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<br />About the Crystal Valley <br /> <br />Page 2 of3 <br /> <br />I <br />~ <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />P <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />i <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />is why they are not listed under wildlife, above. The glow worms may be found in <br />July on south facing slopes. They are about 3/8'8 of an inch long, and emit a <br />greenish glow continuously from one end. Which end I haven't the faintest. Of <br />course there are all the other usual suspects, but nothing to write home about. In <br />particular, the mosquitoes are not bad, but they are there. <br /> <br />Mines. Lots of mines. Two old prospectors still come into the valley every year, an <br />work a claim on the top of Treasure Mountain. There's a jeep track up the mountai <br />and they will meet you if you try to cross their claim. With rifles. Anyway, there at <br />mines or exploratory shafts everywhere. Most have been sealed, but it is still <br />possible to come across a few dozen mines in an afternoon of exploring. Try Sheep <br />Mountain, which is riddled with shafts. <br /> <br />But it was marble that could be converted to gold. One of the worlds largest <br />concentrations of marble is in the mountains immediately south of the town of <br />Marble. Originally, the marble formed a cap about 8 miles in diameter, and several <br />hundred feet thick. Over time erosion caused it to be exposed in places. In the very <br />early 1900's, a couple of quarries (actually, they are mines, since the marble is <br />extracted from within the mountain) began operation. A finishing mill was <br />established in Marble (aptly named, don't you think?), and the rest, as they say, wa <br />history. The Yule Marble Quarry produced some of the finest marble in the world <br />(still does), and the finishing mill was the worlds largest. Marble from Marble was <br />used in hundreds of buildings, including the Lincoln Memorial and the Tomb of tho <br />Unknown Soldier. Declining use as a building material, and World War II finally <br />did in the quarry, and the town of Marble. By 1945 the population of Marble was <br />down to one hearty or crazy soul. The quarry was reopened in 1990, and continues <br />operation today, though the finishing of the stone is done elsewhere. <br /> <br />The population of the Crystal Valley is probably about 300 hearty souls, all of them <br />rugged self sufficient individualists. You have to be self sufficient to survive in the <br />valley - we roar with laughter when visitors ask 'don't you have trouble getting <br />tradesmen? I. Since almost anything can happen at any time, ya gotta be prepared, <br />and able to cope. <br /> <br />There are no bars, and only one church. The church was built in Aspen, and <br />brought over on the back ofa railcar. It is a classically white little church which <br />inspires lots of people to get married. The pastor is Linda Arocha, who is a real ho( <br />- you have to go at least once. It is a rare combination of magic and religion. <br /> <br />There is also a school - the Marble Charter School. Housed in the renovated old <br />High School building of Marble, the school is parent run and enrolls students from <br />kindergarten thru 8th grade; It is one of those rare little gems that are almost <br />impossible to find anymore. As a charter school (one of the first in Colorado) MCS : <br />part of the public school system, but is quite independent of the rules and <br />restrictions of the typical and traditional public school. With two truly gifted <br /> <br />http://www.marblecolorado.org/about.htm <br /> <br />3/10/2004 <br /> <br />;~;};;;;;',4'-;r~~,~~_:~- <br />