2025-08

Unwind

Letter to the Editor

KDNK NeeDs Your Help!

Dear Editor,

In the span of a single week, KDNK Community Radio has gone from experiencing one of our greatest highs — celebrating the 100th birthday of our Art Ackerman, the world’s oldest DJ — to the devastating low of losing all of the station’s federal funding. This amounts to a $174,000 shortfall, or 27% of KDNK’s annual budget. This is a funding challenge unlike any other in the station’s 42-year history.

KDNK has long been a model of the best of what community radio can be. With 98 regular DJs and program hosts free of station restrictions on their content and self-expression, award-winning local reporting, 22 volunteer public affairs shows, a powerhouse youth radio partnership with the Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program, a remarkable culture of music discovery, a strong commitment to emergency preparedness and regional resilience, and an authentic local spirit that springs from a cross-section of our community, we know that KDNK holds a special place in the hearts of so many. That is why, now, in our hour of need, we turn to you.

If you believe in a free and truthful press, a place for art and expression outside the confines of commercialism, a right to information and emergency alerts for residents of our remote areas, and a democratic institution truly by and for the people, now is your moment. Please visit KDNK.org or call (970) 963-0139 to make a donation and find out the different ways that you can stand with KDNK.

With solidarity and profound gratitude, The KDNK Staff and Board of Directors

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29th Annual Redstone Art Show Showcases Over 40 Artists

From

the Redstone Art Foundation

The Redstone Art Foundation proudly presents the 29th Annual Redstone Art Show, taking place over Labor Day weekend, August 29th – 31st in the scenic Crystal River Valley. This juried fine art show features work by over 40 artists, offering an impressive array of paintings, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, photography, fiber arts, and mixed media.

RAF is thrilled to feature more artists than ever this year and to expand our footprint across the beautiful Redstone Inn property. Patrons will be able to wander through two large exhibition tents on the front lawn of the historic Redstone Inn, with eight additional pop-up tents nestled throughout the Inn’s picturesque grounds. This layout creates a walkable, open-air art experience unlike any other in the region.

eveNt scHeDule

Friday, August 29th

• 5:00 p.m.:  Artist and Sponsor Reception (by invitation)

• 6:00 p.m.:  Public Opening Reception and Art Sales Begin

Saturday, August 30th and Sunday, August 31st

• 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.:  Art Show Open to the Public

• 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.:  Artist-led Workshops

• 10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.:  Kids' activities

• Live music Saturday afternoon

This show is centered on celebrating artistic excellence while giving back to the next generation of artists; the Redstone Art Show also supports the Jack Roberts Scholarship Program. This year, the RAF awarded four scholarships to local art students pursuing advanced studies in the visual arts. Proceeds from the art show, along with Foundation memberships and the generous support of

our sponsors, help fund this impactful initiative, continuing the RAF’s mission to foster creativity and education in the Roaring Fork and Crystal River valleys.

The show once again features the People's Choice Awards. Patrons are asked to vote for their favorite 2D artist (painters, photographers, graphic artists) and their favorite 3D artist

(potters, jewelers, sculptors, basket makers); voting will happen throughout the entire show, so don’t forget to cast your ballot as you peruse the high caliber of artists represented at the show.

Admission is free. Workshop registration and full event details are available at www.redstoneartfoundation.org

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Foster families are a bridge - a steady path forward when life has felt uncertain. Fostering isn’t for everyone - but it might be for you, We’d love to talk.

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Town of Marble Board of Trustees' July Meeting Recap

An Account from DJ Sugar Monkey

Another splendid sunny evening of long shadows and trees alive with birdsong provided the backdrop for July’s Marble Board of Trustees Meeting. Many thanks to pastor Mike Mackenzie and the congregation of the Marble Community Church for maintaining the gardens in such an idyllic state. The same could be said for the interior of the Fellowship Hall itself, albeit somewhat less mesmerizing than its natural surroundings.

Almost exactly a year prior in this same spot, the Council and a handful of Town residents had met with Tom Williams of the privately owned Marble Water Company to discuss the proposed rollout of the MWC’s infrastructure to the East end of Marble. More about this later.

