Bullseye is in the pack, waiting to start his train ride on the Alaska Railroad to Spencer Glacier.

While I was in Alaska, I had the chance to sightsee, and what a place Alaska is to sightsee! Everywhere you turn, whether driving out of Anchorage to the Glenn Highway or headed to Homer on the Seward Highway, there are mountains with snow, or moose along the road, or wild irises and chocolate lilies growing. It’s a photographer’s heaven! No shortage of subjects for the camera in Alaska.

Bullseye, Target’s mascot, went with me, peeking out of my pack or clipped to it from his stuff sack. Bullseye is wearing his parka, but to cool him off in June and July, I pulled his hood back. He appreciated that! Did you know that dogs do not sweat from the skin? They cool themselves by panting. Not sweating from the skin is an advantage in cold climates because there is no sweat to cool and freeze on the skin or fur, unlike horses or ponies. In Captain Robert F. Scott’s attempt to reach the South Pole in 1911, he used Shetland ponies to haul supplies which became a problem for his expedition due to how those animals cool their bodies. The sweat froze in the hair of the ponies.

Bullseye traveled on the Alaska Railroad’s Whistle Stop tour to Spencer Glacier, took a float trip on the river, flew on a 1956 De Havilland Beaver, and saw brown bears, up close, in Katmai National Forest. Enjoy the pictures!