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Fri,
Sat, Sun .... 30, 31 march & 01 April 2007........
Welcome
To The Weekend
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@ 11:50 AM
 Our
River Picture of the Day...Sunday...
is of some of the River Crew at Longshot Saloon on Saturday
night. Longshot Saloon is located on the river at Portage
Des Sioux . They are open for the season....
636- 899 - 1104
Open
Thurs & Fri at ......4:00PM
Open Sat & Sun at...... 12:00
Noon
Happy Hour 4 -7 PM on Thurs & Fri...$1.75 Beer...$0.35 Wings
Thurs...$0.69 Tacos 7-9 PM
Appetizers,
Pizzas, Burgers
Full
menu coming soon
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Our
River Pictures and e-mail of the Day...Saturday... are
from Jan DeSherlia of Grafton
Harbor fame.
Jan
wrote:
Hi Bill,
We have a slip holder that has earned the name "Bumper" here at Grafton Harbor.
He thought that he could get even with us by paying his annual slip rental in one dollar bills!
Brian and Linda are enjoying a beautiful March day in their dingy! How lucky are we to have such great weather this time of year.
Jan
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Our
River Picture and e-mail of the Day...Friday... are from Tauni
Shuck. He sent us another flood picture.
Tauni
wrote:
Hey Bill,
How are ya doing? I am itching for this water to start
dropping.
Slipped off today with Johnny P of Eagles Landing for a river day and snapped this shot of the high water coming into Eagles Landing marina
Tauni
RiverBill
says.... Thanks for the picture Tanui..... A person can get a feel for
how much the water has come up by looking at your picture.. Helps put it all
in perspective.
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Yester
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was steering RiverBill's up-river on
this day in years past ?
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Sunday
The
"Picture of the Day" in 2005 was is an aerial shot of the
Missouri River, Highway 40 bridge and a great sunset
taken by
Steve Schulte
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Saturday
The
"Picture of the Day" in 2005 was great view from the deck
of Aeries Riverview Winery, located high on the bluffs above Grafton, IL.
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Friday
The
"Pictures of the Day" on this day in 2005 were a
series of 6 pictures
named, "It doesn't look good !" What is that guy doing wading in the water at the boat ramp ? Again, we have a few clues -- OH NO !. it's another vehicle in the water. Keep pulling -- just a little further. OK - Just a little more ---Pull ! Now that we are checking things out --
are there any fish in there ?
Yes, everyone agrees
What a mess !
These pictures were taken by Lisa Beckman
a couple of summers ago at the
Long Shot Saloon in Portage Des Sioux. She was quick to point out that it wasn't her truck, nor did it belong to any of her friends and that it took two different tow trucks to get it out.
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IDNR
NEWS RELEASE..... CPO II Jon
Davis of the IL. Conservation Police sent us some information about National
Safe Boating Week, press releases on the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources (IDNR) web site, along with safety courses and boating rules and
regulations.
RiverBill,
Hope everyone is having a safe spring. With National Safe Boating
Week coming up this May 19-25, 2007, just before the Memorial Day holiday,
check out the IDNR web-site and go under the press releases section for
March.
This will give updated information on boat safety courses. Illinois
also has an on-line safety course that is offered for a small fee. All boating related rules and regulations can be accessed by going
to the IDNR homepage, click under agency offices, then click on legislation.
All compiled statutes, and administrative rules will be available
there.
CPO II Jon Davis, IL. Conservation Police
Region IV, Dist. 9
RiverBill says...Thanks for the
information Jon....Please continue to keep us informed.
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Grafton Ferry Update
------ Talked to the folks in the Grafton Ferry
Company on Friday afternoon The Coast Guard is going
to do an inspection on Monday.....The ferry should be back in service
sometime next week.
Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available
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Long
Shot Saloon
------
opens for business this weekend !
Portage Des Sioux ........ 636- 899 - 1104
Open
Thurs & Fri at ......4:00PM
Open
Sat & Sun at...... 12:00
Noon
Happy
Hour 4 -7 PM on Thurs & Fri...$1.75 Beer...$0.35 Wings
Thurs...$0.69
Tacos 7-9 PM
Appetizers,
Pizzas, Burgers
Full
menu coming soon
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ITCS
Memo 2519 ....Lock 24 ...Scheduled Closure Cancelled ---
The 3rd scheduled closure of lock 24 has been cancelled. The Corps of Engineers has completed all necessary work during first 2 scheduled closures.
Click
here
to read the ITCS Memo #2519
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Mississippi
River Forecast…. Click
here today's river stages and forecast.
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Missouri
Conservation
Magazine........The
April on-line edition of
Missouri
Conservationist on-line Magazine is out..
Click
here to take a look !
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Missouri
River Communities Network........Added
a link to the Missouri River Communities Network website in the left hand
column.
"The Missouri River Communities Network (MRCN) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve and restore the historic, cultural and natural resources of the Missouri River and its surrounding communities, and to encourage citizen participation in these endeavors."
Click
here to go to the
Missouri River Communities Network website.
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Saturday
May 12 ..........
Missouri
River Relief
Clean-up
Banks of Missouri River Near St. Charles
Assemble at the pavilion near the Lewis & Clark Boathouse adjacent to riverfront Frontier Park in St. Charles
For more info go to:
http://www.riverrelief.org/events/07stcharles.html
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With Deepest
Sympathy........ Little John, of Little John's marine Service, sent us the following e-mail :
I am very saddened to let people know that Keith Ruf's uncle passed away this (Thursday) evening.
He happens to be one of three people left in Kieth's own family. The mans name is Edgar Swinsord (age mid 60s). Many of the older crowd on the river will know who I am speaking of. He and Kieth's father built the house that Kieth lives in. There are many pictures and old movies of life in our setting today, as it was then. (the 50s). In a better time, I know Keith will show them to people interested. Keith may or may not be happy for me to send this out, But this was a person that had the foresight and started the enjoyment of the river that we all enjoy today. I am calling out, as a true river person, for people to come and show respect for one of the people that started in making our great river experiences possible for all of us.
Kieth , Ashly, and Casy really need a hug right now, they really have their hands full. This gentleman's wife needs to know that we, the people in today's world, appreciate just what her husband has done to get us where we are today.
Edgar Swinsord will be laid out at Baue Funeral home Sun. 2.00 till 5.00
Funeral Mon. 10.00
Thanks
Little John.
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Thursday
.... 29 March 2007........
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Our
River Pictures and e-mail of the Day...... are from
boaters from the Duck Club Yacht Club that are cruising around in the waters
off Florida !.
HI River Bill,
We took our boat, STARSHIP, from the Duck Club to Florida. We keep it in Lighthouse Point on the east coast. We travel to the Exuma Islands south of Nassau with the boat, Over The Edge, also from the Duck Club.
Here is a shot of us running off the Florida coast and one of our latest catches.
It's a 65 lb whahoo.
We enjoy your site all winter.... since we have been boating on the river since 1973. Keep up the good work.
Al and Annette Morgan
RiverBill
says....A "Big Hello" from all the boaters in St. Louis
! We are envious. Whahoo.....Looks
like a blast !
Enjoy and keep us up-to-date on your travels.
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Yester
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was steering RiverBill's up-river on
this day in years past ?
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The
"Pictures of the Day" on this day of the week in 2006 were a
series of sunset shots sent in by Robert Cope.... of the boat Slow Ride.
Robert
wrote in his e-mail:
Went to Principia College again, but this time we
went hiking and found a way all the way out on the tip of the bluffs, It
was such a nice view, and a great sunset, my son and I just sat there for
about an hour and a half, even though we were both freezing. To top
it all off, a barge came along at just the right time to make it complete.....
Robert
Cope
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Long
Shot Saloon
------
is opening for business today
Portage Des Sioux ........ 636- 899 - 1104
Open
Thurs & Fri at ......4:00PM
Open
Sat & Sun at...... 12:00
Noon
Happy
Hour 4 -7 PM on Thurs & Fri...$1.75 Beer...$0.35 Wings
Thurs...$0.69
Tacos 7-9 PM
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Mississippi
River Forecast…. Click
here today's river stages and forecast.