Before me, a complete Board of Trustees sat in their usual configuration behind name plates at a long table at the front of the hall, ready to grapple with the challenges of small-town bureaucracy. From left to right, Dustin Wilkey, Mayor Ryan Vinciguerra, Treasurer Amy Rusby absorbed behind a flowery laptop, Amber McMahill, and then Larry Good, as usual, on the dog leg of the table. Town Administrator Ron Leach looked clean and crisp in a white shirt and matching cap. He was flanked by Terry Langley, announcing on her arrival the news of a mudslide on Highway 133 near Redstone, and a new addition to the team, Marble favorite Karly Anderson.

The Mayor had opted for a more casual look, wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a Nuclear Fission Icon, a nod perhaps to his hard “core” dedication to ensuring the prosperity of the Town

and his two businesses, the Slow Groovin’ restaurant and Raspberry Ridge Café and Inn. Had he been green and adorned with a cowboy hat, he could have easily passed for a double of the enthusiastic but slightly unhinged Smilin’ Joe Fission from The Simpsons.

Treasurer Rusby kicked off the meeting happily announcing that the Town’s cash position stood at $445,000, up $19,000 from May. Revenues were running at 35% of the annual budget (to be expected for the time of year), and expenses at 42% of target. When asked how his businesses were faring, Mayor Vinciguerra added that May and June had both been “good” and that the Town felt “less chaotic and more organized.” The consent agenda was swiftly approved to include two late bills, one from Dana Strong for plumbing work, the other from Pifco for road work.

The Mayor recused himself as Larry Good led the debate concerning the approval of the Slow Groovin’ and Raspberry Ridge Café’s liquor licenses, at $750 a pop. When asked if there had been any complaints about either business, Good said that he had only received one, specifically that “Ron [Leach] did not like the Margarita mix.” Both applications were approved.

In addition, The Slow Groovin’s lease (the 2nd year of its 5 year term) of Town of Marble property, the narrow strip between road and restaurant and its parking lot, was renewed at an annual pre-agreed increase of 3%, though only after the Mayor had agreed to check whether 2024’s rent had been paid and that the crosswalk between the lot and restaurant would be repainted.

Next on the agenda was the consideration of an approval of Ordinances to grant easements on Town property to the Marble Charter School and Holy Cross Electric for the installation of electrical facilities outside the building. School Principal Sam Richings-Germain underscored the need to have the work completed before the commencement of the academic year in late August. Town Administrator Ron Leach insisted that both leases were “as good as they were going to get at this point.”

When questioned whether Holy Cross would likely contribute to the related attorney fees (which Leach estimated at between $500 and $1,000) without seeking reimbursement from the school, Councilman Wilkey suggested coNtiNueD oN tHe Next page. . .

that, in the interest of avoiding further delay, the Town absorb the cost. Leach agreed that the priority was to keep the project on course, and Richings-Germain thanked him pointedly for his assistance with the renovation project, which she described as “a huge undertaking.” Both ordinances were approved unanimously.

Leach went on to discuss the creation of an Ordinance to cover the paid parking program at the Mill Site Park. Mariah Villalobos, Marble’s “Parking Tsar,” who has managed the paid parking program to date, characterized the $35 daily charge currently being levied as “totally digestible.”

She added that the busiest times seemed to be between 9.30 a.m. and 1 p.m., and that some extra signage and an “honesty” box would be welcome additions to the setup, her aim being to create a system that “operates itself.” Since implementation, the scheme has raised around  $2,000, a welcome addition to the Town’s coffers.

Leach pointed out that an ordinance covering paid parking would need to include a provision for how to enforce payment of fees in the future. Unsurprisingly, the Town has yet to receive any word from the Small Business Administration. Larry Good mused whether the SBA, whose lack of engagement on the matter has been beyond pitiful, even existed anymore.

Amy Rusby offered a brief report on the most

recent meeting of the Parks Committee. The Mill Site Masterplan process, she said, was moving forward, and a wedding was planned for August 23rd. She added that the Committee had been brainstorming “dos and don’ts” to form the basis of signage to encourage safe enjoyment of the space.

Under old business, Dustin “level playing field” Wilkey reiterated his wish to see a higher degree of consistency across Town businesses, proposing the introduction of fees to be charged to commercial enterprises whose customers use Town rights of way in the course of patronizing their operations. Amber McMahill voiced her hesitancy over charging businesses more; the debate continues.

McMahill, who organized the Town’s successful Masterplan meeting open to the public, held on June 20th, received warm congratulations from everyone present for her sterling work.

