http://denver.yourhub.comThe latest blog posts in The Denver Newspaper Agency YourHub.comen-usnews@yourhub.com(c) 2009, YourHub.com5Really, I didn't start getting nervous until we got to the bottom of the rock. Neither the view on the web page or the view from the Point showed the actual climbing route up Mt. Hayden. So we made our way to the start of the climb with me blissfully unaware of what lay ahead. To be honest, th...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Your-Voice/Blog~687339.aspx11/14/2009 12:29:31 PMMichael Rule I have been living in this county for 30 years and I have never seen a Preble's jumping mouse. Not one. I have seen the signs along Plum Creek telling me I can't walk down there anymore because that's where they live now, though. So that's kinda cool. Susan and I looked into buying a piece o...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Your-Voice/Blog~666727.aspx10/10/2009 4:00:35 PMMichael Rule The wind blew hard from the northwest all night. My trusty inflatable mattress pad didn't seem near as plush as I remembered it, and I shifted about trying to find a comfortable angle. Cassie lay next to me in the back of the pick-up and I curled my legs around her. Dogs are great foot warmers....http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Recreation/Blog~662033.aspx10/2/2009 8:33:44 AMMichael Rule I drove yesterday late in the day to an old place. An old place that takes me back to days long past, when I was young and carefree and life seemed to be also. Many years ago, in the late 70's and early 80's, I lived in an old cabin outside of Sedalia. To get there you drive up Hwy 67 a few mil...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~659478.aspx9/24/2009 9:58:34 PMMichael Rule To be honest, I signed up for the benefit climb up Pike's Peak last Saturday because my buddy Bill did. I have been staring at that ol' mountain for more than 30 years now without ever having climbed her. I figured it was about time. The Pike's Peak Challenge is a benefit for Traumatic Brai...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~655887.aspx9/14/2009 6:32:25 AMMichael Rule Like everyone who travels through Castle Rock, I have been admiring the castings of the cowboy and his horse at the corner of Fifth and Gilbert. I love them both for what they portray of the local heritage and for representing the best of what's possible in publicly purchased art. I recentl...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~651108.aspx8/30/2009 9:24:13 AMMichael Rule The letter arrived a few days ago, from the Douglas County Foreclosure Department. In the letter was the name of a client, an address, and the statement that their house was being foreclosed to the amount of $1,850,000.00. And why was this coming to me? Because we had been forced to file a...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Local-Business/Blog~646862.aspx8/15/2009 8:58:19 AMMichael Rule Walter lives down the road from me, on one of the original ranches in Douglas County. He's 67 years old, hasn't had a drink in years, and is a veteran of Vietnam. I was over to his place the other day, and I asked him about his time there. Walter was in the battle of Khe Sahn. He watched bu...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~640267.aspx7/26/2009 7:10:31 AMMichael Rule "The thing about it is, people aren't really THAT happy to see you." I was talking to a friend of mine, maybe 20 years ago. He was a mechanic at a local, prestigious golf course, and a danged good mechanic at that. One of the best I've ever known. We called him Beaner because he looked like a M...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Local-Business/Blog~619858.aspx5/26/2009 9:37:59 PMMichael Rule I'm kinda sad the I-25 Rest Areas down here have closed. I'm not questioning the whys and wherefores of the decision as presented by CDOT, but it still makes me sad. It does seem a bit ironic, though, that as this section of interstate gets busier and busier we close down the only rest area...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~616138.aspx5/16/2009 8:20:12 AMMichael Rule I was sitting on the couch, watching Dexter Fowler play for the Rockies when it hit me. Move Lucky from short to the outfield. Wow. that hit me like a bolt of lightning, but it all made sense. Move Lucky to the outfield and put Izzy at shortstop. It made sense, really. Izzy ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Pets-Animals/Blog~610480.aspx5/2/2009 9:29:43 AMMichael Rule We live on the Palmer Divide, that rise of land that crests right near the line that divides Douglas and El Paso counties. Our home sits right at 7200', just about 1000' higher than Castle Rock. The change in altitude is barely noticeable in a car, but man does it affect the weather. We get...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Recreation/Blog~608277.aspx4/27/2009 9:13:20 AMMichael Rule I remember sitting on my bicycle, moving across the landscape of eastern Oregon. It was back in about 1983. Wide open prairie and small towns set in rolling hills. Wind at my back and strong legs pulling me along. Euphoria and dejection. My ying and yang. I had been on my bike, pedaling along, ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~606110.aspx4/20/2009 9:59:32 PMMichael Rule It was a good turnout Thursday night for the review on the Meadows Extension. There were charts and graphs on big poster boards telling the hows and whys of every tangible effect of every possible scenario. There were charts and graphs on noise, traffic flow, time/distance, various route po...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Politics/Local-State-Politics/Blog~599572.aspx4/4/2009 10:34:07 AMMichael Rule I just concluded a road trip, this time back to Michigan. My nephew qualified for State in swimming during the last scheduled meet of his High School career. I fulfilled a promise made 2 years ago that I would be there if he made it and he did, and I was. It was worth every mile, too. I pre...