelockhart@yahoo.com
It is going to be a great day on the river!
Alice
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~~~ RiverBill's Archives~~~