Before the meeting was adjourned, there was a brief discussion about the annual assessment formula used to determine the cost of fees charged to residents to repay the loan taken out by the Marble Water Company, the servicing of which is administered by the Town of Marble.

The Town Council had met with the MWC in June 2024, and another meeting is due to be scheduled between the two parties. Currently, each resident of the town pays a flat fee of $130 per annum regardless of lot size and access to frastructure). This, Ron Leach declared, was

“inequitable” and in need of reform.

A sizable proportion of East Marble residents who rely on wells, he stated, have refused to pay the charges. At the Board of Trustees meeting on 11th July 2024, Tom Williams of the MWC had been in attendance to field questions about their (the MWC’s) debt-funded proposal to extend the water infrastructure to the east end of town.

Disappointingly, he provided no information on how the proposed (roughly 50% higher) charges to repay any further borrowing would be collected, nor how any revenues associated with the project would be shared between the MWC and the Town. Nevertheless, the proposal requires the Town to shoulder the burden of repaying 50% of the envisaged $1,158,000 lump sum on a 40-year loan that the MWC had already applied for and been offered funds by the USDA to fund the project.

Astonishingly, Williams also conceded that the MWC had not considered conducting any market research to ascertain the likely demand for his company’s proposed expansion, and this remains the case at the time of writing. The MWC owns the existing infrastructure but leases its water rights from the Town of Marble. This lease is due to terminate on August 8th, 2028.

At that time, the Town of Marble is set to regain full control of the Town’s water rights, unless a clause of the contract is activated that threatens to extend the MWC’s control over the rights for a further period. The exact wording of the provision reads, “The term of this lease shall commence at midnight on August 8th 1983 and terminate at midnight on August 8th 2028, or for such an additional period of time as shall be required for lessee (MWC) to fully discharge any obligation it may have to the United States Department of Agriculture, Farmers Home Administration, or any successor to it.”

The MWC’s East Marble infrastructure project is contingent

on taking up the offer of a loan from the USDA for a term of 40 years and would entail the Town taking on an additional $550,000 of debt.

The MWC’s terms and conditions also stipulate that their only “approved” contractor, should any resident wish to hook up to their infrastructure, is Pifco. This insistence on the use of a “monopoly” contractor, coupled with the potential to extend their control over the Town’s water rights for a further 40 years, may give the Town Council pause for thought in any future negotiations they enter into with the MWC.

In a letter sent to the MWC in 2024, the Town of Marble offered to take over the MWC for “zero dollars.” Some will no doubt be tempted to see this as a sign of mistrust between the two parties and/or perhaps a statement on the value of the aging infrastructure and its potential liability for the Town. It will no doubt raise more questions in the minds of those already suspicious of the true motives behind the MWC’s proposal, which may explain the lack of progress that has been made since it was first floated in 2024.

The next meeting of the Marble Town Board of Trustees will be held at 6 p.m. on August 7th at the Marble Community Church Fellowship Hall.

DJ Sugar Monkey is a resident of Marble. You can tune into his music show “Snack Time” on KDNK every other Thursday from noon to 2 p.m.

Crystal Valley Environmental Protection Association

Annual Meeting

Sunday, August 24th

The Inn at Raspberry Ridge, Marble, CO at 3:30pm

Featured Speaker is Perry Will, Garfield County Commissioner, former Colorado state senator and representative, and longtime game warden with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Meeting at 3:30pm, followed by Commissioner Will’s remarks and concluding with food and beverages. Admission is free, donations are gratefully accepted!

Since 1972, CVEPA has been the environmental watchdog for the Crystal Valley. To learn more, go to cvepa.org

Obituary fOr a Sky Painted in POiSOn

From Gentrye Houghton

As I take my regular evening walk up the familiar ribbon of road, I realize that the world has decided to slip into costume. A warm, diffused filter has been draped over our eyes, the kind that turns up the saturation on reality and euthanizes the harsh edges of the day. The world isn't just seen; it’s felt. The whites and lights of the landscape — the pale trunks of the aspens, the glint of mica in the gravel — pulsate with an otherworldly orange glow. In response, the shadows deepen, giving off a tinted greenish-blue hue, long and strange across the road.

It is, by any definition, intoxicating. A blissfully warm euphoria settles over us, the kind of gentle unmooring from reality that makes you forget, for a moment, that you are a solid body on a solid planet. It is the easy, cinematic beauty of a memory you’re not sure you actually lived.

And in that, it is a profound and beautiful lie.

