First stop in mainland USA was Glacier National Park which at some point will need renaming. In the 1800's there were 150 glaciers here, now there are less than 30 and those are diminishing rapidly. It is expected that at some time between 2020 and 2030 they will all be gone. This area belonged to the Blackfeet Indians who reluctantly sold it to the white invaders. Why - probably because they had suffered two starvation winters and money from the sale would stop them from dying from hunger. Why were they starving in the first place - because Buffalo Bill and others shot thousands of buffalos to feed railway workers. The land and animals that had fed the Blackfeet Indians for centuries was plundered, destroyed and taken by white settlers. There is an entry fee to enter the National Park but Blackfeet descendants can finally go there for free (once again). We arrived mid-morning and made our way immediately to the St. Mary campground. We got a spot easily but according to the visitor centre it was full at 1.48pm, in fact all the park campgrounds were full by early afternoon. It was a Friday, so weekenders were arriving as well as long term tourers such as ourselves. The weather was glorious and in just a few days most the campgrounds would be closing or changing to primitive status - no water, no showers, no flush toilets. For our two nights we had full services (except for hook ups). No one seems to enjoy walking in the rain but water cascading down mountainsides is a magnet for almost everyone. We set off on foot to visit yet more waterfalls. The green fauna has transformed itself into blankets of gold, yellow and red. St. Mary falls was delightful, Virginia falls was dramatic and well worth the uphill walk, Bering falls was pretty but struggle to compete with the first two. We clocked up about 6 miles, not bad for an afternoon short walk. We only had one more day here so we had to make the most of it. The 50-mile road that crosses the park was closed west of Logan Pass. We planned to hike from the pass but was concerned about parking so we did a repeat of Lake Louise. Up early to drive there, get a parking spot then have breakfast. We awoke to a thick blanket of cloud - no view, oh dear. We still went as planned and to our relief we popped out above the clouds before reaching the pass. The highway named 'Going to the Sun road' did just that. We started in a claggy miserable landscape and parked up under a blue sunny sky looking down upon the clouds. We enjoyed sausages & eggs and steaming mugs of tea whilst the car park continued to fill. There are two hikes from here, we couldn't do both so Donna suggested we do a bit of each which turned out to be a great idea. We headed off to view the hidden lake, at the overlook we got great views of the lake and the western side of the park along with smoke from the fire burning there. At the visitors centre Donna posed for a photo with a cut-out of a white mountain goat, at the overlook a real one appeared for us and walked within a couple of feet of me. Only a goat yes, but crikey he wasn't half big and fluffy and those horns could do some damage. He wandered around the boardwalks seemingly posing for photos. We didn't hike down to the lake, it was a big descent which we would have to come back up and we had other views to investigate. Down at the lake there is also a good chance of meeting a grizzly close up - no thanks! The highline trail was not Donna's most enjoyable. The path was mostly wide enough for two people but there was a dirty great drop on one side of it. It was a bit of overkill but there was actually a wire rope to hold onto. Donna used it all the way and refused to loose it when meeting hikers coming from the opposite direction. The cable ended, but the narrow path and drop continued. A grizzly had been spotted on this trail yesterday! We continued until we found a spot for lunch with no immediate drop and open enough to see bears coming. Then we turned back to traverse this narrow route all over again. Donna breathed a sigh of relief once back on safer ground but said the views had made the hairy scarey trail worthwhile. Back at the carpark, vehicles were going round and round just waiting for someone to leave. The clouds in the valley had dispersed and we didn't give up our parking spot before tea and biscuits taking in the grand mountain scenery. Bear cubs had been spotted on the road so we drove slowly but didn't spot any. One of the two trails we had trodden today was officially closed later in the afternoon due to bear activity - we didn't find out which one. We stopped at numerous viewpoints on our drive back, the scenery was stunning. With a slow wifi connection at the visitors centre we checked the weather forecast. Rain, thunder and lightning tomorrow but sunshine for several days in Yellowstone park where we are headed. We did well with the weather (better than Waterton). Too cold to barbeque, pork and stuffing for dinner in the warmth of our camper. A long drive tomorrow.