Do you know where you’re going and how far away that place is? This suburban compass rose takes some of the guesswork out of travel from the metro area. Tell us where it is and how you knew it in a note to coloradosunday@denverpost.com, and include a digital photo of yourself. We’ll pick at least one story to share next week. The best wins a $50 gas card. (And no fair giving us an answer that starts and stops with “10 miles from Denver!”)
How’d you know?
Yule Marble Quarry, Marble
THE WINNER: Tom Duffy, Pine
These blocks are waste marble blocks on the talus slopes of the quarries in Marble. My wife and I hiked in to the mines as part of our re-acquaintance trip to Glenwood Springs upon my return from the war in Afghanistan in the fall of 2004. It was a fun and simple hike that day though we got caught out in a thunderstorm and got soaked to the bone. We saw our first wild otter in the stream below the mine.
REBEL DOG: Mendy Keech, Littleton
My husband ,Doug Keech, and I found the Marble quarry 10 years ago by accident. We were driving at night looking for a remote camping site to pitch the tent. When the sun rose the next morning there we were, in Marble. The blocks in the picture were pushed down the steep slope below the quarry because they were not pure enough to sell. The quarry was shut down for many years, but has been active since 1990. Today, the quarry pulls out marble blocks weighing as much as 44,000 pounds that are sold all over the world.
PERMANENT RECORD: Jeff Hesse, Aurora
My wife took me up there for the first time about six years ago, and now we go back up there to hike and walk around every year. She also goes to the Marble mine every year to carve on the stone.
SIGHT TO BEHOLD: Gene Cossey, Denver
My best buddy John Figler and I toured the mine in the spring of 2004, while the Marble Historical Society was having guided tours. The tour was one of the most fascinating I’ve ever seen. We were able to go inside the mountain and see how the huge slabs of marble are mined. We saw the piece being cut to replace the “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier” in Washington, D.C.
