Argosy Fans get $10 off the December 3rd departure.

The Snow Train climbing up into the Cascade Mountains

Here in Seattle, we can only dream of snow mounded on windowsills and picturesque panoramas of snow-covered towns. But we are glad we don’t have to scoop our cars off in the morning. And its okay if we leave the house without a hat.

 Here is an opportunity to experience all the beauty and cheer of snow without the hassle. For 15 years, local Alki Tours has been offering their Snow Train experience out to Leavenworth. Eat breakfast as you travel by rail (with onboard musicians and Santa!) through the Cascade Mountains covered in snow. The destination, Leavenworth, is decorated, snow-capped, and full of holiday lights. Carolers, bonfires, warm restaurants, sleigh rides, it’s all there to enjoy. At dusk, join the tree lighting to transform the town to an even more magical wonderland.  Then back onto the cozy train for the ride back to Seattle complete with dinner and entertainment.

 For information and tickets call Alki Tours at 206-935-6848 or AlkiTours.com.  

Mention you are a fan of Argosy Cruises and get $10 off the December 3^rd departure. 

Lynn Campbell’s 100th birthday is on Sunday, October 9th, 2011.

Join us in celebrating the birthday of Lynn, who began what was originally Spring Street Water Taxi, renamed Seattle Harbor Tours, and is now Argosy Cruises.

An early Harbor Cruise

Born in Relief, North Carolina on October 9, 1911, Captain Lynn Campbell or Lennie, as he was called, turns 100 this week.  He is friendly, devoted to the waterfront, an ardent outdoorsman, and still lives locally on Bainbridge Island. Here are a few highlights of his busy life.

He is the third son of Thomas and Mary Jane Campbell who farmed and ran a store in the hills of N.C. While still in his teens wanderlust struck Lynn and he headed west. He financed his way working for a traveling carnival lighting their fireworks. Reaching Seattle he signed aboard ships sailing between Seattle and Alaska where his love for the sea began.

With the outbreak of WWII he was turned down for the military service because of a childhood car and train collision so he signed up with Isaacson Steel pouring the huge buckets of molten steel that built tanks and planes for the war effort.  After the war he and a partner started a tugboat log patrol business here in the Northwest and became a familiar sight around Puget Sound. In 1949, at Pier 55, Lynn started Spring Street Water Taxi Company, ferrying people from Seattle to Manchester.

The bustling waterfront enjoying Seattle Harbor Tours

All this cruising gave him a desire to share the beauty and interest all around him with the public. However at the time our now prospering and pleasant waterfront was a workplace with the bows of great ships shadowing the street and boats unloading and processing fish.

But by the next year, he began the one hour Harbor Cruise that took sightseers on a circle tour around the bay with wonderful views of the city, lighthouses and mountains. Then up the Duwamish River to see the dry docks building and repairing ships and to the shipyards loading and unloading from ports all over the Pacific Rim.

Captain Campbell at the wheel

He prided himself that there were no recordings and passengers were treated to live historic stories and current events around the bay. The personal touch was everything. He would always end the tour by saying “Ladies and gentlemen. If you have enjoyed the tour please tell your friends and neighbors because word of mouth is our best advertising.” It worked like a charm and more boats were added until the fleet of Goodtime boats became an everyday sight around the Bay and Sound. It has always been said that he did business with a handshake and his word was gold.

The 1962 the Seattle World Fair provided Captain Campbell with the opportunity to add regularly scheduled tours to Tillicum Village on Blake Island for authentic Indian baked salmon. He and his wife Alice (1920 – 2010) were married in 1967, and together enjoyed running what had become Seattle Harbor Tours. In 1986, after more than 35 years of showing off his city’s water, a huge celebration was held on the pier attended by the Mayor, friends and associates acknowledging his contribution to the great success of the waterfront development. He sold and retired from the six-vessel company in 1990.

Captain Lynn Campbell

Today Argosy is proud to still be a family run company with its roots in a man like Lynn. Happy 100^th Birthday, Lynn!

We are offering Lynn’s iconic one hour Harbor Cruise at half price on Sunday to celebrate. Just mention Lynn’s Birthday!

Thanks to a story written by Greg Johnston in the Kirkland Patch, we learned of a new Kirkland playground with a charming new name…MV Kirkland. 

The MV Kirkland was a special vessel with an interesting history and one that Argosy Cruises will never forget.  The old ferry boat, built in 1924 and originally called the Tourist No. 2, was used for transportation from Astoria, Oregon to Illwaco, Washington.  In 1994 she became part of the Argosy family and underwent a complete refurbishment before making the city of Kirkland her home.  Fittingly, the vessel was renamed the MV Kirkland, weaving her into the eastside community.  On August 28, 2010 a faulty engine‐room wire led to a fire on the 86‐year old vessel, causing damage too severe for the wooden vessel to survive. 

The new playground at Houghton Beach is a wonderful way to commemorate the sad loss of the old ferry boat that was loved by many.  According to the Kirkland Patch, the playground was voted on by kids of Lakeview Elementary and will represent a ship…perfect for its new name, the MV Kirkland.

