We had the opportunity to spend a long weekend in Dutch Harbor when we were living in Anchorage.  Dutch Harbor is located along the Aleutian Island chain and is one of the biggest fishing ports in the world.  In recent years it has been made famous by the Discovery Channel with its Deadliest Catch reality show.  Getting to Dutch Harbor is interesting - our flight had to stop at Cold Bay (a town on Alaska's mainland) to pick up more fuel in case of fog at Dutch Harbor.  The extra fuel is needed to be able to return to Anchorage.

In Dutch Harbor, I spent most of my time photographing around the Aleutian World War II National Historic Area.  There are lots of photo opportunities there - the remnants of the forts, wildflowers, scenics, Bald Eagles, and the incoming fishing boats.  However, while there, some foxes took an interest to me and provided some memorable photographs and, frankly, a great source of entertainment.

While photographing the wildflowers in front of Mount Ballyhoo, I heard some commotion behind me.  I turned around and saw this little guy:

He was a bit skittish at first, but then seemed to warm up to me.  I didn't know how long he would stick around, so I put on a different lens and started to photograph him a bit more.  This expression put a smile on my face:

When I went back to photographing the wildflowers, my little friend must have been a little jealous and started to play with my tripod!

After a while, he must have gotten a little sleepy and took a nap right next to me.

It's quite a feeling knowing that a wild animal is comfortable enough in your presence to fall asleep.

After a short nap, a friend came along.

Immediately, the two foxes started running around and playing a fox-version of hide and seek!

The interaction with the foxes was a highlight of my trip, and was rewarded with one of my all-time favorite wildlife photographs: