Sunset last night was gorgeous, so I was up at 4:00 a.m. this morning to see if the sunrise could match it. Glanced out, saw everything was clouded over, and went back to sleep until a more civilized hour.

The tour book said that the Alaska Highway between Kluane Lake and Beaver Creek had conditions ranging from good to very poor. I think that judgment was overly generous. It took us over 5 hours to drive 131 miles. And the worst part is, this is the only section of the AH that we will have to do twice. Later in the trip, we will drive from Valdez to Haines, which can only be reached by driving through Canada. I can only hope that the road crews have had time to get some work done before we go back through.

We did finally see a grizzly bear this afternoon, munching calmly along the side of the road and ignoring the people who stopped to look. We learned that the grizzly and the Alaskan brown bear are the same species, as is the Kodiak bear (found only on Kodiak Island). Both the grizzly and the American black bear come in all colors from blond to black. We saw a gorgeous brown black bear earlier on the trip.

We passed the 4000 mile mark on the trip today. For a change, I was driving. (Patrice had the wheel for the first 3 milestones). After 16 days on the road, we are finally in Alaska, but not yet at the end of the Alaska Highway. I think we are at mile 1315 (of about 1350). Tomorrow, we will pass the end of this highway on our way to North Pole, AK, and then on to Fairbanks.