Read the full article in the Kirkland Patch to learn more about the new Houghton Beach playground.

Thank you to King 5’s New Day Northwest for the exciting sneak peek into the new revamped show at Tillicum Village.  Argosy’s CEO, Kevin Clark, and Creative Director of EXCLAIM, John Schuler, made a live guest appearance on New Day this morning to highlight the new unique experience guests are sure to expect this year at Blake Island!

Studio guests at King 5 were wowed by the energetic performance by three Tillicum Village dancers who performed the parade of masks.  This dance is performed with beautifully carved native masks weighing 45-65 pounds.  The mask dance is only one small part of the new 25 minute show carefully created to accurately portray storytelling and dance of the area’s Coast Salish tribes.  See for yourself why Tillicum Village is the talk of the town and a must-see Seattle attraction!

Watch the full New Day Northwest show featuring Tillicum Village!

Learn more about the 4-hour Tillicum Village experience at our website.

NEWS RELEASE

March 29, 2011
Contact: Cari Simson, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG (206) 234-5102
DUWAMISH ALIVE! HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS WORK TO RESTORE SEATTLE’S ONLY RIVER ON SATURDAY, April 16, 2011

(Seattle WA) Environmental forces will join together at the semi-annual Duwamish Alive! Earth Day river restoration event on Saturday, April 16th. Starting at 10:00am volunteers will roll up their sleeves at multiple sites along Seattle’s industrialized watershed to perform cleanup and restoration work in the ongoing effort to keep Seattle’s only river alive.

Duwamish Alive! brings together over 30 conservation groups, businesses, and government entities, organizing hundreds of volunteers to work at 13 work sites in the river’s lower watershed.

Work sites include a river cleanup by kayak and canoe, shoreline salmon restoration, and native forest revitalization. Families, company groups, clubs, individuals, schools, fraternities and sororities are encouraged to participate, and no experience is necessary.

These volunteer restoration projects complement government efforts to clean up the contaminated sediments at the bottom of the Duwamish River. Improvements in the health of the river will benefit people, wildlife, and runs of threatened salmon on the Green/Duwamish River.

At Codiga Park in Tukwila, volunteers will remove invasive plants and spread mulch to protect recent native plantings. Leading the work at the Codiga Park Site are People For Puget Sound and Tukwila Parks and Recreation.

“The restoration of the Duwamish depends on community, non-profit, government and corporate partners working together to restore the urbanized environment,” said Dhira Brown, restoration ecologist for People For Puget Sound. According to Brown, the Duwamish River Estuary has less than three percent of its original habitat remaining.

At Duwamish Waterway Park in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle, volunteers take to the river in kayaks and small boats to remove marine debris and plastics which are harmful to both water quality and marine life. Also at this site, volunteers will conduct park beautification and pick up trash in the surrounding neighborhood. Working at Duwamish Waterway Park are Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, Argosy Cruises, and Alki Kayak Tours.

“It is great to see how people from the surrounding communities and from all over Seattle are reconnecting with their river,” said Chris Wilke, Executive Director of Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. “This personal connection is a key element in the cleanup and in recovering the river’s natural character”.

A special ribbon-cutting and site dedication will happen at T-107 Public Access site on West Marginal Way in Delridge/West Seattle. The West Seattle Rotary, People For Puget Sound, the Port of Seattle, and Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG partnered to improve a hand-carry boat launch for kayaks and canoes. Volunteers are needed to remove invasive weeds and spread mulch around native plants installed earlier this winter. The ribbon-cutting and site dedication will be from 1-2pm, and joined by the Duwamish Tribe, the Blue Heron Canoe, a NW Native cedar canoe, and local kayakers from Alki Kayak Tours.

“Volunteering at Duwamish Alive is a great first step for citizens to get involved in restoring the Duwamish River; people love to see the positive results of their hard work at the end of the day,” said Cari Simson, Program Manager for Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group. DRCC/TAG is a non-profit organization providing citizen involvement in the Lower Duwamish Superfund Cleanup process.

Another large project will take place at the West Duwamish Greenbelt site in the Delridge neighborhood, where volunteers working with EarthCorps and Nature Consortium will improve Seattle’s largest urban forest through native tree restoration work.
The workday at all 13 sites begins at 10 AM and concludes at 2 PM. Refreshments, tools, and instructions will be provided. All ages and abilities welcomed. Children under 10 must have 1-to-1 supervision.

After the work parties, Nature Consortium is sponsoring an Earth Day Festival that includes free food, hands-on arts projects, live music, and informational booths from local organizations. The Festival takes place from 2pm-4pm at Pathfinder K-8 School, on SW Genesee Street in the Delridge neighborhood of West Seattle.

To volunteer, visit www.DuwamishAlive.org and RSVP to the contact for the site you choose, email contact@duwamishalive.org, or call 206.923.0853.

Media Contacts:

Overall event: Cari Simson, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG (206) 234-5102
Shoreline Restoration sites: Dhira Brown, People For Puget Sound (206) 382-7007 x182
Forest Restoration site and Earth Day Festival: Amy Truax, Nature Consortium (206) 923-0853
In-water debris cleanup site: Nick White, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, (206) 297-7002