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Travel/Blog~597084.aspx3/27/2009 11:47:35 PMMichael Rule Castle Pines Village residents and their Metro District has offered to provide some funds to assist in building another access route from The Meadows and Santa Fe Rd. to I-25. In exchange they would like to privatize Happy Canyon Road. That means cutting off access if you don't live in C.P.V. ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~595293.aspx3/24/2009 7:53:51 AMMichael Rule Wednesday about 4 in the afternoon I placed an ad on Craigslist. I had an old Gravely lawn tractor/mower that had been sitting around for the last 6 or so years, and I decided it was time for it to go. Now, those old Gravelys have a bit of a cult following, kinda like '64 Mustangs. There ar...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~588243.aspx3/7/2009 9:38:57 AMMichael Rule We were sitting in the airport, burning up pesos and contemplating exchanging another 20 for a few more. Sixty peso cervesas will do that to you. Next to us was an American couple, headed north after a quick visit for a wedding. It was their first time in Mexico. We started talking, and whe...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Travel/Blog~586831.aspx3/3/2009 9:16:35 PMMichael Rule We drove north up Hwy 200, past Bucerias, past the high rises going up and the gated entries and the turn off to Punta Mita. Eventually the traffic thinned and we were in the country. The road winded about with jungle on both sides, thick and covered in vines, opening up to the occasional small ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Travel/Blog~584065.aspx2/25/2009 9:07:42 AMMichael Rule You arrive in Yelapa by water taxi, which means you pay the guy at the pier $25.00 a head roundtrip and then you get on a panga, which is basically an over-sized rowboat, with as many other touristos as they can cram on board, which in our case was about 40, and away you go. Forty five minutes ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Travel/Blog~582875.aspx2/22/2009 11:11:48 AMMichael Rule XX The driver pulled over and we all stared up the calle. The cobblestone road, made of rocks smooth and slick, climbed the hill at a nearly impossible angle. I assumed this is where we would get out and walk. I assumed wrong. Gunning the engine and popping the clutch, the driver pointed the t...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Travel/Blog~581892.aspx2/19/2009 8:53:26 AMMichael Rule Pig arrived in our life up in Cheyenne one night during Frontier Days. We were in our motor home; Susan , myself, Dan and his cousin Devin , heading to Michigan. We had stopped in Cheyenne to see some bull riding, and Dan had shot the heck out of all those corks in the carny game off ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Travel/Blog~578170.aspx2/9/2009 9:46:00 AMMichael Rule When I was young I felt that all "the great people" were "out there." Johnny Unitas was on my TV, Mickey Mantle and Al Kaline were at Tiger or Yankee Stadium, Muhammad Ali was jawing with Howard Cosell, Martin Luther King was dead, and I was stuck in a small town in Michigan. When I got my ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~573425.aspx1/28/2009 8:31:00 AMMichael Rule I joined the commuters to Denver the other morning. A visit to my doctor was the reason I found myself on I-25 at about 7:30, joining the masses heading north. Wow. I don't know how ya'll do it every day. Maybe I've been spending too much time out here at The Homestead lately, but I was b...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~570336.aspx1/20/2009 6:23:31 AMMichael Rule I grew up with a black lab mixed breed dog named Sam. From my childhood up into my mid teens he was my constant companion. He slept on my bed at night. He was my best friend. When I was about 14 I started a paper route. I would pedal my bike across town to get my papers, then come back by t...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~566734.aspx1/10/2009 7:15:39 AMMichael Rule It's been a while now since I wrote about living next to Lake Imagination, the 11 acre, aquifer filled, private, man-made, slap in the face, BS little water playground for some of my neighbors. I'm thinking it is probably frozen over enough now for a little hockey but that's just a pipe dre...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~564316.aspx1/5/2009 8:15:06 AMMichael Rule In an attempt to give some of you newcomers an insight into the local spots about the area, here are my totally biased, fairly random, not really researched picks for 2008. Best bar Hands down, The Spur of the Moment in Larkspur. One of those "everybody knows your name" places with Ne...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~562254.aspx12/26/2008 9:04:24 AMMichael Rule Two years ago I started myself a tradition. Get up early on winter solstice and take a photo of the sunrise. It actually started because an old buddy of mine celebrates solstice instead of Christmas so I figured, what the heck, I'll get up and take him a picture. Easy enough, and the resul...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~560897.aspx12/21/2008 11:29:36 AMMichael Rule My son was probably about 6 at the time. He lived with his mom and I tried to see him any time I could. It didn't seem like it was very much. I think sometimes he thought so, too. Holidays are tough when you're divorced and there is a kid in the middle. Its tough on everybody. Its tough on ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Blog~558543.aspx12/14/2008 5:39:47 PMMichael Rule So the Rocky is for sale. So is my 1986 Ford F-150. Of course, the truck hasn't run for a year or two, but I'm pretty sure all it needs is a jump start and it will purr like its brand new. Wanna buy it? . Of course, I need to do some advertising, but heck, I'll just throw it on Craigslist. ...http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Blogs/Archive/Local-Business/Blog~556072.aspx12/6/2008 7:35:19 AMMichael Rule