Chena River on a Kayak

This afternoon I got my dad out of the house and onto the Chena River for a couple hours on a kayak.


Afternoon on the Chena River

There's a place about halfway across town that rents kayaks, canoes, and bicycles. It's locate directly on the Chena River, which winds it way around and through town. A few miles downriver is the Pumphouse, a restaurant located directly on the river (and where I had my first job, working as a dishwasher for about a year when I was seventeen.) I got a good picture of my dad on his bright yellow kayak.


Dad in a Kayak 

It was really a gorgeous day for it. The summers in Alaska (when it's not down around 45 degrees out) are really beautiful. It was a little overcast here and there and there were some threatening stormclouds in the distance, but the rain held off until we were done with the kayaking and had our early dinner. Just look at this sky.


Chena Sky 

For a river in the middle of Alaska, there was plenty of traffic, though. There were a number of homemade floats that were constructed as part of a Golden Days event and although our launching point was the landing point for most of them, a few kept going and we would pass them by. The friendliest people we met were not on a float at all, though, but rather in a couple of little rubber boats. This woman with her dog and her daughter (who was off to the left) chatted with me and my dad for a bit. Her daughter kept offering us different kinds of food, which we refused until she offered watermelon. They had a third raft with a cooler in it. Then the mom got a cell phone call (how un-Alaskan!) and we went on ahead faster.


Company on the Chena 

The largest of the boats that travel up and down the river are the classic riverboats. Some of them are even steam powered, like the Discovery I, II, and III that cart tourists up and down the Chena and the Tanana, the much larger river the Chena joins just a couple miles from my parents' house. The one I show here is the Tanana Chief and I think is owned by someone other than the Discovery people. Mark Twain would be so pleased to see these boats still around.


Tanana Chief Paddleboat 

As I mentioned, we put ashore at the Pumphouse, where a shuttle came to get the kayaks. Lunch was merely mediocre and overpriced. I did, however, get some nice photos of the well-kept flower garden out front. I'm glad we got out of doors today. It would have been far too easy to just sit inside and monkey around with the computer.


Garden at the Pumphouse