We made it to our room in time to drop our bags and freshen up quickly before heading out to a local dinner theater production at the Golden Nugget Saloon.

Having grown up in Cheyenne, I’ve seen my share of western-style musicals. So I was a bit skeptical.

I’m happy to say it was enjoyable! The food was tasty and served by the cast, of course. Each member having their own table.

Our table had Walter. When I asked Walter about the food options for Celiac, he explained to me what I could eat and even brought me some of his own Gluten Free bread, as he has Celiac too. I consider this to be a God blessing, given that traveling with Celiac can be like Russian Roulette.

We dined on salmon, smokehouse BBQ, mashed potatoes, salad and biscuits with butter. Baked apple crisp was the dessert for everyone but me.

Next it was time for the play. The production was about the first man to climb Denali. They asked us not to take pictures or video. But since Derek was selected from the crowd to participate, I do have a photo afterwards with the performers!

As the evening passed and I took it all in, I thought of my parents and how they would’ve loved this. It was their type of entertainment. My Dad would’ve tipped the performer’s nicely. In his honor, I tipped them best I could given that I haven’t had a paycheck since I left Denver April 27th.

Afterwards, I was hoping for a cocktail to celebrate our adventures beginning. But the pizza place was closed and nothing else was open yet for the season. So we went back to our room without a toast and went to sleep.

It was a relaxing sleep in a well appointed room, given the rustic setting.

The following morning, we were treated to a delicious breakfast buffet at Fannie Q’s Saloon, a tastefully decorated restaurant.

We then loaded the busses to head back to Anchorage, stopping at the Mt McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge along the way. A company owned property. Here, the views were phenomenal. Denali and all that surrounds it! (I didn’t get any pictures as I was taking it all in!)