Shaking the crazy ride off, I pose for a quick pic before boarding my assigned train car for the day. Car #1054.

We end up having a magical car, as we have exactly 54 passengers scheduled to ride our car #1054.

I’m excited that I have the first car. The bar is in the front. I start to set it up by opening the liquor box first.

As promised, there are snacks inside for me. Put there by the night stockers. (Being a true crime aficionado, I always hear this as night “stalkers”. Which would change the entire blog. But makes me laugh inside.)

I am ready for the trip to begin. We have a quick meeting before we pull away from the rail yard to the depot where our passengers will board.

My pen and paper are ready for orders. The bar is set up. Coffee is hot. My welcome speech is ready.

Guests start ascending the narrow spiral stairs. At times, I assist them with their bags. I welcome them and smile, directing them to their seats.

As soon as everyone is seated, the rail guide gives the safety speech and the trip begins.

After the safety speech, I give a short welcome to the guests and direct them on how I will take orders and who will be eating breakfast first. I use a microphone, which I initially thought I would fear. Turns out instead, it livens me up. And I talk often on it.

It’s as if this is what I were made for. I have a captive audience. I’m serving them. Talking to them and entertaining them at times. We laugh often.

I have the usual perverted male guest who can’t seem to remember what’s appropriate to say and what isn’t. I feel bad for his wife, who sits through his stupid remarks.

Despite my welcome speech, ​people opted for non alcoholic options like coffee or hot tea. Except for the Aussie who ordered a “bubbly”. Which is Champagne. In Australia they don’t call is Champagne. Because of the geographic requirements necessary to be labeled Champagne. They refer to it as “bubbly”. Which makes it sound so much more fun!

I thought it would be difficult to carry beverages down a narrow aisle while the train is moving. But it turned out to be easier than anticipated. I didn’t spill any drinks, though one passenger did spill her soda. The rails are pretty smooth. But at times there is some side to side movement and slight bumps, so it’s a good idea to keep a hand on your drink.

The scenery was breathtaking as we road up the mountain. I continued to serve people and deflect comments from the pervert.

Soon we were about 30 minutes outside Talkeetna and it was time to close the guests out, as they would disembark. The train would continue up the tracks to Denali, but without guests. Ready to load passengers the next day and take them from Denali down to Talkeetna.

As we were rounding a curve, a passenger asked where they should look to see Denali. The actual summit. As I told them the direction, I made a sweeping motion with my arm. Then, the rail guide sprinted up the steps and announced that we could see Denali! It was as if we summoned it.

There it was. Sticking out above a cloud. The slightly rounded dome of the summit.

It’s said that only 30% of people who visit actually see Denali. The clouds often obscuring the view. We were lucky here. I wasn’t surprised. God often delivers these moments to me. So I will give Him the glory for this moment!

With the passenger’s all closed out on their tabs, the pervert a non tipper (of course), they gathered their belongings and began to disembark.

As they passed by, one passenger mentioned it was their birthday. I spontaneously broke out into song, singing Happy Birthday on the microphone.

People LOVED it! Which of course made me sing more. I can really ham it up.

With everyone off the train. I counted my tips and started cleaning up my bar area. Our car would be empty the rest of the trip, allowing for a relaxing afternoon.

For now, enjoy my pictures. So many more to come!

(Also, if you’re going to be a pervert, then tip your bartender for putting up with your nonsense.)