The Other Side of the Tracks

When I first landed in Castle Rock for my second job interview (the first interview, thankfully, was by phone), I was rather unimpressed with the environs. Much of Castle Rock's north end is strip malls, shopping centers, big box bonanzas and the like. It feels plastic, forced, contrived. Nothing about that end of town seems to make the slightest attempt at embracing the landscape or giving a clue about its inhabitants.

So turned off by the area was I, that when it came time to begin thinking about finding a dwelling here, my first thought was, "anywhere but Castle Rock!" Only about one-fourth of my co-workers live in town. About another third or so live scattered to the south along I-25 in towns betwixt and between Castle Rock and Colorado Springs, which is about an 45 minutes or so south.

Trying to house hunt from 1200 miles away is futile. The internet is a scary place, as we all well know. In my transition, I finally decided to just wait 'til I got here and deal with the whole episode in real time.

Ultimately, and fortunately within 24 hours of arriving, I found a cute little walk-out basement apartment in the mid-section of town. It's cute, it's quiet, the neighbors are nice, my landlord is lovely, and I'm only about two miles from the office. I sort of figure that I can camp out here until I get my bearings about the area a little better, and make further decisions-- if warranted-- later.

Today, forced out of my already-established daily 'commute', I drove a bit to the south, in search of The UPS Store. Why I was there is a whole other story, involving a certain Senior Logistican, his pants, shoes, jacket, and an airline policy. Picky, picky they are, out at DIA.

While in search of a place to put Michael's pants back in the mail, I discovered a completely different side of Castle Rock. Sitting most literally to the south of the town's namesake, this older part of Castle Rock is filled with smaller shops, more diverse architecture, and infinitely more character than the newer north part of town.

I am looking forward to exploring, starting with this little music store, and continuing on to a curious array of shops around the corner on Wilcox, which is the main drag of this part of town.