The architect of this sublime, psychedelic state isn't some benign spiritual awakening or a dose of carefully curated magic mushrooms. It’s poison. The author of this beauty is the smoke from a world on fire.

A hazy curtain rolled into our valley this afternoon, not a thick, choking blanket, but just enough to blur the lines of the horizon and soften the clarity of the mountains that stand as our guardians. It is the spectral remains of forests

burning hundreds of miles away. Fires in New Mexico. A blaze scarring the Grand Canyon. Southern Utah, consumed. And a particularly vicious one raging at the North Rim of the Black Canyon, a place we consider our backyard. We are walking through the ghosts of trees, breathing in the last, beautiful sigh of a dying landscape.

This isn't my first time at the toxic beauty rodeo. We’ve always been good at this, haven’t we? Finding the aesthetic upside to our own self-destruction. I carry in my bones the memory of my grandfather’s stories. He spoke of the sunsets in El Paso, Texas, back when the Asarco copper smelting plant ran day and night. He described them with a wistful awe, painting pictures with his words of a sky set ablaze in colors that defied nature. He’d talk about the sulfur and the heavy metals, the cocktail of pollutants that gifted the city its nightly masterpiece.

I vaguely remember them myself, these stellar, impossible paintings in the sky. And I remember when they disappeared. When the plant closed, the air was cleaned of the very pollution that had created such stun-

ning displays. The price of a breathable city was a less spectacular goodbye to the day.

We are connoisseurs of beautiful decay, artists who find poetry in the wreckage we create. My own memory bank is filled with similar images. I know the particular shade of green the sky turns in the Texas Panhandle right before a monstrous supercell thunderstorm decides to start throwing down hail the size of baseballs and spawning twisters. It’s a sickeningly beautiful, viridian filter that signals imminent destruction. As a child, I learned that the most beautiful sky is often the most dangerous one.

The sunset playing out before me now is a cruel trickster, wearing the same beautiful, treacherous mask. The ash gives the air a greenish tint near the ground, making the blooming fireweed glow with a humorless, radioactive vibrance. As the sun begins its final descent, the soft, golden glow curdles. The sky’s gentle orange sherbet hue from the night before is a distant memory. Tonight, the sinking sun isn't setting; it’s bleeding out. It burns in shades of neon blood, a harsh, violent spectacle that felt less like an

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ending and more like a wound being torn open across the horizon.

The ash filter, you see, makes for a really striking sunset.

The visual seduction is so complete, it almost works. But the body knows the truth. Even though the smoke seems light, a faint scent of campfire wafts through the air. Usually, that smell conjures nostalgia — marshmallows, shared confessions, the warmth of friends. But this isn't the scent of a few logs willingly given to a circle. This is the smell of a forced, frantic incineration on a planetary scale. It clings to my clothes, and later, as I stuff them into the washing machine, the scent feels like an accusation.

A bitter taste lingers in the back of my throat. My tongue and mouth, struggling with an extreme, unquenchable cotton mouth, feel thick and foreign. It’s the physical manifestation of a deeper unease, a feeling of wanting to cough up my very association with our collective humanity. Each swallow is a struggle against the dry, dusty truth of what I am breathing, of the part I play simply by belonging to this species.

And this is where the human mind performs its most incredible magic trick.

Perhaps our brains, in an act of profound and necessary self-deception, trick us into finding beauty on the surface of devastation as a means of survival. It’s a cognitive dissonance we’ve perfected into an art form. This stunning visual display isn't just pretty; it’s a permission slip. It allows us to acclimate. It makes the fires, the smoke, the underlying crisis feel less like an emergency and more like a new, atmospheric condition. It’s the new normal, and look, it even comes with a free light show.

This beauty is a balm that helps us accept a reality that should be unacceptable. It’s the spoonful of sugar that helps the apocalyptic medicine go down. We marvel at the sunset while ignoring the pyre that creates it. Our instinct is to seek beauty, to find patterns and meaning, and maybe that instinct is so powerful it will force us to see wonder even as the house burns down around us.

Our Mother Nature is no longer politely warning us of the consequences of our choices. She’s past sending memos. She is, quite literally, burning down the house. And we, her feckless, shortsighted children, are standing on the lawn saying, "My, what a remarkable glow it gives off."