Winfield will drop below flood stage on Friday
Grafton is forecast to stay just a bit above flood stage for a while
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Missouri
River Relief ------ There
was a news article in yesterday's on-line Post Dispatch about this year's
clean-up effort on the Missouri River....all the way from St. Louis to the first dam, 805 river miles upstream in
South Dakota
Click
here to read the article on STLtoday.com
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Party
at Kinder's
------ April
28th ........ 8 PM - 12 midnight
The
Works Band will be playing the tunes ........Let's
Dance !
Click
her for Kinder's Restaurant website
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Found….
Box of tools.... at the Yacht Club of St. Louis.
To claim.....e-mail RiverBill with description .. riverbill@prodigy.net
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RiverBill's
Upcoming Events Page
------
Add your event ....Just send an e-mail to riverbill@prodigy.net
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Wednesday
.... 28 March 2007........
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Our
River Picture and e-mail of the Day......is from Fran
Kennedy.
River Bill,
Our Chip sired 6 Dachshund puppies this thanksgiving with Tinkerbell, they are precious.
Fran Kennedy
Marty Faupe
RiverBill
says....Looks like you have River Dawgs everywhere !
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Yester
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was steering RiverBill's up-river on
this day in years past ?
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The
"Picture of the Day" on this day in 2005 was
a series of four.
We
named them
Guess what we caught at the boat ramp ?"
These pictures are from the 80's. I think they were taken at John's Boat Harbor and I am not exactly sure
who all the people are anymore. If you need a few clues as to what they caught -- click here. Yep - It looks like a wet SUV. How wet is it ? REAL WET !
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Mississippi
River Forecast…. Click
here for current river stages and forecast.
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Found….
Box of tools.... at the Yacht Club of St. Louis.
To claim.....e-mail RiverBill with description .. riverbill@prodigy.net
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Long
Shot Saloon
------ in
Portage Des Sioux is opening for business this Thursday !
636- 899 - 1104
Open
Thurs & Fri at ......4:00PM
Open
Sat & Sun at...... 12:00
Noon
Happy
Hour 4 -7 PM on Thurs & Fri...$1.75 Beer...$0.35 Wings
Thurs...$0.69
Tacos 7-9 PM
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Paying
Too Much For Boat Insurance ?.......
Check out Mixon Insurance.
Fill out
Bill Mixon's on-line
quote form for a fast, friendly insurance quote for rates
on your boat..
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Tuesday
.... 27 March 2007........
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Our
River Picture and e-mail of the Day......is from Barb
Appel. Barb sent in the "top picture" and the following
e-mail:
Bill,
Here's a picture of the high water at Kinder's Saturday.
Brian and Dana Graff, my husband Brad Appel, and I, took a ride over the high water to Illinois Saturday on the Golden Eagle Ferry. We also crossed on the Brussel Ferry and made stops at Kinder's, the Loading Dock, and Mississippi Half Step. It was a great spring day enjoying the river we all hope to be boating on soon.
Barbara Appel
RiverBill
says...the 2nd picture is a closer view that I took on Sunday.... the water is
starting to get close to the concrete deck pilings.
Yes...
that is Ernie on the porch steps.
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Mississippi
River Forecast…. the Mississippi River is forecast to stay
above flood stage for a while at Winfield and Grafton........The good news is
that the crests have been lowered !
Click
here for current river stages and forecast.
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Con
Trios Yacht Club's Spring Ice Breaker Pics -----
Capt'n Darryll Weil has the Con Trios website updated with pictures from
the first event of the season....The Spring Ice Breaker.
Click
here to go to the Con Trios website.....click on the links
from there..
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Update...Water Resources Development
Act ----- The bill was approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
on the 15th of March. Now the Committee Chairman is urging leadership to schedule
it for House floor consideration.
Among other things ....the bill would authorize navigation improvements and ecosystem restoration on the Upper Mississippi
River and the Illinois Waterways….
Click
here to read the news article in the Waterways Journal
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ITCS
Memo 2518 ....Illinois & Mississippi River Update ---
for miles 50.0 -230.9 of the Illinois River and miles 241.4 - 324.8 of
the Upper Mississippi River.
Click
here
to read the ITCS Memo #2518
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Capt'n
Jack's Bar and Grill
------ is
opening
for business on Wed, April 11.
Grand
Opening.... Saturday, April 14th
Music
by the band Rail
Click
here for more info
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The
Band Powder Keg
------ is
scheduled to play at KJ's Place in Portage Des Sioux, MO on May
5th....(Formerly Portage Grill ) .
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Illinois
Conservation Police
------ the link to the
Illinois Conservation Police, in the left hand column, has been
fixed. ( again )
Click
here and check it out...write the phone numbers down in your boat...put
them into your cell phone.
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Monday
.... 26 March 2007........
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Our
River Picture of the Day......is of a birdhouse along
the riverbank just above the Golden Eagle ferry landing on the Illinois side
of the Mississippi River. The flood waters are taking over land that is
usually dry. Lots of the floating derbis..
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was steering RiverBill's up-river on
this day in years past ?
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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The
"Picture of the Day" on this day in 2005 was
an aerial shot of the river taken by
Steve
Schulte. The aircraft is flying down-river, around the UMR 217 mile marker, heading towards Portage Des Sioux. Looks like "Slim Island" on the right hand side of the windshield, just a bit down-river from that southbound tow. I think that the next island down river on the right hand side is "Portage Island". Check out
Steve's website with the hot-link on the right hand side of this web page.
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Capt'n
Jack's Bar and Grill
------ opening
for business on Wednesday, April 11.
Grand
Opening Saturday, April 14th
Music
by the band Rail
Click
here for more info
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Mississippi
River Forecast….. As of 8:30 PM on Saturday
The Mississippi River is forecast to go above flood
stage at Winfield and Grafton today. Alton is forecast
be high, but expected to stay below
flood stage.
Click
here for current river stages and forecast.
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Golden
Eagle Ferry ------ was using the
ferry landing in the "back of Dardenne Slough" on Sunday due to the
high water.
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RiverBill's
Upcoming Events Page
------
Add your event ....Just send an e-mail to riverbill@prodigy.net
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Friday ....
23 March 2007........ WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND !
Updated
Sun @ 4:30 PM
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Our
River Picture of the Day......Sunday.... was taken by Jennifer and
sent in by Mike Reed of the Valley Sailing Association.
Mike
wrote:
Yes, there is very competitive sailing that goes on between Happy Hours on the river in/on the Alton Lake!
Mike Reed
Valley Sailing Association
www.valleysailing.org
RiverBill
says: Great photo Jennifer...Thanks for sending it in Mike !
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Our
River Picture of the Day......Saturday.... is from Kinder's Restaurant
on Friday night. They are open Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Stop in and say hello, have a clod drink and something to eat..
Life
Is Right
It's
Friday Night
At
Kinder's Restaurant
RiverBill,
Mary and Carl during "Martini Hour" at Kinder's Restaurant on Friday
night.
Click
here to checkout Kinder's new website....pictures and info being added daily.
Click
here to check out this year's menu.
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Our
River Picture of the Day......Friday....was sent in by Steve
Schulte in 2004...I think it's one of those shots that is timeless...I've
named it
It's Flood Season Again.
Looks like a person could walk all the way from one bank to the other.
The
river is coming up.....Click
here for the river levels, river forecast and weather.
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was steering RiverBill's up-river on
this day in years past ?
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Sunday
The
"Picture of the Day" on this day in 2005 was
of the Piasa Bird that is painted on one of the bluff walls near Alton, IL. This picture was taken from the new parking lot that is next to the Great River Road and the Mississippi River. The Piasa Bird painting will be real noticeable to motorist and boaters alike this summer because it will be illuminated at night.
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Saturday
The
"Picture of the Day" on this day in 2005 was
of part of the river-town of Grafton, IL. as seen from the bluffs above the city. The large building with the red roof is the Loading Dock and the sandbar on the right is at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.
