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“Life is a
river. Go with the flow."
Christy Martin
LIFE ON THE WATER Magazine
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It's
the Weekend
Sat, Sun.... 27, 28
December 2014
Over 6.87
Million Boater Visits
To
The Always Changing
e-Waters of
RiverBills.com
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Picture of the Day
(Sunday Pic)
Reflections
Click pic to enlarge
 The
Picture of the Day....was
taken Friday morning at Woodland Marina. Old Glory was
flying nicely and the winter blue water was reflecting the row
of boat docks that headed out toward the entrance to the
harbor..
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Pictures of the Day
(Saturday Pics)
Day after Christmas
Click pic to enlarge
The
Pictures of the Day....were
sent to us by Capt'n Lloyd Bollinger who hails out of the Yacht
Club of St. Louis in the boat..... Sunkist II.
Bill,
Nice day, boat is winterized, airplane is not, so........
Lloyd
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Click here
to go to the
Boathouse Food and Deck website
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Yesteryear's
Picture of
the Day
2013 
Yesteryear's Picture of the Day in
2013 ....
were
taken on the St. Louis riverfront.
Looks what's
nestled behind the
Laclede Power Co.
building on the St.
Louis Riverfront
located between the
Arch and the new
bridge, behind the
flood wall...
Very interesting.
Snakes and Turtles
with a river
overlook.
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Featured Classifieds
Check
out
MORE BOATS
on the
"All
Classifieds Page"
click here
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My River Home
Winterization Forms...
Click here
My River Home
website &
facebook
Longshot Saloon
facebook
The Cabana at the La Rosa
facebook
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River
Levels / Flood Warnings .........
Mississippi River
Winfield
Grafton
Click here
Click here
Alton
Click here
Illinois River
Hardin
LaGrange
Click
here
Click here
Missouri River
St. Charles, Mo
Washington,
Mo
Click here
Click here
for current Doppler Radar
Click here
for U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, ST.
LOUIS DISTRICT, RIVER & RESERVOIR DAILY REPORT.
Click here
to activate map from
NOAA's National Weather Service website then click on
gauge location for current river levels, river forecast and flood
watches, warnings and advisories.
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Click here to go to
Grafton Harbor's website
618-786-PORT (7678)
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River News !
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Updated
Sunday at 5:15AM
Missouri River At Washington, Missouri
Riverfront Trail Will Not Be Kept Open During Bridge
Construction........
This week, Missouri Department of Transportation
engineer Judy Wagner said that it will not be
possible to keep portions of the Rotary Riverfront
Trail during the construction of a new bridge over
the Missouri River at Washington, Missouri.
Wagner added that during the construction process,
sizable staging areas are going to be needed on both
sides of the river. She said that keeping portions
of the trail open really is not feasible. The
project is set for 2016 - 2018.
In the coming weeks, the city of Washington and
officials with the Missouri Department of
Conservation will start discussing issues with the
construction staging areas, as well as how the
trails will be rebuilt after the bridge is
completed........
Click here to read this news report from
emissourian.com. With Photo
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Updated
Sunday at 5:15AM
Big
Piney And Gasconade Rivers
A Look At The Historic Bridges Of Pulaski
County........
While Trolling The Internet........ We ran into an
interesting article about the historic Route 66
bridges in Pulaski County, Missouri. The bridges
span the Big Piney and Gasconade Rivers. The photos
include a look at the 1923 Devils Elbow Bridge, the
1942 Devils Elbow Arch Bridge, and the 1923
Roubidoux Bridge........
Click here to check out this news story from
devilslakejournal.com.
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Updated
Sunday at 5:15AM
Floating Homes in Maine
Small
Floating Cabin Featured In Magazine........
Last Summer, Maine Home+Design Magazine featured a
floating cabin named the Chateau Bathtub and the
Redneck Yacht Club. It took a decade to construct,
and was completed just in time for the owner's
wedding night.