It is the language of the wry survivor, a dark, cosmic joke. To sit in a moment of deep, existential frustration, and in the next breath, make a sharp, witty observation about the

sheer absurdity of it all. The wit isn't a distraction from the depth; it's the tool that makes the depth accessible. It’s the only way to process the news that the world is ending, and it’s doing so with a flair for the dramatic.

The image of that neon, bloody sun is seared into my mind. It reminds me of the moment I first learned the meaning behind the red circle on the Japanese flag—the Land of the Rising Sun. As a child, I always imagined that sun burning so stunningly over the landscape. It became a sight I wished to witness.

And now, I have.

Walking home under a sky painted by catastrophe, I realize my childhood wish has been granted in the most perverse way imaginable. I am finally seeing that impossibly vibrant sun. But it’s not rising. It’s setting, leaving us in a gorgeous, terrifying twilight, wondering if we should take a picture or just be quiet.

The world slipped into its most beautiful costume to deliver the bad news. And as the cinematic filter finally fades to black, leaving us in the quiet dark, the most unsettling question remains: When the lie is this beautiful, do we even want to know the truth?

Gentrye Houghton has been an independent journalist for over 18 years and is the owner and editor of The Crystal Valley Echo In her new weekly email column, "Reflections from the Trail Within," she goes deeper into the stories and observations that shape our inner and outer worlds. You can read more of her work and subscribe for free at thetrailwithin.substack.com

Tune in to Rocky Mountain PBS to watch “Our Natural World”

AIRDATES

Wednesday, August 20 at 7pm Saturday, August 23 at 4pm

This program was created to benefit and support public media. Please consider making a donation during the broadcast.

Discover the beauty of our Natural World through the music of Tim Janis with messages from Sibylle Szaggars Redford, Robert Redford, and Dr. Jane Goodall.

Visual storytelling and narratives which portray a deep connection and wonder for this beautiful Planet Earth, inspiring a reconnection and love for nature.

Etheric healing sounds and photographers join together in this beautiful nature journey, artists include, Elizabeth Gadd, Emilie Hill (Hello Emilie), Elizabeth Demmer Janis, On the Wild Side, Dr. Jill, Sam Garret, Isabel Paige, and Logan Bowden.

Redstone Historical Society's Vintage Valley:

From Colorado to Korea: Thanos Johnson Preserves a Dying Art

By Tucker Farris

Nestled in a log cabin high above the town of Marble, Thanos Johnson practiced the magic of ceramic pottery, becoming an integral thread in the postwar history of the Crystal Valley as well as imparting an unparalleled mastery of the craft of ceramics to the valley and beyond.

Born in 1922 in Howell, Mich., Thanos entered into service in World War II as part of the elite 10th Mountain Division, training close to Marble, Colo., and across the high-altitude landscapes of the Western Slope (such as Camp Hale near Leadville, Colo.). Having taken an interest in Colorado, he returned in 1945 following the end of the war and purchased his log cabin above Marble for $100 in back taxes. He made the town his new home base of operations and pottery studio along with his wife, Jane, and his four children, Demetrios, Aristides, Thana, and Kosta. Over the years, through their adventures, the family would always endeavor to spend their summers in Marble.

Called the “God Potter of Marble” by locals and publications alike (for both his long flowing white beard and his

deft hands at the pottery wheel), he referred to pottery as “a form of satisfying expression” stating that “clay has been with man from the caves to the moon, so it is very vital to man both aesthetically and technically.”

Johnson's work was regularly featured in his annual art shows in Marble and elsewhere. He traveled extensively to the East and to his ancestral homeland of Greece to study pottery and incorporated many various styles of ceramic artistry into his craft.

Among his many accolades was a nearly single-handed effort to preserve and display the dying craft of Korean folk pottery (known as Onggi), which in the 1970s was very close to disappearing as an art form. The craft involves creating intricate pots for the preservation of food during long winters. It had long been treated in Korea and elsewhere as a very simple utilitarian form of pottery, but Johnson was one of the few Western potters who recognized its inherent beauty as a dying art form.

Johnson first encountered this style of pottery on one of his expeditions in the

IS THERE MORE TO THE STORY?

We move through a world full of beautiful, unsettling, and meaningful moments. Join Gentrye Houghton for a weekly journey exploring our inner and outer landscapes, where a storyteller's heart meets a journalist's eye.

All content sponsored and provided by the Redstone Historical Society.