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Friday
The
"Picture of the Day" on this day in 2005 was
of a runabout that crashed through the side of a cruiser. Looks like the bow of the smaller boat went all the way through the cruiser, knocked the top loose and up away from the boat. Captain Gary Bowers,
who hails out of Woodland Marina, sent in this picture. He is not sure of the origin, but I did notice that the cruiser has Missouri numbers on it. They are probably
"Lake Boaters".
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Mississippi
River Forecast….. As of 9:15 AM on Saturday
The Mississippi River is forecast to go above flood
stage at Winfield on Monday and above flood stage at Grafton on Sunday. The
Alton is forecast
be high, but below
flood stage.
Click
here for current river stages and forecast.
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This
Saturday, March 24 -
Con
Trios Yacht Club's Spring Ice Breaker
Pere Marquette
Lodge
~~
See ya there ~~
Click
here for more info. Click
here to look at pictures from last year's event...It was country western
boaters having fun.
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Noodling
for Catfish ------ There
was a news article in yesterday's on-line Post Dispatch..... about how
noodling for catfish may soon be a thing of the past.
Noodling is a method of catching catfish by hand. Noodlers poke
around in underwater caves and crevices with their bare hands for fish instead
of using a rod and reel. Sometimes they come up with snakes, beavers and
turtles....Yikes.
Click
here to read the article on STLtoday.com
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Hydroelectric
power plant at Melvin Price Lock and Dam ------ Capt'n
Robert Cope, of the boat "Slow Ride", sent us a link to a news article in yesterday's on-line Post Dispatch..... about
building a
hydroelectric power plant at the Melvin Price lock and dam at
Alton Illinois. The plant would be capable of a generating capacity of
60 to 100 megawatts.
Click
here to read the article on STLtoday.com
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Grafton Ferry Update
------ Talked to the folks in the Grafton Ferry
Company on Monday ……….The ferry is "tentatively" scheduled to be back in service at the end of the month.
Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available
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Safe Boating
Course ------ Gus
ELia sent us the following information about the United States Power
Squadron's Safe Boating Course.
Hi Bill,
I'm going to do a Safe Boating course at Kilroy's Restaurant starting on Tuesday April 3rd. This course will cater to the student of Orchard Farm High School but everyone is invited. Please post the attached flyer. Lori will be serving dinner before class.
Gus Elia
Click
here for more info
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Thursday ....
22 March 2007....
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Our
River Picture of the Day......is from Milt and Fran Ohlsen....who are
wintering in the Bahamas......and....they check out RiverBill's to see what is
happening on the Mississippi River here in St. Louis.
Milt
and Fran wrote:
Life is good here in the
Abacos---thru your website we have watched winter storms take their toll on the river, and pleased to just read
about it!
The cruising life fits us and we will soon leave here to summer in the Chesapeake
before returning here next winter.
Milt/Fran Ohlsen
49' Krogen Express
Sea Fox
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RiverBill
says.....I had to e-mail Milt and Fran back and ask them to tell me more about
themselves and their journeys.
Capt'n
Milton sent me the following reply;
Bill,
I was on the Board of the Duck Club and for the two years prior to last year I headed up the Spring event there that featured a Boat Show, Chili Blast and "Yard Sale" that attracted a bunch of people and signaled the start of the Boating Season.
I also represented the DCYC and the boaters on the Pool in working with the Corps to find safe solutions to our concerns.
Been a boater on the River for 20 years and
tickled the cash registers of boat stores frequently----lived in St Charles till last June when we retired, sold our home, moved aboard the Sea Fox and went to the North Channel before turning around and coming back thru the Inland Waters to Mobile and eventually to the Abacos in early January.
What a ride it has been!!
Next month we head back to Florida and then to the
Chesapeake for the summer/fall before doing the St Johns River--then back to the Bahamas!
We are, to my limited knowledge, part of only a handful of boaters from the Pool who have done this.
I have taken quite a number of photos---tell me if you want me to send some--and if so, what subject matter?
Take care,
Capt Milton Ohlsen
. RiverBill
says.....Please send us some pictures of your journeys Milton. Pick some
out that the boaters in St. Louis would enjoy looking at..... Be safe
and enjoy !
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Welcome
New Sponsor.....Artificial Palm Trees R Us .......Click
here
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was steering RiverBill's up-river on
this day in years past ?
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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The
"Picture of the Day" on this day in 2006 was
sent in by Lynne Williams
We
had snow and ice !
And.....
Lynne captured the Grafton
Ferry
crossing the river in the middle of a Winter Wonder Land.....On.. the 2nd
day of Spring.
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Clean
Stream Day 2007 ....... Sat,
24 March 2007.....The City of St. Peters, Mo is looking for volunteers
to help clean portions of the Spencer Creek and tributaries to the Dardenne
Creek.
Dardenne Creek empties into Dardenne Slough at about the UMR 227.3 mile
marker of the Mississippi River.
Click
here for more information
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Flood
Stage Forecast…..The Mississippi River is forecast to go above flood
stage on Saturday at Winfield and Grafton. Alton is forecast to stay below
flood stage (through next Wednesday)….
Click
here for more info.
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Grafton Ferry Update
------ Talked to the folks in the Grafton Ferry
Company on Monday ……….The ferry is "tentatively" scheduled to be back in service at the end of the month.
Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available
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Safe Boating
Course ------ Gus
ELia sent us the following information about the United States Power
Squadron's Safe Boating Course.
Hi Bill,
I'm going to do a Safe Boating course at Kilroy's Restaurant starting on Tuesday April 3rd. This course will cater to the student of Orchard Farm High School but everyone is invited. Please post the attached flyer. Lori will be serving dinner before class.
Gus Elia
Click
here for more info
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More
River Dawgs "Coming Soon"------ Look for some new River Dawg pics
in the near future ! I have a few to post that have been in my
in-basket for a while.
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Wednesday ....
21 March 2007....
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Spring
Is Here !
Time
To Get Your Prop(s) Wet
Spring
is also
known as the Vernal Equinox
The
hours of daylight will now exceed the hours of darkness !
Happy
Boating....
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Our
River Picture of the Day......is named
Spring
Sunrise
It
was actually taken last Sunday morning ...but I thought it represented a
Mississippi River Spring sunrise in St. Louis really well. We have a
beautiful sunrise, smooth water, birds flying around in the sky and high
water with the debris floating.
It's
the Mississippi River that we are use to
And
the river that we love.....
It's
made us the River Creatures that we are !
Welcome
to the 2007 boating season..
Thanks
Carl Tiemann for the phrase "River Creatures"
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was steering RiverBill's up-river on
this day in years past ?
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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The
"Picture of the Day" from two years ago (2005) was
of some of the Con
Trios Yacht
Club members at the "Wild Goose Saloon and Grill" in Grafton, IL.
It was between festivities at the club's "Spring Ice Breaker" at Pere Marquette Lodge.
This
Saturday, March 24......is this year's
Spring
Ice Breaker
at
Pere Marquette
Lodge
~~
See ya there ~~
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Annapolis
Boaters Plan To Welcome Spring With A Ceremonial Burning of the Socks On Today
In Annapolis, it is customary for the boaters to gather at
the Annapolis Maritime Museum and celebrate the first day of spring
with a "Ceremonial Burning of the
Socks."
Why you ask.....It signifies that it will be warm enough soon to wear boat
shoes without socks.
Click
here for more info on today's event at the Annapolis Maritime Museum.
OK...the challenge !
...........Who is going to burn their winter socks today, St. Louis style, to
celebrate the first day of Spring ?
Remember to stand up-wind and send us some pics !
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ITCS
Memo 2513 ......Illinois River Update ---- issued
by the IRCA Chairman for miles 50 -145.5 that are in "High Water Watch
Phase".
Click
here
to read the ITCS Memo #2513
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Runaway Dock Rescued By
Alton Firefighters
------ According
to a news article in yesterday's on-line Alton Telegraph ..... Alton
Firefighters rescued a runaway dock from the Mississippi
River just up-stream of the Melvin Price Lock and Dam.
Click
here to read the article in the on-line Telegraph....Includes video.
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Lakeside
370 Park Update ------ There
was a news article in yesterday's on-line Post Dispatch..... about the
Lakeside 370 Park in St. Peters. Mo and it's dedication on Monday.
