And at last, and almost on time (thank goodness for schedule
padding), we arrived at the McKinley Creekside Cafe, which
does a satisfactory imitation of a Moosewood-type place
hippie restaurant out in the middle of godknowswhere.
Luckily it's not a veggie haven. I had the reindeer sausage
and potato soup, which came full of some dark green
vegetable (kale, I imagine) and no sausage in evidence
(perhaps it was sausage broth they used); it could I think
have fooled a vegetarian and did a creditable imitation of
Portuguese caldo verde.

Our end of the table got 3 different preparations of
halibut - ckpeter opted for it baked in an artichoke cream
sauce (struck me as slightly too fancy); belle3388 had it
grilled; and for me, deep-fried in panko - after being
frowned upon by some at the table, I pointed out that deft
frying would yield a tender and juicy and not overcooked
result, the coating (not greasy if cooked at a proper
temperature) protecting the delicacy of the fish. Which is
what happened. The coating was maybe a tad thick, but the
snow-white meat inside was delicate, moist, and delicious.
Actually, I think among the three I won. An assortment of
burgers and salmon and salads and things around the table
were generally pronounced good.

A few Alaskan IPAs went nicely with my dinner.

The highlight of the evening, though, was getting to meet
the legendary Seat 2A for the first time. This renowned
world traveler works at the park and in his spare time
wanders around the world, apparently preferably in seat 2A.
He's as entertaining in person as his trip reports are
(I heard, correct me if I'm wrong, that he has posted over
500,000 words on the forum, the equivalent of 5 good-size
novels). He drinks Alaskan Amber, in case you run into him.

Many people order to-go bag lunches for the trip, as there
isn't catering on the buses or at the nature centers along
the route. I tried to point out that with all of Bob W's
party leftovers, this was kind of redundant, but most did
buy anyhow.

Thanks to jackal hustling us out, we managed to check in
before closing time at the Denali Grizzly Bear Resort Hotel
and Cabins. belle3388 and Lily got rooms in the hotel part,
while magic111 and I roughed it in the Sourdough Cabin, one
of a string of similar off downhill from the hotel part. The
cabin was somewhat spartan and without water, but it was
wired for electricity, which allowed for such luxuries as
lights, baseboard heating, and the noisiest alarm clock this
side of Hades. The shower house was up the hill a couple
hundred paces, no great hardship.

We had a little party at belle3388's, where we toasted each
other with the Kirkland Signature sparkling wine methode
champenoise from Sonoma - a clean and pleasant wine with
elegant bubbles. A couple hundred feet back downhill to the
cabin.

Beds were comfy enough, and the heating was effective, and
we were tired. I slept well for the first night in a while.