The floating home was built by hand by the owners,
Foy and Louisa Brown. The family business, J.O.
Brown and Sons Shipyard has been designing and
constructing wooden vessels for five generations.
Originally, the Browns intended to rent out the
cabin to earn a few extra bucks, but they decided
that it was too good to share. They now use the
floating cabin seasonally........
Click here to read this news story from
yahoo.com. With Photo
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Updated
Sunday at 5:15AM
Mississippi River Near Wabasha, Minnesota
National Eagle Center Is Expanding........
Over the past 25 years, many people have headed down
to the Mississippi River at Wabasha, Minnesota to
watch eagles, and their remarkable recovery.
The National Eagle Center, located on the banks of
the Mississippi River, not only informs visitors
about the recovery of the eagle population, but they
also work to ensure the trend continues. Between
1968 and 1972, there was only one nesting pair of
eagles recorded in the Mississippi River corridor
between Wabasha and Rock Island, Illinois. Now,
there are at least 313 nesting pairs.
Last month, the National Eagle Center held a
successful fundraiser in order to fund expanding the
eagle training space. The Center is working on
converting a nearby storefront to suit their
needs........
Click here to read this news article from
cbslocal.com. With Video.
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Updated
Sunday at 5:15AM
U.S.
Coast Guard
Coast
Guard Video Of The Year: Underwater Egress
Training........
The U.S. Coast Guard has picked the nominees for the
2014 Coast Guard Video of the Year contest. The
Coast Guard is looking for help from the public in
deciding the top Coast Guard video from 2014.
The contest began on Monday, December 22, 2014, and
will wrap up on Sunday, January 4, 2015. One new
video will be released each day between December 22
and December 31 on the Coast Guard Compass, YouTube,
Facebook, and Twitter.
Participants can vote for their favorites, and the
winner will be announced on Monday, January 5, 2014
on the Coast Guard Compass and on Facebook.
The sixth video of the year candidate shows crews
from Air Station Savannah as they undergo underwater
egress training........
Click here to check out the sixth video from the
Coast Guard Compass website.
Note:
We skipped the fifth video yesterday. The fourth
was posted.
Now corrected
Click here to view the fifth
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Water
Patrol Division of Missouri Highway Patrol
No new Incident
Reports
Click here to read official report
Click here to go to the Missouri State Highway Patrol
website
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River Gear
For Sale............
Click here to
buy your River T-shirts and
Accessories on-line..
Delivered right to you mailbox
in a few short days
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Click here to go
to....
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Navigation Channel Condition Status Report ....12-24-14
US Army Corps of Engineers
St. Louis District - Weekly Navigation Channel Condition
Dredge Potter- - Potter should be be completing dredging
at RM 67.5 on 12/19/14
Mississippi River
MILE 180.0 -BRIDGE MAINTENANCE - UPDATE
Eads Bride; The containment system hanging below the bridge
in all three spans remains suspended 3 feet below low steel.
Work barges may be spudded down in the Missouri and Illnois
spans. At times a work barge may be in the center span
located next to the piers with no encroachment inside the
300-foot navigational opening. Barges will be properly lit
at night.
WINTER LOCKAGE HOURS
Lock & Dams 11 through 22
Rock Island District Lock & Dam 12 and 13 will be closed to
navigation from 15 Dec 2014 thru 4 March 2015. Lock and Dam
17 and 20 will be closed to navigation from 5 Jan 2015 thru
6 March 2014.
Lock and Dam 21 and 22 will be staffed to lock traffic 24/7
throughout the winter.
Lock and Dam 11, 14, will be staffed to lock traffic between
0800 and 1600, Monday through Friday during the period 15
December 2014 through 4 March 2014. Locks 15, 16, 18, and 19
will be staffed to lock traffic between 0800 and 1600,
Monday through Friday during the period 22 December 2014
through 4 March 2014. Lock and Dam 17 and Lock and Dam 20
will be staffed to lock traffic between 0800 and 1600,
Monday through Friday during the period 22 December 2014
through 4 January 2015. Tows requiring lockage outside these
hours must contact the lockmaster in advance so that lock
operators can be called in to operate the lock.