Approximately 1,600 acres of the Lakeside 370 Park and the Premier 370
Business Park are located in Mississippi River flood
plain !
Click
here to read the article on STLtoday.com
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Tuesday ....
20 March 2007....
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Our
River Picture of the Day......is named
First
Light
It
was taken last Sunday morning up around Two Branch Marina. The river
came alive as the sun started to rise ....pelicans, gulls everywhere and the silhouette
of a southbound tow.
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More
River History
I found a bit of "river related history" in a story in the on-line
Belleville News Democrat. ... It's an article about "The
Dinky" railbus that was introduced in the 1930's to transport folks
between Alton and Grafton on the railroad that used to run along the
river. This is before the River Road was built.
It's an interesting bit of river history with a lot of additional information
about other train routes in our area.
Click here
to read the story on BellevilleNewsDemocrate.com
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Kinder's
website ------ Added
some pictures to Kinder's website from last year when KSHE 95 was their to
help celebrate opening of their new deck.
Click
here ....and... Take-A-Look !
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Spring Arrives Tomorrow
------ at
12:07 AM in the morning ! That is the day
when the direct rays of the Sun are over the Equator, marking the Vernal Equinox.
It is also the day when the daylight hours are just about equal to the nighttime hours. From now until the Summer Solstice, around June 21, the hours of daylight will continue to
increase....And that's good news for boaters.
Click
here for more information.
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Paying
Too Much For Boat Insurance ?.......
Check out Mixon Insurance.
Fill out
Bill Mixon's on-line
quote form for a fast, friendly insurance quote for rates
on your boat..
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This
Saturday, March 24....... Con
Trios Yacht Club's Spring
Ice Breaker
Pere Marquette
Lodge
~~
See ya there ~~
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Duck Club Yacht Club's
Boat Show & Open House
------ April
21 & 22
Local
marine Vendors
Chili
Blast Helicopter
Rides Flea
Market Raffle
& 50/50 all day Click
here for more info.
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Monday ....
19 March 2007....
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Our
River Picture of the Day...... is
of Rich & Tracy Luttrell's
cruiser, Escapade, tied-up at Sharky's Cove on Saturday. Rich told me
they went for an afternoon cruise with some friends and stopped at Sharky's
to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was steering RiverBill's up-river on
this day in years past ?
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The
"Picture of the Day" from 2005 wasan
"Award Winning" photo from Steve
Schulte. It is of the river bluffs and more reflections. What a beautiful photo !
That water looks dead calm.
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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Kinder's
Menu ------ Kinder's
2007 menu has been added to their website !
Click
here to Take-A-Look !
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River History
------ I
ran across an interesting bit of river history while cruising around on the
internet. It's a piece named "Motor
Boats on the Mississippi" written in 1909 by E. Percy Noel. It
describes power boating on the Mississippi in 1909.
The article includes a bit about the St.
Louis Power Squadron sending 18 power craft up the Mississippi River to
Burlington, Iowa to attend a national regatta. And...nine of the power
boats from the St. Louis fleet went all the way to Rock Island, IL..... 350
miles from their starting point.....
Some folks from St. Louis kept their motor
boats moored at Alton, Il way back then rather than boat near the city because
they wanted to avoid boating in the "least attractive part of the
Mississippi River". Some things just don't change
!
Click
here to read this bit of River History from 1909.
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Dri-Port
Marine's Newsletter ------ is
now available on-line at RiverBills.com....
Click
here ...And.... Check-It-Out !
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Fri,
Sat,Sun .... 16, 17, 18 March 2007....
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Our
River Picture of the Day.....Sunday.... is
of Dutch....Seems as if he found the "Fountain Of Youth" in his
travels around the Loop.
The
caption under the picture on his website, The
Scoundrel, is as follows
Failure
of the fountain of youth
???????
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Our
River Picture of the Day.....Saturday.... is a shot taken on Friday by
the river-cam at Winfield Lock and Dam. The Winfield Dam tugboat
is helping align the southbound tow up with the entrance to the lock.
The river was at 21.3 ft at Winfield on Friday afternoon.....4.7 feet
below flood stage...cresting at 24.1ft. on Wednesday. Notice the logs and
other floating debris in and around the lock.
Click
here for river level stages and forecasts.
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Our
River Picture of the Day.....Friday.... is another shot of the old
houseboat hull setting upstream from the Melvin Price Lock and Dam. This
one is of a frozen river
Bill,
Looking at your page this morning I noticed a picture similar to mine. While checking out the eagles, when the river was iced over, I walked out on the levy and took a shot looking back
towards the dam, there is the piece. Small world eh?
Thanks for keeping a great up to date site!
Sharon
G
RiverBill
says..Thanks for the pic Sharon .......Your picture reminded me how difficult
it is to walk on that jetty. Large rocks, loose rocks, very
un-even...lots of holes to step into.
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was steering RiverBill's up-river on
this day in years past ?
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^
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Sunday
The
"Picture of the Day" from 2006 was
another great photo by Steve
Schulte. I named this one Coming
Right At You. In this picture the tow appears to be
really close to the photographer......A lot closer than I ever want to be to
an on-coming tow. Hope it is just an illusion.
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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Saturday
The
"Picture of the Day" from 2006 was
another great photo by Steve
Schulte. I
am going to name this one Reflections
of Dinner.
Awesome photo
!
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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Friday
The
"Picture of the Day" from 2006 was
sent in by Devin Lause. It's a shot
of the Labadie Power Plant taken from the Missouri River..
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LITTLE JOHN'S MARINE
SERVICE
636- 250- 4187
Click
here
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Lets
Go Paddle-Fishing ------ There
was an interesting article in Saturday's on-line Post Dispatch..... about
snagging paddlefish
on the lakes and rivers of Missouri and Illinois. These guys are
big.....they look a bit pre-historic....and congregate below the dams in the
Mississippi River . The Missouri state record is 139 pounds.
Click
here to read the article on STLtoday.com
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Kinder's
Menu ------ Kinder's
2007 menu has been added to their website !
Click
here to Take-A-Look !
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Water
Projects Bill Update ------ According
to a news article in Friday's on-line Post Dispatch..... the Waters Projects
Bill, with 14 billion designated for the waterways of Missouri and Illinois, cleared the House Transportation Committee on Thursday.
The final vote, in the House, should take place in a few weeks.
Click
here to read the story in the on-line STLtoday.com
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Mo
Dept Conservation Sturgeon Monitoring Project ---
For you fishermen...
If you catch a "tagged" shovelnose sturgeon in the
Mississippi or Missouri Rivers please report your catch to the Missouri
Department of Conservation.
Click
here to find out what information they are asking you to report and
to read about the program..
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Lets
Go Catch Some Big Ones ---
I was cruising around on the internet and I ran a-ground on an
interesting cat-fishing article in the the on-line Missouri Game & Fish
magazine.
It's about catching the big-ones out of the Missouri River. The
articleis a few years old, but I think it has some good information and
pointers in it. My friend, Dale Williams, of the band Powder Keg,
even has a few paragraphs.
Click
here to go to the on-line Missouri Game & Fish magazine and read the
article.
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Chicago
River....Dye It Green ---
The Chicago River has been dyed green for St. Patrick's Day since the
60's.
Click
here for info on who, where, why and when they turned it green.
Click
here to watch a video of them turning it green.
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Dead
Shad In The Harbor ...Yikes ! .....
What's-up with all of those dead
shad ?
The harbors were loaded with them last weekend and after
one of my friends explained the reason behind it, I decided to see what info I could
find on the internet about it. Well, I never found "that one site" that explained it
all, but after cruising around for a while... I picked up the following bits and pieces here and there.
It seems as if shad are a very delicate species that are highly
susceptible to shock from sudden changes in environmental conditions.
The main reasons for "Shad Kill" is low
oxygen levels and cold water temperatures. Shad die in water below 42 degrees.
As the water cools in the Fall of the year, the shad seek out the warmest water available.
Apparently, a lot of them head for the warmer harbor waters, but this leads to their demise as winter sets in and the temperature of shallow harbor water drops.
And.. we all know some harbors around here are a lot shallower than others
! (Hah)
As the ice in the harbors melt, the
shad that died over the winter float to the top.
