"It's been nice," Guymon said. "If you can use that word in these kinds of situations." With close connections to some of the families, he added how an "overwhelming" feeling took hold during his visit.

Later Wednesday morning, extended family and friends were allowed up, where they stayed until about 3 p.m. After that media were allowed to view the monument, with the smell of pine in the air and the sound of a stream nearby.

Stephanie McNeil was friends with trapped miner Manuel Sanchez. She showed up with her family to see the monument.

"It's beautiful," McNeil said. "It's very peaceful up there.

"But we're still missing our miners," she said. "It'll never replace the miners themselves."

Huntington Mayor Hilary Gordon elected to stay in town Wednesday, even though she was invited by Wendy Black. "I think it's a very private family time," Gordon said. "I just let them go up. It's just out of respect for the families."

On the day that marked when the six miners were trapped a year ago, Gordon said the community is trying to move on.

"I sense somewhat of a somber feeling throughout the town today," she said, noting the added element of an overcast day.

Kerry Allred's daughter, Tifani Marasco, visited the monument with her husband Mike. She described the site as "holy ground," adding that her father is still inside the mine.

"How do you forget that? ... We want to get them out," she said. "It's the only frustration right now, that the bodies are still there.

"This is the closest thing we have," Marasco said about the monument, which she noted now exists because of help from people directly connected with the mine.

But a stone marker on the long walkway to the monument doesn't offer any hope of a recovery.

The marker reads, "You are now entering sacred ground, dedicated to the men who died in the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster of August 6, 2007, and who remain forever buried in this mountain. Walk with respect, reflect in grace."

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com CRANDALLCANYON