So I finally solved the Sapphire Claw dungeon... something Shroud Barrow. Ended up being a Draugr corpse blocking my ability to depress a button to lower the drawbridge. I had to use my Unrelenting Force Shout to move it aside so I could lower the bridge.
Once that happened, though, things got awesome. I fought more Draugr, took out a new Draugr Overlord, and learned a new Shout… which I haven't yet tested out. On the way back, I found a bandit hideout with an AMAZING view of Whiterun. I may run that dungeon again just to see the view. It's simply awesome.
I went out looking for iron ore deposits, because I was excited to try out mining. I found a few, but the highlight of that particular adventure was when I was wandering along a path and, all of a sudden, a dragon dropped out of the sky right on top of me. Scared the crap out of me! I dodged out of the way and let Lydia shoot it with her bow while I hammered away at the thing with my Whiterun Axe. Eventually it went the way of its predecessor (Dragon Kill Count: 2), but that certainly was not something I was expecting. The long run to Whiterun hauling massive amounts of dragonbone was a very anticlimactic aftermath.
I'm getting closer to my goal of owning a house in Whiterun. 3,000 gold down, 2,000 to go. I'm trying to level my smithing and enchanting skills too, but those are expensive, since I don't always have the ingredients I need to craft things. Enchanting in particular is pricey.
The Big Story wants me to head northwest to a far-away town. Eventually, I will go that way, but for now I'm concentrating on exploring the area around Whiterun.