Missouri River
MILE 44.0 - BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION
Daniel Boone Companion Bridge; Superstructure erection is
intermittently ongoing. At times work in the main channel
may require temporarily blocking the river for up to
8-hours, during those periods the alternate channel will be
available for use. Mariners may contact M/V GABRIEL J via
VHF-FM Channels 13 or 16, for more information
Click here
to go to the
US Army Corps of Engineers website for additional
information on the navigation channel conditions.
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Mississippi And Illinois Rivers
Lock
And Dam Upgrades Needed........
The network of locks and dams along the Illinois and
Upper Mississippi Rivers are decaying and in need of
serious attention.
Tom O'Hara, with design/construction/infrastructure
consultant CH2M Hill rhetorically asks "Why the
urgency? Why the need to discuss this within the
next year?". Answering his own questions, he says
that there are increasing risks of failure due to
the aging infrastructure, and the lack of funding to
address these issues.
O'Hara, former commander of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, St. Louis District, addressed a panel of
Illinois Senators, saying the lock and dam network
supports nearly 50,000 jobs and $6.4 billion in
annual revenues........
Click here to read this news story from
altondailynews.com. With
Photo.
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Nautical Oddities
SpaceX Attempting To Land A Rocket.... On A
Barge....
Next month, SpaceX will be attempting a rather
difficult landing, involving a rocket base and a
barge. The company will try to land a rocket base
onto a barge floating in the ocean.
Typically, multi-stage rockets use up their fuel,
and jettison each section. SpaceX would like to
keep the rocket base in good shape, so they intend
to land the 14 story tall section, called Falcon 9,
standing upright on a floating barge.
SpaceX says that stabilizing the rocket is going to
be a challenge, and it's target for landing is only
10 meters wide. Estimates are a 50% chance of
success. If the landing fails, they will try
again. Takeoff of the Falcon 9 is scheduled for
January 6 or 7.......
Click here to read this news tidbit from
kfvs12.com. With Photo.
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REDUCED
WINTER SERVICE RATES
FREE FUEL
GIVEAWAY WINTER SPECIAL
Click ad to enlarge
Click here to go to
Port Charles website
Click here
Port Charles Harbor facebook
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Missouri
Department of Conservation
Give Fish The Gift Of Christmas Trees........
Many people
wonder what to do with their live Christmas tree after all of
the presents have been opened, and the lights and decorations
have been put away. The Missouri Department of Conservation has
an answer: Give it to the fishes.
Christopher
Kennedy, a Fisheries Regional Supervisor for the Missouri
Department of Conservation says that the best thing to do with a
discarded live Christmas tree is to recycle it, placing it on
the floor of a lake or pond.
The Christmas
trees provide pond and lake fish with brush and aquatic
vegetation. They also provide fish with with places to rest,
shade and cover for hiding from predators........
Click here to read this news article form the Missouri
Department of Conservation website.
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RiverBarge Excursion Lines hotel barge moored at The Loading Dock
8/28/08.
Photo by Valerie Aulabaugh
 River
History....
December 27,
2008
In River History
The RiverBarge Excursion Lines Inc.
announced that the company would not operate inland river cruises in 2009
due to high operating costs and poor bookings |
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Missouri Department
Of Natural Resources
Environmentalists Disappointed In New Federal Coal Ash
Regulations........
On Friday,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule that
places coal ash, the byproducts of coal-fired power plants,
under federal regulation.
However, the
new rule did not classify coal ash as hazardous waste. This
means that the federal government is not going to be responsible
for enforcing the coal ash disposal restrictions.