70s, where, with Smithsonian ethnographer Ralph Rinzler, he went to photograph and study Korean folk pottery in the remote countryside.

He returned to Marble with a passion for this unique style of pottery, and between then and his passing in 2004, he worked to hone his mastery of the Ong-

gi style and to educate students and the public at large about the unique methods. His work with the Smithsonian was an invaluable contribution to the history of pottery and the broader understanding of ancient folkways in art.

His work in Korea earned him the prestigious title of “Living National

Treasure of Korea” granted by a former national director of the National Museum of Korea. Johnson lectured widely in Korea, Greece, South Africa, and curated major ceramics exhibitions of his own work in Japan. Once, when asked about his teaching career, he quipped that he had never needed to apply for a job, saying, “They just came and found me wherever I was.”

Aside from creating pottery and serving as an expert on Smithsonian expeditions, Johnson also took in many students over the years, where, in the cozy atmosphere of his home studio, he taught the mastery of his craft to young and old students alike. As professor emeritus of fine art (and previously being the head of ceramics) at the College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif., and a local teacher in Marble, his storied life of adventure became the medium through which he was able to teach the art of ceramics to a generation of artists within the valley and beyond.

His work highlights one of the most resonant threads of life in the Crystal Valley, that it has always been a home to world class artists, intellectuals and creatives who, through their humble experience of life along the Crystal not only strive out into the world to make their marks, but they also work tirelessly to bring their passion into the veins of their homes here in the mountains.

Johnson curated a cozy and welcoming studio gallery in his home, and often welcomed members of the public into the fold to see the entire process from lump of clay to glazed works of

Redstone Senior Days

RSVP: (970) 920-5432

Redstone programs are open to all!

TUESDAY, AUGUST 5

At the Redstone Inn

• 12:00 p.m. – Lunch ($10)

RSVP by noon the Friday prior – space is limited Plated lunch. Gluten-free option available.

art. His story is one of those threads of the history of the valley that grants it its unique character: A place where history, creativity, individuality, and freedom of expression flow as freely as the river.

His work in teaching and creating art is inextricably tied to the Crystal Valley, and it will continue to inspire, inform, and enlighten visitors and locals as they make their own histories here.

Tucker Farris is a professor of sociology at Colorado Mountain College and Colorado State University-Pueblo. He serves on the Redstone Historical Society Board and is a fifth-generation local of the Crystal Valley.

• 1:00 p.m. – Mushroom Foraging with Brian Katz: Dig into to the intriguing world of local mushrooms and mycology Explore the ecosystems and habitats where they thrive. Learn to identify common local species and how to forage responsibly and respectfully

TUESDAY, AUGUST 19

Special Marble Program

• 11:30 a.m. – Lunch at Slow Groovin’ BBQ

• 12:30 p.m. – Marble Historical Society Tour The museum is filled with historic photos, stories of the town’s marble boom, and displays on iconic monuments like the Lincoln Memorial.

Optional: Walk to the historic mill site and a scenic drive (in your own vehicle) to the still-active quarry.

Beyond the Lizard Brain

From Emma Bielski

Recently, a reader and friend offered up the state and place of feeling small, powerless, and having little control as a topic for me to write about this month. The bare bones truth of how little we have control over can be staggering, and at the end of the day, we only have control over the decisions we make.

We are currently inundated with incredible amounts of social violence, greed, and inequity on a national and global scale. Combine this stress and unease with a personal medical crisis or that of a loved one, and all of this can feel heavy, scary, sad, frustrating,  and threatening.

active during an event(s) and experience(s) that can cause a physiological trauma response in the brain. The part of our brain responsible for our fight, flight, or freeze responses.

So, what do we do when feelings of powerlessness and feelings of being stuck creep in, impacting our ability to function well day in and day out?

Threats, whether real or perceived (breaking down and explaining the difference between the two is worthwhile and also an article for another month), can have us leaning into what we refer to in behavioral neuroscience as our downstairs brain: The lower half of the brain that connects to the brain stem. This is also known as our lizard brain: The old brain rooted in survival.

This part of the brain is what becomes over-

I wish I could offer all of you the perfect antidote to remedy the discomfort of feeling this way. It has been a hard place I have had to exist in and move through many times myself -- never with an easy solution. While I am not in the business of offering up advice, I can suggest a few skills, activities, and mindset shifts that could help alleviate the unbearably heavy weight of feeling this way.

