We went to the dock Saturday evening for a cruise on the river, but we walked past the Discovery III which was tied up for the day....
....and boarded the smaller Discovery II for a wedding reception. The Discovery II is mainly used for special charters such as we were on, and is 116 feet long and will carry 400 passengers. It was built on the hull of the freighter Yutana and put into service in 1971.
It had been rainy for several days and although it was still overcast the rain held off for a pleasant two-hour evening cruise down the Chena River. We passed the Discovery III as we made our way downriver.
Even with the overcast skies there were still some beautiful scenes on the river.
The cruise took us down the clear water of the spring-fed Chena River to where it flows into the Tanana River, which is much larger and full of glacial silt.
The mixing of the clear and silty water is very apparent and here the boat turns around and heads back up the Chena River.
There are many houses along the river, but my favorite is the one that looked like it was ready to take a cruise on the river.
We met the Tanana Chief on its dinner cruise. Everyone looked to be having a good time.
Tied up along the bank is the Riverboat Discovery I, which was built by Jim Binkley in his backyard and put into service in the tour business in 1955. It's 65-feet and carries 150 passengers.
We passed the Pump House Restaurant, one of our favorite places to eat since it's close to our house. On a sunny evening the deck would be full, but on this cool rainy day everyone chose to eat inside. It's always interesting to see a place from the opposite viewpoint from which you usually see it.
Riding a riverboat with a paddle wheel behind always seems to carry you back a bit in time. The riverboats were an important part of Alaska's history, and the reason Fairbanks is where it is today. But that's a story for another day....
