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Riverboat Discovery
The Riverboat Discovery is a tour company in Fairbanks, Alaska, which operates paddle steamer, sternwheel riverboats on the Chena River, Chena and Tanana River, Tanana rivers. History The Riverboat Discovery business was founded in 1950 by Jim and Mary Binkley. The Binkleys were approached in 1950 by Alaska tourism entrepreneur Cruise West, Chuck West, who expressed interest in a local river tour in Fairbanks, Alaska, and asked if they could provide such a service.Sturgis, Ken. 1988. ''Four Generations on the Yukon''. Epicenter Press, Fairbanks, Alaska. , p. 38 Mary and Jim initially operated a small converted missionary boat, the ''Godspeed'', on tours of the rivers near Fairbanks. The company's first sternwheeler, Discovery I, was built by Jim Binkley in his backyard in 1955 to accommodate more passengers. Later, more riverboats were added to the Discovery fleet; Discovery II was converted from a freighting steamboat in 1971, and Discovery III was built in 1987 at the Nicho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the population of the city proper at 32,515, and the population of the Fairbanks North Star Borough at 95,655 making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Alaska after Anchorage. The Metropolitan Statistical Area encompasses all of the Fairbanks North Star Borough and is the northernmost Metropolitan Statistical Area in the United States, located by road ( by air) south of the Arctic Circle. Fairbanks is home to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the founding campus of the University of Alaska system. History Native American presence Athabascan peoples have used the area for thousands of years, although there is no known permanent Alaska Native settlement at the site of Fairbanks. An archaeological site excavated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paddle Steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans. In the early 19th century, paddle wheels were the predominant way of propulsion for steam-powered boats. In the late 19th century, paddle propulsion was largely superseded by the screw propeller and other marine propulsion systems that have a higher efficiency, especially in rough or open water. Paddle wheels continue to be used by small, pedal-powered paddle boats and by some ships that operate tourist voyages. The latter are often powered by diesel engines. Paddle wheels The paddle wheel is a large steel framework wheel. The outer edge of the wheel is fitted with numerous, regularly spaced paddle blades (called floats or buckets). The bottom quarter or so of the wheel travels under water. An ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chena River
The Chena River (; Tanana Athabascan: Ch'eno' "river of something (game)") is a tributary of the Tanana River in the Interior region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows generally west from the White Mountains to the Tanana River near the city of Fairbanks, which is built on both sides of the river. The Tanana empties into the long Yukon River. Named tributaries of the Chena River include the North Fork, South Fork, West Fork, Middle (East) Fork and the Little Chena River. The Chena River State Recreation Area surrounds much of the upper half of the main stem. The Chena River is used for recreational fishing and boating. During the winter months, it is also traveled by snowmachines and mushers (sled dogs). The Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project dam is about up the Chena River from Fairbanks. The dam was built in response to the 1967 Fairbanks flood, which inundated much of the city. When closed, the dam impounds water and, when the inflow is high enough, diver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanana River
The Tanana River ( Lower Tanana: Tth'eetoo', Upper Tanana: ''Tth’iitu’ Niign'') is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to linguist and anthropologist William Bright, the name is from the Koyukon (Athabaskan) ''tene no'', ''tenene'', literally "trail river". The river's headwaters are located at the confluence of the Chisana and Nabesna rivers just north of Northway in eastern Alaska. The Tanana flows in a northwest direction from near the border with the Yukon Territory, and laterally along the northern slope of the Alaska Range, roughly paralleled by the Alaska Highway. In central Alaska, it emerges into a lowland marsh region known as the Tanana Valley and passes south of the city of Fairbanks. In the marsh regions it is joined by several large tributaries, including the Nenana (near the city of Nenana) and the Kantishna. It passes the village of Manley Hot Springs and empties into the Yukon near the town of Tanana. Ice on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family Business