Andy Knott,
with the Missouri Sierra Club, says that lack of federal
enforcement may place the health of the public at risk, because
Missouri is "a state where often the utility companies and state
agencies that should be monitoring them enjoy a cozy
relationship."........
Click here to read this news article from scanews.com.
With Photo.
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Saturday, Jan 24th
Con Trios Yacht Club Super Bowl Pre-Party
Tony's on Main (132 N. Main St., St. Charles, Mo.
Saturday January24th From 2 to 6PM
$10.00 Admission
Click here for party flyer
Click here to buy your Super Bowl Squares Now...
http://www.contriosyachtclub.org/ |
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Lewis Boat
Closed Dec 24,
2014 thru Thursday, Jan. 1st
Our Holiday Hours are as follow:
Closed Wednesday, December 24th thru Thursday, January 1st
See you next year!!
Reprinted
from Facebook
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St. Charles Boat and Motor
Closed Dec 21,
2014 , Returning Jan 6, 2015
In observation of the Holidays, St.
Charles Boat and Motor The Complete Marine will be closed
from December 21, 2014 to January 6, 2015.
Will reopen on January 6, 2015
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Froge's Bar and Grill
Portage
des Sioux, Mo
Live Music by Sonic
Tonic.............Wednesday, December 31 at 9:00pm
Reprinted
from Facebook
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January 1, 2015
NEW YEAR'S
DAY POLAR BEAR WATER SKI
at the St. Louis Arch
Click here for MS Word copy of press release
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Click here St. Charles
Boat & Motor website
Click here St. Charles boat & Motor Facebook
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Lake
Of
The
Ozarks
Nauti
Marine,
Performance
Boat
Center
Complete
Merger........
Recently,
Performance
Boat
Center
wrapped
up a
merger
with
Nauti
Marine,
which
is
owned
by
powerboat
racing
legend
Dave
Scott.
Scott
is a
world-renowned
boat
racer,
as
well
as a
Lake
of
the
Ozarks
Shootout
Top
Gun.
Scott
said
in a
Facebook
post
that
he
believes
that
the
combination
of
Nauti
Marine's
proven
performance
abilities
with
the
staff
and
abilities
of
Performance
Boat
Center
will
give
the
country
the
best
one
stop
shop
for
serious
performance
boaters.
Over
the
past
several
years,
Performance
Boat
Center
has
developed
quite
a
reputation
for
service,
in
addition
to
being
the
exclusive
dealer
at
the
Lake
of
the
Ozarks
for
Outerlimits
and
Cigarette........
Click
here
to
read
this
news
article
from
lakeexpo.com.
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RiverBills
Facebook Page
Check out RiverBills
Facebook Page
Click here
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Click here..Lewis
Boats Inc website |
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Mississippi River Journeys
Vet Hikes Appalachian Trail, Paddles The Mississippi
River........
Jared
McCallum returned home from Iraq after serving two tours as a
helicopter crew chief and door gunner in the Baghdad region.
After returning home, he began to study horticulture at the
University of Tennessee. A chance encounter with some hikers
planted the seed of hiking the Appalachian Trail in his mind.
McCallum
eventually ran out of tuition money, left college, and spent a
year and a half in Afghanistan working as a civilian security
consultant, eventually earning enough money to take some time
off.
He returned
to the States, and with very little preparation, began hiking
the Appalachian Trail. On April 1, he departed from Springer
Mountain, Georgia, and wrapped up the 2,180 mile when he arrived
at Mount Katahdin in Maine on August 19.
While
McCallum traveled, he encountered many good, helpful people
along the way. He found himself learning empathy and
generosity. He also found he still had the itch to explore, so
he got a Redbone coonhound, purchased a canoe and began paddling
down the Mississippi River on September 1.
McCallum
found that the river was quite a challenge, however, the
solitude found on the river was quite disorienting.........
Click here to read this news story from tampabay.com.
With Photos. |
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Make
Your
Boat
a
RiverBills
Header
Picture
Make
your
boat
a
RiverBills
header
picture
!