The good news is that the dead shad provide food for other river creatures such as catfish and eagles. One
article I read stated that when the shad are floating on top of the water it's time to go fishing for those big
catfish.
Shad that winter in the deeper / warmer
waters of the river survive.
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Tax
Problems for The Robert E.
Lee Floating Restaurant........
A news article in the on-line Post Dispatch reports that the Robert E. Lee
floating Restaurant, which is now moored on the Mississippi River at Kimswick,
has big tax problems.
Click
here to go to STLtoday.com and read the story.
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This
Saturday...Grafton's
Landing Bar and Grill ---- St. Patrick’s Day…..
Corned
Beef and Cabbage, Parsley Potatoes, Dinner Salad ….$8.95
Click
here
to go to Grafton's landing website
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This
Saturday.....Sharky's
Cove Restaurant ---- St. Patrick’s Day
Corned
beef and Cabbage Specials all day long.
Live Music by "The Sharks" at 9:00 pm
Click
here
to go to Sharky's Cove website
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Con
Trios Yacht Club's
Spring Ice Breaker---- Ice Breaker Party dead line for reservations is Saturday March 17, to confirm your seat for dinner .......etc etc...
Contact Fleet Captain Gary Meinershagen, via Con Trios
website, or by phone.
314-731-7931
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Duck Club Yacht Club's
Boat Show & Open House
------ April
21 & 22
Local
marine Vendors
Chili
Blast Helicopter
Rides Flea
Market Raffle
& 50/50 all day Click
here for more info.
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Thursday
.... 15 March 2007....
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Our
River Picture of the Day....... is named .......
LOST
AND FOUND....(Hah)
It's a shot of an old houseboat hull setting on a jetty just up-stream from
the Melvin Price Lock and Dam. I thought it was a bit strange that the
ladder to the upper deck is still in place eventhough every thing else is
gone.
The Clark Bridge and the City of Alton can be seen in the distance.
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was steering RiverBill's up-river on
this day in years past ?
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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The
"Picture of the Day" from two years ago (2005) was
of river sunrise taken
from the deck of Mike D's house. The picture is looking down-river near the UMR 231.5 mile marker.
Notice the very large bird making an early morning flight across the river.
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Duck
Club Restaurant ---- Opens
Today
Thur....................5PM
- 9PM
Fri,
Sat, Sun........Noon - 10PM
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Con
Trios Yacht Club's
Spring Ice Breaker---- Ice Breaker Party dead line for reservations is Saturday March 17, to confirm your seat for dinner .......etc etc...
Contact Fleet Captain Gary Meinershagen, via Con Trios
website, or by phone.
314-731-7931
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Con
Trios Yacht Club Update....... sent to us by Capt'n Darryll Weil
The Con Trios Yacht Club (http://www.contriosyachtclub.org/) website has been updated as of
Tuesday's board meeting as follows:
-
The Icebreaker Party, March 24th at Pere Marquette Lodge, deadline is fast approaching. Get your reservations in by March 17th to insure you have a place at dinner! Click on the "Events"
(http://www.contriosyachtclub.org/events.html) link for more information.
-
If you are looking for a great set of maps / charts for the rivers we boat on the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers are the go to guys. They have electronic charts that can be downloaded for free and there are some free viewers available for your computer. Click on the "Boating Links"
(http://www.contriosyachtclub.org/links.html) link for more information.
-
The Past Commodore's Party, May 5th, and the Parrot Head Party, July 21st, are both based out of the Grafton Harbor. Be sure and make your slip reservations early for both events, particularly the Parrot Head Party as the Blessing of the Fleet Awards Presentation will also be occurring at Grafton Harbor the same day.
-
Grand Raffle tickets are selling well, get
yours now before they are all gone from any Con Trios Yacht Club board
member ! Click on the "Grand Raffle" (http://www.contriosyachtclub.org/grand_raffle.htm) link for more information.
Darryll
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Grafton's
Landing Bar and Grill ---- St. Patrick’s Day….. Saturday March 17th
Corned
Beef and Cabbage, Parsley Potatoes, Dinner Salad ….$8.95
Click
here
to go to Grafton's landing website
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SCF Barges (of St.
Louis ) Headed for Argentina
------
Click
here to read the news article in the March 12th edition of the Waterways
Journal.
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River History
------
Rufus Easton developed Alton as a river town in 1818. The town was named after
his son. Rufus also owned a passenger ferry that he operated on the Mississippi River
between Alton and the state of Missouri.
For more info click
here
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River History
------ Steamboat
Arkansas
For a bit more river history about a
steamboat named Arkansas...check out this week's edition of Tow
Talking by Kathy Flippo
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Sharky's
Cove Restaurant ---- St. Patrick’s Day...Saturday March 17th
Corned
beef and Cabbage Specials all day long.
Live Music by "The Sharks" at 9:00 pm
Click
here
to go to Sharky's Cove website
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Sharky's
Cove ---- 3rd Annual Pimp and the Hoe Ball....Saturday April 7th
Party starts at 8:00
PM
Live Music at 9:00 PM
1st Prize $100 cash and 20% off your alcohol for 1 full year.
Click
here
to go to Sharky's Cove website
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Wednesday
.... 14 March 2007....
Updated
@ 6:00 AM
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CLICK
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Our
River Pictures of the Day....... are of a flocks of Pelicans and River
Gulls that were on the sandbar at lower end of Enterprise Island last Saturday
afternoon. They appeared a a large white mass from a distance.... and as
we motored closer the pelicans took to flight until the sky was filled....all
circling in different directions. What a site !
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was at the helm of RiverBill's on
this day in years past ?
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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The
"Picture of the Day" from two years ago (2005) was a picture of
the Lewis and Clark keelboat replica and tow vehicle sent in by Darryll Weil. Darryll wrote in his e-mail that he and his friend, Ron, were returning from Woodland Marina a few weeks ago on Highway 94 heading towards St. Charles. As they passed Highway B they came upon the restored 1954 Chevrolet truck that was hauling the Lewis and Clark keelboat replica broke down on the side of the road. They stopped to see if they could help. They found out they were only out of gas and that the escort vehicle had already left to get some. The driver gave them an impromptu tour of the boat and then Darryll took some pictures of the keel boat, the Discovery Expedition logo on the door of the truck, of his friend Ron Hering posing with the driver and finally Darryll got his picture taken with the driver.
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Daisy
the Goose....... Capt'n JohnnyRiverRat sent us a link to a cute news
story and video shown on "KARE11.com News" out of Minneapolis - St.
Paul, Minnesota about a goose that flies next to a run-about and even rides on
the boat.
Go
to KARE11.com
News to read the story and watch the video.
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Just
Another Day On The River....... There has been a series of pictures
floating
around on the internet for quite a while of a towboat pushing a set of barges
under a bridge and trying setting them free. When one of the face wires fouled and the towboat
was dragged into and then under the bridge.
Somehow the towboat turns upright after it clears the bridge, the captain
fires it back up and then he catches the barges floating down the river.
Wow...What a set of pictures !
To view the series of pictures go to... http://koti.mbnet.fi/~soldier/towboat.htm
Make
sure to read the accompanying story !
RiverBill
says...Thanks Larry Snopek and Jon Carlson for the e-mails about the
mishap....it prompted me search the internet and find an onl-ine link
containing the pictures and a good story about the mishap.
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Con
Trios Yacht Club Update....... sent to us by Capt'n Darryll Weil
The Con Trios Yacht Club (http://www.contriosyachtclub.org/) website has been updated as of
Tuesday's board meeting as follows:
-
The Icebreaker Party, March 24th at Pere Marquette Lodge, deadline is fast approaching. Get your reservations in by March 17th to insure you have a place at dinner! Click on the "Events"
(http://www.contriosyachtclub.org/events.html) link for more information.
-
If you are looking for a great set of maps / charts for the rivers we boat on the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers are the go to guys. They have electronic charts that can be downloaded for free and there are some free viewers available for your computer. Click on the "Boating Links"
(http://www.contriosyachtclub.org/links.html) link for more information.
