Walking in West Yellowstone

I must make an embarrassing admission.  I had no idea how big Yellowstone is.  We haven't really spent that much time in the western national parks. Yesterday was 160 miles in the truck.  Coming back to the RV park was just brutal; lots of slow moving cars, critter clots, and people towing too much trailer for their pickup.  We abandoned our idea of a "day trip" to the Grand Tetons.  It would just be too far, and the area really deserves more than a fly-by.  We're going to come back next year and stay in Moran.
Since it was pouring again this morning, we got off to a slow start.  Jim dumped tanks and I backed up four months of photos.  About time!  Then we went in to the town of West Yellowstone to look at stuff.
This is the old Union Pacific depot.  It has been turned into a nice little museum.

 

This is how people used to get around on the snow.  This thing has three skids.  The sign said they were prone to rolling over.

 

It's powered by a Continental Aircraft engine.  Yes, those crazy Montana guys bolted airplane engines on their snow mobiles and took off in the winter.

 

Yellowstone was one of the first National Parks.  When it was formed, no money was allotted for its maintenance.  Poachers and vandals ran rampant until the US Army was brought in to restore order.  Once that happened, tourism followed.  You had to be tough to vacation there in the early days.  This is how you got there.

The museum had a couple of  stuffed horses that were very realistic.

 

The Union Pacific really opened the area to tourism.  They built the line into West Yellowstone, and made it possible for people to get there.  The Milwaukee went in as well, going to the north entrance of the park.  It was a happy day when the snow was removed from the tracks, and food, mail and people returned to the area.
 

 

This is the U-P dining hall.  It's huge.  People would exit the train, and head for the dining room, being welcomed by the staff.  It's not open to the public to walk through, people can rent it for special events like weddings.

 

One can, however, sneak in the back door when staff is setting up for an event.  This is the small fireplace.

 

That's the big fireplace at the far end.  It's at least 20 feet tall.

 

After spending two days in the truck, it was nice to be on our feet, walking around looking at stuff.  We found a decent grocery store and restocked on produce. They even had jars of Maille cornichons.  I do love me some pickle juice in my tuna salad.