Just
send
us a
shot
of
your
boat,
keeping
in
mind
that
that
the
picture
needs
to
be
proportioned
similar
to
one
above
of
Marty
Haugh's
1967
Lyman.
We
will
crop
it,
add
your
name,
the
boat
name
and
year.
We
have
a
few
boats
from
last
year
that
never
got
posted....
Look
for
them
soon
!
Send
your
pictures
to
riverbill@prodigy.net
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U.S.
Coast Guard
Coast
Guard Video Of The Year: Fair Thee Well To The
Falcon........
The U.S. Coast Guard has picked the nominees for the
2014 Coast Guard Video of the Year contest. The
Coast Guard is looking for help from the public in
deciding the top Coast Guard video from 2014.
The contest began on Monday, December 22, 2014, and
will wrap up on Sunday, January 4, 2015. One new
video will be released each day between December 22
and December 31 on the Coast Guard Compass, YouTube,
Facebook, and Twitter.
Participants can vote for their favorites, and the
winner will be announced on Monday, January 5, 2014
on the Coast Guard Compass and on Facebook.
The fourth video of the year candidate shows some
Coast Guard crews working on their ice rescue
training........
Click here to check out the fifth video from
the Coast Guard Compass website.
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River Ferries
Illinois
River
Brussels
Ferry..............618 - 786-3636
Mississippi River
Golden Eagle
Ferry ......618-535-5759
Winfield
Ferry...............618 - 396-2535
Grafton Ferry............... 1-800-258-6645...
Closed for the season
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Last Weekend's Edition of RiverBills....
Click here for last
weekend's edition of RiverBills
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Who's Open.. Who's Closed
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Who's
Open... Who's Closed........
Big Kahuna.......................
Closed
Boathouse Food &
Deck.... Closed
Cedar Hill
Resort................
Closed
Duck Club Yacht Club ....... Closed
Evandy's Boatel................. Open all year
Froges Bar & Grill.............. Open all Year
Kinder's
Restaurant............
Closed
Longshot
Saloon................ Closed
LaRosa
Cantina.................. Closed
Palisades Yacht
Club......... Closed Dec 19, reopening in Jan 2015
Sundowners.......................
Closed
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Your Eye on the River
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The Boathouse Food and Deck
WebCam
Mississippi River on Dardenne
Slough UMR 222.2
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RiverBills Two Branch Area
WebCam
Mississippi River UMR 231.5
The
Webcams above upload a new picture every 6 minutes..
Hit
refresh to update to the latest picture
Go to
www.RiverWebCams.com
for the last 10 pictures from all the above cameras!
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Polestar
Boating Center
River
Weather Station
History for weather station KMOSTCHA4...Polestar Boating
Center, St.Charles, MO..
Click here
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Mike and Rosie's Swing Set Blog
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 David Berg's Blog
"Great Escape" We are currently "dirt dwellers" but have lived aboard traveling for as long as 7 months at a time.
Click here to go to "Bergs on Great Escape Blog" and read the latest blog
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River
Levels & Water Temp for your phone
River
Levels for Pool 26............
http://www.riverbills.com/River.html
Alton to
Hannibal........................ http://www.riverbills.com/River-Mis.html
Hardin to
Peoria .........................
http://www.riverbills.com/River-Ill.html
Saverton, Louisiana,
Clarksville...
http://www.riverbills.com/River-Lou.html
Add
current "river level" information to your mobile device. All
you need is internet access... Simply add one of the links
shown above
River level information
in the charts is updated every 15 minutes to US Army Corps
of Engineers data
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Send
Us Your News Tip !
If you see something that
you think your fellow boaters would be interested in, send
us a news tip. Email it to
RiverBill@prodigy.net
and we will get it on-line.
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River Updates from facebook
Click here to go
to RiverBills List of River facebook pages
in upper left hand column of this page
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