A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood or marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willingness to use this ability to pursue distinctive goals. They are closely identified with the firm through leadership or ownership. Owner-manager entrepreneurial firms are not considered to be family businesses because they lack the multi-generational dimension and family influence that create the unique dynamics and relationships of family businesses. Overview Family business is the oldest and most common model of economic organization. The vast majority of businesses throughout the world—from corner shops to multinational publicly listed organizations with hundreds of thousands of employees—can be considered family businesses. Based on research of the Forbes 400 richest Americans, 44% of the Forbes 400 member fortunes were derived by b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes". Tourism can be domestic (within the traveller's own country) or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments. Tourism numbers declined as a result of a strong economic slowdown (the late-2000s recession) between the second half of 2008 and the end of 2009, and in consequence of the outbreak of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, but slowly recovered until the COVID-19 p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paddle Steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans. In the early 19th century, paddle wheels were the predominant way of propulsion for steam-powered boats. In the late 19th century, paddle propulsion was largely superseded by the screw propeller and other marine propulsion systems that have a higher efficiency, especially in rough or open water. Paddle wheels continue to be used by small, pedal-powered paddle boats and by some ships that operate tourist voyages. The latter are often powered by diesel engines. Paddle wheels The paddle wheel is a large steel framework wheel. The outer edge of the wheel is fitted with numerous, regularly spaced paddle blades (called floats or buckets). The bottom quarter or so of the wheel travels under water. An ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cruise West
Cruise West was an independent, destination focused small-ship cruise operator based in Seattle, Washington. The line was the largest operator of U.S. flagged cruise vessels (by number of vessels) with nine currently operating. They were best known for their Alaska cruises but their reach includes destinations all around the Pacific Ocean. Cruise West announced on September 18, 2010, that it is ceasing operations. History Founded in 1973 by Chuck West, Cruise West started out as an Alaska tour operator. It wasn't until 1990 that the company purchased its first overnight vessel, the 52-passenger ''Spirit of Glacier Bay''. Through the 1990s the company increasingly focused on cruising and expanded its fleet and added new non-Alaskan destinations such as the Columbia and Snake Rivers, British Columbia, California's wine country, and into Mexico's Sea of Cortes. In 2001 the line acquired its first oceangoing and foreign-flagged vessel, the 114-passenger ''Spirit of Oceanus'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discovery I
The ''Discovery I'' is the smallest of three stern-wheel riverboats operated by the Riverboat Discovery in Fairbanks, Alaska. Built in 1955, the ''Discovery I'' is a tour vessel on the Chena and Tanana rivers. History ''Discovery I'' was built by Captain Charles M. ("Jim") Binkley Jr., who had started a tour business on the rivers near Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1950. For the first five years of operation, Binkley used a converted missionary boat, the ''Godspeed'', to conduct the tours. By 1954, Binkley was in need of a larger boat due to increased passenger volume, and made plans to build a stern-wheel riverboat similar to ones he had piloted earlier in his career as a riverboat captain.Madonna, James. 1999. ''Alaska Gold Trails: The Pioneers''. A.P. Publishing, Fairbanks, Alaska. , p. 31 After drawing up plans with a local architect, Binkley began construction of ''Discovery I'' in his back yard during the winter of 1955. The boat was complete early the next summer, and Captain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discovery II
''Discovery II'', built in 1971, is the second of three Discovery sternwheel riverboats operated by the Riverboat Discovery company. ''Discovery II'' is still in use as a tour vessel on the Chena and Tanana rivers near Fairbanks, Alaska. History ''Discovery II'' began its life in 1953 as the ''Yutana'', a freight boat hauling goods on the Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ... and Tanana rivers (hence its name, a combination of the names of the two rivers). Captain Jim Binkley purchased the Yutana in 1967 after its effective freighting life was over, and until 1970 it was drydocked on the Chena River near Fairbanks, Alaska. In 1971, Jim Binkley was in need of a larger sternwheel riverboat with which to conduct his daily river tours (his first sternwheeler, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discovery III
''Discovery III'', built in 1987, is the third of three Discovery sternwheel riverboats operated by the Riverboat Discovery company. ''Discovery III'' is still in use as a tour vessel on the Chena and Tanana rivers near Fairbanks, Alaska. History ''Discovery III'' came into being in 1987 as a result of increased tour traffic to the Riverboat Discovery. Due to increased passenger numbers, the company frequently had to turn away potential guests due to the limited capacity of ''Discovery II'', their primary tour boat. As a result, in 1986 Captain Jim Binkley and his three sons began planning for the construction of a third sternwheeler for the company, which would be named ''Discovery III''. Plans for ''Discovery III'' were finalized by the fall of 1986, and the Binkley family hired the Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Inc. to build the superstructure of the boat's hulls and decks. Construction began in the late fall of 1986 at the Nichols Brothers shipyard in Whidbey Island, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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