If you have been following along and reading these monthly articles, then you already know about practicing DBT skills, Radical Acceptance, and Opposite Action. I will offer up three more ideas that could help.

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Spirituality can be a powerful tool during times that feel scary with unknowns and little control. Regardless of affiliation with an organized religion, an individual's personal spiritual beliefs and practices can serve as a significant source of strength.  I personally believe in the power of prayer. Who or what a person chooses to pray to is their own to decide, and a place where freedom, power, and control can be exercised.

The second suggestion for something to try out, if you are not already, is to keep a gratitude journal and to write 10 things (more or less) that you are grateful for every day. This practice has been scientifically proven to rewire the brain, creating neuropathways (walking paths) for moments of happiness and joy to creep in amidst the darkness of distress.

One Final suggestion: Talk it out! Lean into your social support network to talk about the big, the bad, and the hard. It does not have to be with a mental health service provider. Talking it out with those who love and support you helps turn the

volume down on emotions associat ed with specific situations that are loud and hard to feel.

As always, exercise kindness to wards self and others; this thing called life can be hard.

Emma Bielski has lived in Marble for 15 years and, after nine years serving as a Licensed School Social Worker in the Roaring Fork and Crystal River Valleys, she is currently accepting clients to be seen privately and on a sliding scale. She is working towards her LCSW part-time while tending to the needs of her two-year-old daughter. For more information or inquiries, you can contact her at  emmabielski@ gmail.com

T he C rys Tal V alley e C ho & Marble Times

Mission Statement: To provide a voice for the residents of the Crystal River Valley; to bring attention to the individuals and local businesses that are the fabric of the Crystal Valley region; to contribute to the vitality of our small town life.

EDITOR AND ADVERTISING SALES

Gentrye Houghton gentryeh@hotmail.com

CONTRIBUTORS

DJ Sugar Monkey

Amber McMahill

DISTRIBUTION AND LAYOUT DESIGN

Ryan Kenney

The Crystal Valley Echo is published monthly, and is distributed throughout the Crystal Valley.

NEWSPAPER BOX LOCATIONS: Third Street Center • Village Smithy Carbondale Post Office • Carbondale Park & Ride

The Marble Hub • Redstone General Store

BASALT SUMM ER CO NCERT SERIES 2025

JUNE 18 | Ipecac Taylor Shae

JUNE 25 | Co-Stanza Down Valley Sound

JULY 5 | BASALT RIVER JAMS

JULY 9 | Tommy the Animal

JULY 16 | Jill Andrews

JULY 23 | Bella Rayne and Friends Mama Lingua

JULY 30 | Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country Cruz Contreras

AUGUST 13 | Graham Good and the Painters The Confluents

AUGUST 20 | 8th St Bus Stop Grupo Ascenso

AUGUST 27 | Big Richard Sopris Sisters

Opener: 5:30p | Headliner: 7p

AUGUST 6 | Rootbeer Richie and The Reveille May Be Fern

Compelling Design

THE MARBLE TIMES

A LOOK AT LIFE AT THE MARBLE CHARTER SCHOOL

Through the Sparkles!

By Hazel Schlichter, 5tH Grade

Enora and Mink were going to meet at Moonrise.  You see, they were going to sneak to the market.  The one that all the humans went to in the daytime.

Enora tried hard not to drift to sleep, waiting for her friend on the rust coloured basking rocks, still warm from the evening sun. As Enora shifted to keep herself from falling asleep, she saw a shiny shape on the summit of the nearest sand dune.  Finally! Enora thought to herself, stretching and coiling so she could talk to Mink.

“I waited so long, Mink! I almost fell asleep waiting for you!”

“Well, my nest doesn't drift off as quickly as yours!” Mink replied defensively, “and it was really cold slithering across the dunes.”

Enora forgave Mink with a flick of her tail, and they slithered together to the path that the humans traveled by in their big cars with the big round things that snakes like Enora and Mink had to watch out for.

They traveled in silence, and before many stars had appeared, they came to the market.  They saw the lights of the market guardians, on the other side of the watermelon stand.

“Enora,” whispered Mink, pointing with her tail, her fuschia scales ruby in the

dark,“over there!”

Enora swiveled her head to look where Mink was indicating, and sure enough, she saw their target: the pet stand.  Enora’s forked tongue flicked towards the mice and other pets, but mostly the mice.  Oh, it smelled divine!

“No, Enora. Beside it.”