-
The Past Commodore's Party, May 5th, and the Parrot Head Party, July 21st, are both based out of the Grafton Harbor. Be sure and make your slip reservations early for both events, particularly the Parrot Head Party as the Blessing of the Fleet Awards Presentation will also be occurring at Grafton Harbor the same day.
-
Grand Raffle tickets are selling well, get
yours now before they are all gone from any Con Trios Yacht Club board
member ! Click on the "Grand Raffle" (http://www.contriosyachtclub.org/grand_raffle.htm) link for more information.
Darryll
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Grafton
Marina & Grafton's
Landing ----
Hi RiverBill,
Just a quick plug for the Grafton Marina...After signing papers on a house we just bought in Grafton, the wife and I had lunch at
Grafton's Landing where we got nothing but fast, excellent service with some great food. It was impressive considering how packed it was, and most of all it was nice to be on the water even if it
wasn't in my boat. We sure are looking forward to getting back out with our boating friends this year.
Jeff and Sherri Easley
RiverBill
says...See ya on the river....soon !
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Grafton's
Landing Bar and Grill ---- St. Patrick’s Day….. Saturday March 17th
Corned
Beef and Cabbage, Parsley Potatoes, Dinner Salad ….$8.95
Click
here
to go to Grafton's landing website
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Sharky's
Cove Restaurant ---- St. Patrick’s Day...Saturday March 17th
Corned
beef and Cabbage Specials all day long.
Live Music by "The Sharks" at 9:00 pm
Click
here
to go to Sharky's Cove website
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Sharky's
Cove ---- 3rd Annual Pimp and the Hoe Ball....Saturday April 7th
Party starts at 8:00
PM
Live Music at 9:00 PM
1st Prize $100 cash and 20% off your alcohol for 1 full year.
Click
here
to go to Sharky's Cove website
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Duck
Club Restaurant ---- Opens this
Thursday
Thur....................5PM
- 9PM
Fri,
Sat, Sun........Noon - 10PM
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Tuesday
.... 13 March 2007....
Updated
@ 7:00 AM
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CLICK
ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE
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Our
River Picture of the Day....... is a foggy shot of Eagles Landing
Marina taken last Friday evening
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was at the helm of RiverBill's on
this day in years past ?
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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CLICK
ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE
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The
"Picture of the Day" from one year ago (2006) was sent in by Captain Greg
Sadowski, who hails out of Woodland Marina. It is a good story about another River
Bill.
Greg
wrote in his e-mail:
CAN
YOU FIND THE RIVER DAWG IN THIS PICTURE ?
I took this picture in September of 2004, That's Before I met River Bill !!
Taken by the gas dock
at Mud Island Marina - Memphis, Tennessee. Mark Krull, Dolph Kraus,
and I were on our way to Miami on the "Miami
Magic".
This boater was on his way to Key West from Minnesota, and this
was not his first time making the trip. (Different Boats). He told
us that he went by the name "River
Bill".
Bill had lost an outboard motor in the Alton pool, hitting a large
submerged log.
Grafton is where he replaced it with the one you see in the
picture.
He rescued this puppy
on its way to the dog pound, to become a river dog. This was just a few days
earlier in the town of Caruthersville, MO.
I asked, What's the dog's name. He didn't have one yet. I suggested
"Skipper". He
liked it and said That'll be his name.
True
Story,
Greg
Sadowski
Anyone
out there have more info on this other River Bill? I'd like to hear about it.
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Added
the Following Links and Headings.......
Sea
Level vs Dams in left hand column under
Locks and Dams section
BrownsMarina.com
in left hand column under new heading "Boating Humor"
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March
10 On the River....... Terrie Eudaley, who hails out of Lake Center
Marina in the cruiser "GullieWash", sent us a show of their
afternoon.
Click
on link.... http://www.photoshow.com/view/FQ7SS7Kv
Caution...
Larry Demko....slide show contains birds !
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ITCS
Memo 2511 ...... Illinois River ----
High water safety advisory update issued 12 March 2007 by the
LOMRC Co-Chairman to mariners on the Illinois River....
ILR
Mile 50 - 145.5
Click
here
to read the ITCS Memo #2511
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Grafton's
Landing Bar and Grill ---- St. Patrick’s Day….. Saturday March 17th
Corned
Beef and Cabbage, Parsley Potatoes, Dinner Salad ….$8.95
Click
here
to go to Grafton's landing website
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Duck
Club Restaurant ---- Opens this
Thursday
Thur....................5PM
- 9PM
Fri,
Sat, Sun........Noon - 10PM
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Monday
.... 12 March 2007....
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CLICK
ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE
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Our
River Picture of the Day....... is from the "Season Opener"
last Friday night at Grafton's
Landing Bar & Grill
Front
to back
~
Bob Bindner, one of the owners of Eagle's Landing Marina...(Red Shirt)
~
Cheryl and Dan.... who hail out of Grafton Harbor....(both in blue)
~
Kinsey and Mark Bachman...behind the bar
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was at the helm of RiverBill's on
this day in years past ?
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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The
"Picture of the Day" from two years ago (2005) was of
gulls lined up
at the Grafton Ferry landing. There were hundreds of them on the parking lot, all facing into the cold wind.
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More
News on the Grafton Ferry……. KGOODE e-mailed us a link to
a news article in the on-line Post Dispatch about the status of the Grafton
Ferry.
Click here to head the story on STLtoday.com
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Jon
Boat Parade.......
Grafton, IL, May 19th.......... Check it out.
CLICK
ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE
Event
added to RiverBill's Upcoming
Events page
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BrownsMarina.com.......
Capt'n Tony Trice sent us a link to BronwsMarina.com with some interesting
boating pictures !....
Tony
wrote:
The pix of the tubers and cat is terrific...also, some shots of boating mishaps..
enjoy.
Tony
Click
here and .........Make sure to check out the flying cat
!
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Paying
Too Much For Boat Insurance ?.......
Check out Mixon Insurance.
Fill out
Bill Mixon's on-line
quote form for a fast, friendly insurance quote for rates
on your boat..
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River History
------
March 10, 1993
The National Weather Service issued a statement predicting
"below average" precipitation for the coming summer. The flood of 1993 is indeed river history.
Click
here for more info
March 12, 1940
1st day of operation for Winfield Lock and Dam No.25
Click
here for more info.
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The
USCG Auxiliary at a Glance.......
On An Average Day the Coast Guard Auxiliary
will
- Complete 62.5 safety patrols
- Complete 6.2 regatta patrols
- Perform 10.2 vessel assists
- Assist 28 people
- Save 1 life
- Save $341,290 in property
- Participate in 100 operational support
missions
- Participate in 48.7 administrative support
missions
- Complete 13.4 recruiting support missions
- Educate 369 people on boating safety
- Perform 299 vessel safety checks
- Attend 70 public affairs functions
Click
here for more information
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Fri,
Sat, Sun ....
09, 10, 11 March 2007....
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Our
River Picture of the Day....Sunday... is of Andy (Blue
Marlin) and RiverBill "hamming it up" for the camera at Kinder's
Restaurant on Saturday afternoon. Andy was there with some of the
"What's Up On The River" crew.
Good to meet you Andy !
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Our
River Picture of the Day....Saturday... is a a fog bank
that started forming on the river Friday evening. This is sort of
a neat looking picture, but as night fell the fog got thicker and
thicker. It made the boat ride with Carl and Mary Tiemann to Grafton's
Landing very, very interesting. Almost "Zero"
visibility. The spot light did absolutely nothing except to make things
worse.
After a bit of circling.....and searching for land marks or something we could
recognize...... anything we could recognize would have been nice. All of
a sudden the fog lifted and we could see the lights of Grafton. So
we motored on over to Grafton's Landing for their Season Opener.
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CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE
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Our
River Picture of the Day...Friday... is a picture from one of the
early Jamaica Daze Parties....Think it was 1998 ..or...1999
It was the year 2000
It was the 1st year for the blue banner an maybe the palm trees.....Notice
it's Jamaica Daz......not....Daze.
Best of my memory the leaves on the palms got soaked in a rain storm the night
before...That's why they are drooping a bit. Still had the same
Red Stripe sign at last year's party.
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
Mystery
Solved !
