On May 31, 1899, the rail road tycoon, Edward Harriman, led an expedition of over 100 scientists, naturalists, and artists on a 2 month long, 9000 mile voyage along the coast of Alaska as far as the Bearing Strait. This expedition was widely published in the papers at the time. Reading about this, Moore decided to go see for himself.

In August of 1899, shortly after the Harriman party returned, Ridgway boarded a steamer in Seattle and took his own voyage over the first part of their route, going as far as Dyea and Glacier Bay. His first stop was in Sitka, followed by Dyea and Glacier Bay with a stop in Fort Wrangle on his way back. Several of his photos are similar to those taken by Edward S Curtis and others with the Harriman party, probably because they were taken to the same locations by local "tour guides". Tourism appears to have already become an important business in Alaska by the end of the 19th century. In photo #0041 of the Sitka Trading Company there is a sign visible on the far right side of the image. The sign reads, "No Tourist should leave without one of the celebrated Alaska Crab Apple Canes, Alaska views, etc."