MOOSE - Under perfect blue skies, Vice President Dick Cheney, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and a host dignitaries dedicated a new visitor center in Grand Teton National Park.

Motorcades carrying the government officials arrived in Moose just before 10 a.m., passing a small group of seven protestors holding signs saying "Impeach Cheney First" and "Give Cheney a Fair Trial."

The one-hour ceremony for the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center played out in front of about 300 people.

Susan Thomas, wife of the late U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas gave among the shortest and most crowd-pleasing speeches.

"Craig would be very humbled and proud to be in this gathering today," Thomas said, "but he would lean over and whisper to me, 'Susie, they're making too big a deal out of this."'

When Cheney, who gave the ceremony's keynote address, arrived, he received a loud ovation, though many in the crowd remained seated.

Cheney praised Sen. Thomas's work on behalf of the National Park Service, calling him a "credit to the country" and "universally well regarded."

In 1989, Thomas replaced Cheney as Wyoming's lone representative in the House of Representatives.

Cheney, who wore a gray cowboy hat, said the new visitor center was a "model for future projects" because of its creation through public and private partnerships. He said the legacy of national parks is to protect them for future generations, and the new visitor center shows "we take that responsibility seriously."

Many found it ironic that Cheney, whose reputation is not always commensurate with preserving wild places, gave a keynote address in a national park ceremony.

Kempthorne gave the ceremony's longest speech, in part praising the Bush administration for its work funding national parks. He called Craig Thomas a "good and decent man," and also praised Cheney, whom he said "stands as tall as the Grand Tetons" in Washington, D.C.

Other speakers included Grand Teton Superintendent Mary Gibson Scott, National Park Service Director Mary Bomar and U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi.

Many of those in attendance for the opening of the visitor center were locals.

Robert and Catherine House of Moran came because they are long supporters of the park, and see the parks as a "symbol of our country," Robert House said.

They said they did not necessarily come to see Cheney.

The couple was also not expecting to go through security gates similar to those at an airport, but said it was "no problem."

The line moved quickly through security, and guests were given a flier upon arrival saying they could not bring any sharp objects, weapons or pepper spray into the ceremony.

Sammy Herndon of Missouri said he was not expecting to have to go through security gates, but came to the ceremony because it was "the 'in' thing to do." He said he wanted to see the new building.

Marilyn Davis of Jackson said she saw the protesters when she came into the event "and I can't help but feel likely they're right to some extent."

Jacob Urban said the day was designed to celebrate the park.

"There's a time and place for everything," he said. "We can enjoy this or gripe about everything we've been griping about for the last eight years. It's important to celebrate our park."

The new $18.5 million visitor center replaces the existing Moose center across the street, which closed Saturday. That building was constructed in 1961, when annual visitation was about 1.5 million people.

The park now boasts 4 million annual visitors. The old center had seismic deficiencies in addition to space constraints, prompting the park to look to a new building.

Construction on the new building began in June 2005, with Thomas, who died two months ago, serving as the keynote speaker for the groundbreaking. He also served to secure Congressional money to help with construction.

The new 21,700-square-foot building features a roof line that mimics the Tetons and holds a variety of exhibits representing themes of place, people, preservation and mountaineering.

Several screens in the floor of the new visitor center show scenes from the park, including close-ups of the Snake River and birds-eye-view scenes of the park.

Money for the center came from $8 million appropriated by Congress and $1.5 million from the Grand Teton Association. The rest came from monies raised by the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, which is also working to raise $2.5 million for an auditorium.

Reporter Whitney Royster can be reached at (307) 734-0260 or at royster@tribcsp.com.