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We take a short drive to Marble this morning to meet up with Smitty at Crystal River Jeep Tours for an off-road tour of the Lead King Basin and the old mining town of Crystal. Leaving Marble we climb to around 12000 feet on old mining trails that are only passable using four wheel drive, mountain bikes or on foot. We drive through alpine meadows full of Columbine and Aspen catching sight of waterfalls created by melting snowfields up at more than 14000 feet. As we work our way back down back to the timberline we see old mining claims and our guide Glen tells us stories of fortunes made by the old prospectors. There is still an old guy living in a miners shack to this day although he may have given up on the silver that may still be up there. We drop back into Crystal which although long past its heyday still has permanent residents. Moving through the town we come across the Mill at Crystal River and stop to take photos hoping to recreate Rodney Lough's picture that hangs in our hallway. We head back into town on shelf roads no wider than the jeep itself, a wreck of another vehicle hundreds of feet below reminding us just how treacherous these trails are. There is a festival in Marble going on so we decide to stop by and see what's going on before heading back to Redstone for the remains of the afternoon. We sit and watch the chipmunks run around seemingly unafraid of our presence, so bold that they scurry around our feet and even jump up onto Chris's knee. The temperature here drops quickly as the sun dips below the mountain ridge and we sit inside for a while, playing cards and drinking beer until bedtime. Tomorrow we are off towards Denver on the long journey that will take us to Mount Rushmore in two days time.
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