Sometimes I feel as though I’ve been almost everywhere in
Colorado over the years, but then I often find a place tucked into a remote
valley that’s on a spur off of through roads that I somehow missed . The town of
Marble is one such spot. A few miles east on a turnoff from the north side of
McClure Pass along the Crystal River (more of a stream), Marble is another
historic mining town stunningly situated in a valley between high peaks that’s
just a little too far from either Aspen or Crested Butte to become a trendy
place to live. It’s really not that far from either as the crow flies, but
driving to them, especially in winter is another story. Marble is also situated
in a rather narrow valley that I believe is in the shadow of the peaks to its
south for a significant amount of time in winter. Trendy people don’t like
that. They prefer open views like those in the Roaring Fork Valley.

The town of Marble itself is quite cute and reminds me a
little of some of the small remote hamlets like Lake City and Creede in the San
Juan Mountains farther southwest in the state. With a name like Marble you can
guess what was mined in the area. I drove up the rough unpaved track to the
quarry area south of town for some great views back toward the sunlit Elk
Range. I briefly contemplated taking the
shortcut over Schofield Pass to Crested Butte, a supposedly navigable unpaved
road that summits at 10,725 feet. After my adventure trying to cross a pass earlier
in the day, though, I decided it wasn’t going to be for me, especially at
dusk. Besides that, I had my heart set
on driving the road that crosses the West Elk Range and enters Crested Butte
from the west.