It rained all through the night and we awoke to leaden skies - so we had a little bit of an unplanned lie-in.However, heading west we could see in the distance that the skies were much lighter. We'd planned to head off the highway northwards to Lake Louise but turned back about half way when we realised that there was greater benefit in pressing on to our destination for today - Grand View RV Park, Matanuska. On our way we had some wonderful views of yet again more mountains and glaciers (sorry folks!). We met an interesting couple when we stopped at a viewpoint on the highway.They were from Shipshewana (what a wonderful name), Indiana and both worked for an Amish family.He was a chauffeur for the family - because Amish people do not drive - and gave us a real insight into the Amish lifestyle - they are wealthy people who, in the Shipshewana area build RVs like the one we're driving around in. Strange that they wild motor vehicles but will not drive them themselves!

But as we neared Matanuska the sun came out and the landscape changed from wide expansive forests with far reaching views to one that is more alpine and picturesque.In fact the area around Matanuska is absolutely stunning. You can get tired of superlatives but our RV park is in a stunning setting and after a quick bite of lunch we headed to our next glacier - Matanuska.A great swathe of it is very visible from the highway (see Matanuska photo album) but is much more impressive close up at its terminus and indeed actually on it.We drove the short distance down to the car park and walked the rest, through the moraine, eventually walking on the glacier itself.It was strange to sometimes be able to look down through clear ice under our feet.We walked some distance negotiating mini crevasses and streams. We should point out that this was not nearly the same as the serious stuff we did a few days ago on the Exit Glacier at Seward - Matanuska is vast and impressive but largely passive.

It was soon back to our site to enjoy some rest, relaxation, beer, wine, nibbles and a delicious BBQ in the warmth of the sunshine.We managed to spot some Dall Sheep (truly wild sheep that roam the mountains and are not farmed - they lick the slopes of the local volcano (Sheep Mountain would you believe) to obtain essential minerals and calcium) but have not seen any of the black bears that roam the area immediately in front of where we are sitting.If this blog ends unexpectedly, the bears have got us ...........

E & M xx