Enora looked to the left of the stand, and sure enough, there was something WAY out of the ordinary.  It was big enough for the Market guardians to fit on it, if it were horizontal, and pulsed with a blue light, in the shape of a circle, and it shimmered, like a mirage.

“Do you think we should investigate?” asked Mink, quivering with excitement.

“Well,” said Enora slyly, “we couldn't not.”

“Through the sparkles!” cheered Mink.

So they checked for the market guardians, and slithered to the pulsing circle.  Mink bent down to sniff it, but she leaned too far, and tumbled through.

“Mink!” Enora called, to no avail. Enora took a breath and steeled herself.  Then she went through.

Enora felt as if all her scales had been torn off.  She yelled in agony. Just as she did, she felt her scales again.  It took her

a moment to realize where she was.  She was at what the humans called a carnival.  There were roller coasters and tilta-whirls scattered everywhere. She herself was on a ferris wheel

Then she remembered why she was here.

“Mink! Mink!” she called.

“Down here, Enora!” came a familiar voice. Enora slithered to the edge of the ferris wheel and realized, all too late, that she had come onto a spot that was covered with something not as sturdy as metal.  She slid off before she could slither back to the top.  Enora fell onto something made out of whatever she slipped down, but it was filled with air. She was looking up to the night sky, until Mink’s face popped into view.

“You alright, Nori?” Nori was Mink’s  nickname for Enora.

“Yeah.” replied Enora. “I’m really hungry, though.” with impeccable comic timing, her stomach growled, and Enora’s usually emerald scales turned a little pink.

Mink laughed. “I’ll get you . . . this rat! Fresh and local.”

Enora sat up and blinked. “Wow. We should live here forever.” and I’m only half joking.  She thought as she swallowed the rat.

“YES!” said Mink immediately. “And we’ll sunbake on those black rocks, and they have nice little dens right by them.” she gushed, indicating little overhangs facing south, toward the turquoise ocean.

“Wow.” Enora whispered.  Neither Mink or Enora had seen the ocean before, living in the Sahara desert and all.  At least, until they fell through the- oh! Enora thought.  It was a portal.  Of course! “Enora?” Mink asked, nudging her. “You O.K.?”

“Yeah, just admiring the sea.”

Mink thought about that for a moment, then said, “Yeah, y’know I actually used to think that the ocean was a fairytale.”

Enora threw her head back and laughed. “That’s really funny.”

Mink shifted, then said to Enora, “I-it’s okay if you want to go back. I mean, to the desert.”

“No way! Number one, I don’t know why you think that I want to, number two, this place is like snake heaven. Number three, the portal closed, number four, I wouldn’t go without you.”

Magical Moments Summer Concert Series

JUNE 7 River Spell

A Colorado-based jam band that delivers heartfelt songwriting and extended improvisation.

JUNE 14

Queen Bees

This magical, all-female, band weaves together original stories and new interpretations of classic covers.

JULY 12

Delta Sonics

Chicago Blues based music seasoned with swing, Delta N’awlings and R&B.

AUGUST 2

Blue Canyon Boys

REDSTONE PARK 6:00-8:00PM

The Blue Canyon Boys are equal parts purists and innovators when it comes to Bluegrass: they stay true to the form’s roots while constantly reimagining their relationship to tradition. The result is a toe-tapping mix of haunting standards, genre-bending arrangements, and catchy original numbers—all built on the bedrock of their collective bluegrass mastery.

JUNE 28

Steve Manshel

Steve Manshel returns with a combination of catchy originals, a variety of audience favorite Classic Rock.

JULY 19

David Brown

A multi-instrumentalist and singer steeped in the traditions of Appalachian and Irish folk music.

AUGUST 16

Shawn Mayer

REDSTONE PARK 6:00-8:00PM

Shawn Mayer is a rock superstar and international country artist whose commanding voice and electrifying stage presence have earned her legendary status in the music world. With a career that spans multiple genres and countries, Shawn’s music blends the raw energy of rock with the heart and soul of country, creating a sound that is both timeless and bold.

AUGUST 23

Hand Turkey

COAL BASIN RANCH 6:00-7:30 PM

Hand Turkey returns to Coal Basin Ranch, bringing high-energy, groove-centered tunes that aim to get people moving. With backgrounds ranging from jazz composition to musical theater, the band members create a sound they describe as “a fresh take on classic funk, soul and pop.”