As I was standing in the White River Museum, someone uttered the word “Gilsonite.” I thought about saying “Gesundheit!” This was the first time in my life I had ever heard the word Gilsonite. They patiently explained it was something mined in the Western part of Rio Blanco. I nodded and went home to Google it.
I discovered that this unique mineral is found in commercial quantities in only one place in the world: the…