Karla Harden sent us the following e-mail about the Jamaica Daze
picture...Mystery solved..
Bill,
The picture on Friday's page was in 2000. Sitting on my lap is Ethan the really white kid. He was born in
September of 1999.
River
Bill says....Thanks Karla !
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was at the helm of RiverBill's on
this day in years past ?
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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Sunday
The
"Picture of the Day" from two years ago (2005) was of some of the boats in Alton Marina that is located in Alton, IL at the UMR 202.5 mile marker. A great place to for transient boaters to spend the weekend. One of the nicest marinas on Alton Pool plus all of the attractions of Alton.
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Saturday
The
"Picture of the Day" from two years ago (2005) was looking up-river at the "lower side" of Winfield Lock and Dam. This picture was taken when the water was higher and all of the gates were up, except the three in the center.
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Friday
The
"Picture of the Day" from one years ago (2006) was sent in by Barb McCulloch
of the boat "Nauti Lass" out of Woodland Marina.....And... the
mother of River
Dawg Annie !
Barb just got a new digital camera and decided to try it out by snapping a
picture of the Grafton Ferry as it approached the ferry landing on the
Missouri side of the Mississippi River.
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Grafton's
Landing Restaurant Is Opening This Weeend..Full Menu
Scroll
down for more info
See
ya there !
Taking
applications for all positions….Contact Kinsey or Mark at Grafton’s
Landing
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The Grafton Ferry is “not operating”…….
I called their office on Thursday and was told they will be out of
service for a couple of more weeks.
Stay anchored right here for more updates as they become
available.
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More
News on the Grafton Ferry……. KGOODE e-mailed us a link to
a news article in the on-line Post Dispatch about the status of the Grafton
Ferry.
Click here to head the story on STLtoday.com
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Missouri River Will Not Get Extra Water
From Up-Stream Reservoirs.......
According to a news article in the on-line Post Dispatch the
Missouri River will not get the extra
water scheduled for this spring because of the current drought conditions.
Click
here to read the story on STLtoday.com
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ITCS
Memo 2506 ...... Illinois River ----
High water safety advisory issued 7 March 2007 by the US
Coast Guard to mariners on the Illinois River.....
Click
here to read the ITCS Memo #2506
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Thursday ....
08 March 2007....
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CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE
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Our
River Picture of the Day.... is another great sunset from
Sharon Gwillim.
She
named this one
Sunset
Reflections
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was at the helm of RiverBill's on
this day in years past ?
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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The
"Picture of the Day" from one years ago (2006) was of a Winter
Wake Boarder was
sent in by Tauni Shuck. He wrote in his e-mail:
Bill,
I
was out on March 1st enjoying the afternoon and snapped this pic of some
wake boarders in Ski Chute... Water is cold ?
38
Degrees !!
~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~^~~
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The
"Picture of the Day" from two years ago (2005) was of the Brussels Ferry as it is
approached the landing on the Calhoun County side of the Illinois River. The weather was so nice that
day....a lot of people were out for a ride so the waiting line to get on the ferry stretched for quite a distance. The wait was over an hour, but a lot of people got out of their vehicles to enjoy the bright sunny weather and make new friends.
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Grafton's
Landing Restaurant Is Opening This
Friday.....March 9th......
Scroll
down for more info
See
ya there !
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A
Bit of Mississippi River History........
I was cruising
mid-stream on the the internet and ran a-ground on a short and interesting historic story about Eads Bridge and Wiggins Ferry.
Seems as if before the Eads Bridge was built….. the Wiggins Ferry held the monopoly on Mississippi River crossings at St. Louis……and
"it was a hated entity." The ferry company went as far
as protesting the building of a bridge across the Mississippi
River.
The article is about changing river currents, competition, monopolies, murder of a mayor and a pooling agreement.
Click here to read
about this bit of river history!
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Eagles
Landing Marina........ 2007 Price Sheet
800 Wilson Rd, St. Charles, Mo
Phone : 636
- 250 - 4480
Click
here for the 2007 Price sheet
Scroll
down for more info
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Wednesday ....
07 March 2007....
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Our
River Picture of the Day.... is from Steve
Schulte. He sent us a picture looking up-stream at the chute between
Bolter (left side) and Enterprise (right side) Islands...with the horseshoe
dikes and the main channel in the distance. Around the UMR 225 ...226
mile markers.
RiverBill says....Thanks for another great picture Steve !
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was at the helm of RiverBill's on
this day in years past ?
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The
"Picture of the Day" from one year ago (2006) was sent in by Carl
Seidler.
Carl wrote in his e-mail:
Bill,
Here is
a couple of the pictures I took Friday
evening from the River Road looking up River in front of Piasa Creek towards
Portage in the far back. We had such a wonderful drive with the sunset.
Seen some Eagles right at the end, seen some Deer right across the Ferry and
two Red Fox with the car lights.
What a trip.... What we take For granted here..... lots of people would pay
money to see.
Carl
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Grafton's
Landing Restaurant Is Opening This
Friday.....March 9th......
Scroll
down for more info
See
ya there !
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New Emission Rules For Locomotive and Marine Engines........
A news article in the March 3rd issue of the on-line Post Dispatch
outlined the new emissions rules for locomotive and marine engines. Marine
engine manufacturers must comply by 2014.
Click here to read the story in STLtoday.com
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Eagles
Landing Marina........ 2007 Price Sheet
800 Wilson Rd, St. Charles, Mo
Phone : 636
- 250 - 4480
Click
here for the 2007 Price sheet
Scroll
down for more info
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DRI_PORT
Marine Open House.....March
16th & 17th....
Scroll
down for more info
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Mushroom Festival
..... Mushroom Cookoff........
When:
Sunday April 29......1:00PM to 5:00PM
Where:
Piasa Winery in Grafton, IL
For more information go to RiverBill's
Upcoming Events page
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Tuesday ....
06 March 2007....
Updated
12:20 PM
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Our
River Pictures & e-mail of the Day.... are from Steve Schulte
of Steve
Schulte Photography. He sent us a picture of one of the Missouri Water
Patrol's boats out in the cold weather doing their job, a lone towboat on
"glass smooth water" and a pic of the Grafton Ferry and a towboat
with the bluffs in the background.
Wow
!
Steve
wrote:
Hello Bill,
Here are a few views from the helicopter this past December,
sorry there is no BIRDS in this batch just a few cold weather boaters!!
Enjoy Steve
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was at the helm of RiverBill's on
this day in years past ?
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The
"Picture of the Day" from one year ago (2006) was sent in by Betty
Bannister who hails out of Grafton Harbor
Betty wrote in her e-mail:
This
is a picture of Mayor Mosby
(of Grafton, IL)
taken on the deck of the Grafton Harbor dredge. We were in the process
of bringing it down river with 2 jon boats attached to it for power.
Betty
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DRI_PORT
Marine Open House.....March
16th & 17th....
Scroll
down for more info
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Grafton's
Landing Restaurant Is Opening Next
Friday.....March 9th......
Scroll
down for more info
See
ya there !
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ITCS
Memo ...... Illinois River ----
High water safety advisory issued 5 March 2007 by the US
Coast Guard to mariners on the Illinois River..... ILR mile 50 - 180.9
Click
here to read the ITCS Memo #2504
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Flooding
Along the Illinois River ------ According
to an article in the on-line Quincy Herald Whig.... communities
along the Illinois River can expect flooding...with many areas already
reporting water levels above flood stage
Click
here to read the story in the on-line Quincy Herald Whig
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Missouri
Conservationist on-line Magazine........The
March on-line edition of Missouri
Conservationist on-line Magazine is out..
Click
here to view it.
It contains an article in the "News and Almanac"
section of the magazine about boaters and zebra mussels
with information on reporting potential zebra mussel
sightings to the Missouri Department of
Conservation.
Click
here and scroll down to the article.
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RiverBill's
Visitor Stats
------ The
visitor stats are in for February 2007....
26,705
unique visitors !
-
Up 9,272 from the February 2006 numbers
Click
here to look at the visitor stats chart.
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AquaPalooza........
When: Saturday, August 04, 2007 12:00 AM to Sunday, August 05, 2007 12:00 AM (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
Where:
Mississippi River / TBD .
For more info go to : http://www.aquapalooza.com/
For more info contact: Wayne.Boyer@marinemax.com
The above info has been added
to RiverBill's
Upcoming Events page
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Monday ....
05 March 2007....
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Our
River Picture & e-mail of the Day.... is from Sharon Gwillim.
She captured a very colorful river sunset last Summer.......and...... she is
sharing it with us !
Bill,
Here is a beautiful red sunset taken near Hamburg, IL on the Mississippi last summer. Ok, there's 2, I couldn't decide which one I like better.
Sharon Gwillim
aka rvrbndr
RiverBill
says...Thanks for the pictures Sharon.....They are awesome !
...I
posted the one above as "Pic Of The Day" and the other is
RiverBill's March Calendar.....See below.
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RiverBill's
March Calendar......... RiverBill's March 2007 is out ! Hang it on your wall or make it a screen saver for your PC.
To make a wall calendar.....click on the picture above for an enlarged view and print it on a piece of 8 1/2 X 11 photo paper. Set the paper to "landscape" and "center" the photo on the paper.
Enjoy
A big thanks goes out to Sharon Gwillim for providing us with such a great photo
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Paying
Too Much For Boat Insurance ?.......
Check out Mixon Insurance.
Fill out
Bill Mixon's on-line
quote form for a fast, friendly insurance quote for rates
on your boat..
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Illinois
Conservation Police Link.......
Fixed a broken link to the Illinois Conservation Police and
made them a web-page on RiverBill's.
It would be a good thing to have the following phone numbers in your boat or
in your cell phone:
IDNR Alton Region IV
Office
Mon. thru Fri.--
618 - 462-1181
Weekends and
After Business Hours
The best way to contact the IL. Conservation Police
is to call the local sheriffs office(s)
Calhoun Co.--
618 - 576-2417
Jersey Co. ---- 618 - 498-6881
Madison Co.-- 618 - 692-4433
Click
here to go to the Illinois Conservation Police web page on RiverBill's
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Fri,
Sat, Sun ....
02, 03, 04 March 2007....
Updated
Sat @ 1:15 PM
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Our
2nd River Picture of the Day..(Saturday)... is of some of the
boater's that were at Kinder's Restaurant for the "Season Opener" on
Friday night.
Stay
anchored right here for more pictures from opening night next week.
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Our
River Picture & e-mail of the Day..(Saturday)... is
titled ...
$125000 a piece if you ruin one of these
babies
Hello Bill!
They are located in south Florida. Dimensions are 66' diameter, pitch unknown, bore 5.5"
spline, probably cast by Rolla Propeller, Italy. Reportedly, They were mounted on huge Arneson surface drives that were mounted on
aprox. 3500 H.P Caterpillar power (X-2) that were mounted in a 140' aluminum yacht. Cruse speed would have been over 30 Kt. and fuel consumption @ cruise about 1800 pounds per hour (300 Gal.). Hope I helped,
Capt. Ron Holloway
Hallandale Beach, Florida
RiverBill
says...The above picture and e-mail is a family effort.
Ron
Halloway sent us the e-mail above and his son Russell sent us the
picture. Thanks Ron and Russell !
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Our
River Picture of the Day..(Friday)... is a shot from the River Cam at
Lock and Dam 25 on early Wednesday morning, February 28........The ice flow,
the colors and the reflection of the lights all join together to make this a
good "Wintery" picture.
I
named this picture ..... "Now
You See It" !
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CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE
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Thursday
Morning, March 01 I
named this picture ..... "Now
You Don't"
No
Ice
What
a difference 1 day makes….
Spring
is only 19 Days away !
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was at the helm of RiverBill's on
this day in years past ?
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Sunday
The
"Picture of the Day" from two years ago (2005) was one
of white pelicans flying in formation. This pic was sent in by Steve Schulte and taken from Mark Krull's front yard. Check out Steve's website http://www.steveschulte.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Saturday
The
"Pictures of the Day" from two years ago (2005) were a picture of
Kinders Restaurant
area of the river. Thought it was very appropriate
picture since this weekend is Kinder's season opener.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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CLICK
ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE
Friday
The
"Pictures of the Day" from one year ago (2006)
were sent in by Betty Bannister,
who hails out of Grafton Harbor
She wrote in her e-mail:
Every
Wednesday a group of friends from Grafton go out in their Jon Boats. Today
(3-1-06) was our first outing for this year.
We
have 3 rules.
1.
You do not have to have a Jon Boat
2.
Everyone welcome
3.
BYOB
These are the pelicans on the little island across from The Loading Doc
Restaurant in Grafton.
Betty
Bannister
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Correction
------
Grafton's Landing Restaurant opens next Friday, March 9th
Not
this Friday
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Kinder's
Restaurant Is Open This Weekend
This is a sure sign that Spring is just around the corner. Kinder's
Restaurant is opening for business this Friday around 4 PM. Drop by on
Friday and
help us start the boating season off right. Have a bite to eat and a
good cold drink...visit with river friends and the good
folks at Kinder's. ........There
are some docks out !
Fri
4:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sat
11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sun
11:00 Am - 7:00 PM
Open
Friday, Saturday and Sunday every weekend in March.
Click
here to go to Kinder's website
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Daylight
Savings Time ------
begins next Sunday, March 11th.....9 days away
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Did
You Know ?
------
Mile 0.... on the US Army Corps of Engineers' Navigation Maps
for the Upper Mississippi River is at the confluence of the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers.
The numbers increase as you go upstream....and....the last mile listed is
"mile 855" near Coon Rapids, Mn
For
more information go to http://www.nps.gov/archive/miss/tug/miles.html
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Thursday......
01 March 2007....
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CLICK ON PICTURE TO ENLARGE
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Our
River Picture and E-mail of the Day...... is from Kim
who was inducted into the "Girls Of Alton Lake" club
yesterday. Today we have a picture of her daughter Amanda, jumping
for joy, with a great sunset in the background. Kim
wrote:
Bill,
Here are some really cute Golden Eagle Ferry pic's. I took my daughter Amanda, and my son's girlfriend Andrea, over there last summer for a bite to eat. We were the only car on the ferry on the way back and I got this great picture of my daughter jumping while we were crossing the river. There was also a nice sunset. Kim RiverBill
says.....Thanks for the picture Kim.....And......Thanks to Amanda too !
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Last
Year's River Picture of the Day
------
What picture was at the helm of RiverBill's on
this day in years past ?
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The
"Picture of the Day" from one year ago (2006) was
of River Dawg named...
.Wade... He's
checking out his owner's boat. Looks
right at home. Hope he has passed the Safe Boating Class !
Wade belongs to Mark and Kathy Sweetman. Mark is a
member of the 2005 Jamaica Daze band, 2nd
Nature.
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Con
Trios Yacht Club's Website
------
Captain Darryll Weil, the Con Trios Web Master, has updated the club's
website.
Darryll also noted:
-
The
Past Commodore's Party is set for Saturday, May 5th, 2007 at Aries Winery
according to Jim Svoboda
-
John Bicknese has some old Con Trios glasses available, click on link on main page.
-
Gary Meinershagen has the October 20th Fall Color Watch / Cruise set with the "Spirit of LaSalle" (formerly the Grampa Woo).
Click
here to go to the Con Trios Yacht Club website
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RiverBill's
Upcoming Events Page
------ Added
a boat-load of happenings to the Upcoming
Events page.. Most of the newest ones are from the City of Grafton,
IL and Grafton Harbor....And there is still have more to add.
Add your event ....Just send an e-mail to riverbill@prodigy.net
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Anglers
Legacy Pledge....Take the "Anglers Legacy
Pledge" ....... Introduce someone new to fishing........ Get a free
Angler’s Legacy window decal.
Click
here.
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Fishing
Laws....It's that time of the year again.
Make sure you know the latest laws.
Click
here
for the Sate of Missouri Fishing Laws
Click
here
for the latest Missouri "Wildlife Code Changes" for 2007.
Click
here
to download the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
"2007 Fishing Digest"
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~~~ RiverBill's Archives~~~
