Celebrating Strasburg, Colorado, a small, friendly town in the plains east of Denver...
One of the things we at Strasburg Rocks! love about this town is how great interacting with businesses has been. This page includes our blog entries about recommendations.
You won't go wrong spending your $$$ with these folks. :-)
Do you disagree with our conclusions? Want to make your own recommendation? Something else? Please contact us.
No bicycle video today, but how about seeing how the awesome sub I eat whenever I ride to the Byers Country Store is made?!:
Actually, what you see there is two subs being made (kind of three actually). This time my wife and son met me at the store and we had lunch together. So, first is her sub…and then his and mine (he eats the half with no vegetables).
A big five bulls recommendation for the Byers Country Store!
Rule #1: Don’t use the volume button on an iPhone 6S Plus with a protective Otter case to take selfies…it will shake it. 🙂
Rule #2: Don’t be limited by your cellular provider! Go with T-Mobile ONE and T-Mobile ONE Plus and get unlimited everything! Even tethering and mobile hotspots!
A big thanks to Moin at the T-Mobile in Southlands Mall for getting us set up!
P.S. Yes, I love T-Mobile ever since we first signed up with them earlier this year. 🙂 T-Mobile ONE is just another example of the many things that set them apart from the competition.
Earlier this week I posted about Augie’s birthday road-trip to Kansas. One highlight of it was a visit to the Kit Carson County Carousel…a historical marvel. Although the video (which includes the carousel’s history and it in action) was also posted, I was able to download a high quality version from Facebook and make this “official” version with higher volume and a fancy Strasburg Rocks!intro and outro from a Fiverr gig:
As is noted in the video, it costs only twenty-five cents. I can assure you it’ll be the best twenty-five cents you’ll spend. 🙂
Oh, Kit Carson County Carousel is a definite We Recommend and gets 5 out of 5 bulls…thank you Robbie for the awesome experience!
Although I should be able to do basic maintenance on my own bicycle, space and time constraints meant I wanted to find someone else to do it and a friend recommended Andrew at Bring the Bike Ltd.  I am glad she did.
I am just back from an anniversary dinner and am looking forward to an afternoon bike ride on my freshly cleaned and tuned two-wheel transportation.  Andrew did a bang-up job for a great price, and I know I’ll be a repeat customer.  I am not sure of everything he does, but I do know it includes tuning and repairing! 🙂
And he’s a really nice guy on top of it!
So a “We Recommend” and 5 Bulls from Strasburg Rocks! for Bring the Bike Ltd.
Sometimes on Strasburg Rocks! I do reviews of local businesses…this time I want to throw up a quick video one of some in-ear bluetooth headphones that I highly recommend:
I got them for a discounted price to provide my evaluation…and I’ll admit they are better than anything I could have imagined. You can buy them on Amazon here.
Oh, they say, “DJ Headphones”…and I think they would work well as that too…but I recommend you get them to exercise with…or for “normal” listening…
Now to go collapse downstairs as I battle some strange chest thing I’ve been fighting all week. 🙂
Quite the hail storm yesterday…
…means we got to meet Brian from CJ Restoration today! 🙂
We called Brian because someone in a local Facebook group was so impressed with him…and we can see why. He was upfront about what the process would be, found a bunch of damage I would have missed (and he only did an initial cursory look), and already has started the process with our insurance company on a good foot.
Although CJ Restoration can be called at (303) 690-9253 (squinting for the selfie I couldn’t see Brian’s left hand was covering the final “3”), we recommend you call him directly at (720) 486-3540. We’ll do a more formal review of CJ Restoration after they do all our repairs (they are a general contractor, so they can do everything…not just our roof)…but for now, thanks to Brian, they get a Strasburg Rocks! “We Recommend.”
I’ve been meaning to write about a local restaurant Michelle and I first discovered when we wanted to eat somewhere new on Valentine’s Day. We love Strasburg’s offerings, but wanted something different…and not by heading toward Aurora.
Michelle had heard nice feedback about The DT Stampede Bar & Grill…so we hopped into the car and buzzed 18 miles east to Deer Trail. We couldn’t have been happier. Why?
Well, the food is good to great to begin with…and the prices are reasonable. However, the thing that sold us most on it was the friendliness of the staff and the family atmosphere. The owners were as congenial as they come, and it rubbed off on their staff…which may or may not be another family member. 🙂
They also have a pool table in the front bar, so yesterday afternoon Augie and zipped over there for a couple games. Sadly, it was already in use…and then Steve (one of the husband/wife owners) told us there were two more tables out back. Go figure, there is a huuuuuuuge bar in the back. As you can see, we took Steve up on his offer to play there:Continue Reading
A while back I sat down with Ron Morse, Pauls Homes‘ local representative. I’ve know Ron since March, when he was kind enough to stay late on a Saturday to allow my wife, son, and I to check out a new house in their Coyote Ridge development. We bought that home…but not only did we get a house in a great town, I got a good friend in Ron. He was kind enough to agree to an interview about the company he works for, what they’ve done up to now in Strasburg, and what their future plans are…along with more about himself. (Pauls Homes and Ron received 5 out of 5 bulls and “We Recommend” from Strasburg Rocks! in our review.)
Who is Pauls Homes?
Pauls Homes is a subsidiary of The Pauls Corporation, a real estate and investment development company. They are heavily involved in commercial, light industrial, and apartments. With residential units, they are not like DR Horton, building huge complexes, instead creating developments sized in the couple hundreds. Sometimes they finish what another developer didn’t complete (e.g. the last 50 homes where someone else failed). With Coyote Ridge they built all the units, but the land was in foreclosure and the company saw a vision and opportunity (with Denver growing) and purchased it.
What have they built so far in Strasburg?
Pauls Homes has been building in Strasburg for twenty years, completing three developments, soon to complete one more, in phase one (of four) for a fifth, just starting a sixth, and planning to build a seventh. They have been here for the “long haul” and will continue to be here. Those that have already been finished or have sold units are:Continue Reading
The job that allows me to live in the great town of Strasburg means I do have to travel, and I spent the last couple days in Pasadena, California with the management team for our new consolidated department. One of my peers suggested we catch a comic hypnotist who was in town at the same time. I entered The Ice House Comedy Club not knowing who I was going to see only to find out that one of my favorite comedians, Gabriel Iglesias (“Fluffy Guy”) was hosting it (and he did some standup himself).
But that wasn’t the only good news…the opening act was another tremendously talented comedian, Alfred Robles. I should note two things: (1) I never saw or heard of him before and (2) he was the first standup comedian I saw live.
And he was great…one of the best performances I’ve seen recently. Really impressed. If he isn’t already, he should be headlining.
Now…after Alfred…and after Gabriel (who was also great)…Rich Guzzi took the stage and I’ve got to say, he was an amazing combination of humor, caring, and hypnotic skill. I’ll be up front and say that I had (and still have) concerns with hypnotism (even some religious ones), but if anyone could convince me that there is nothing nefarious with it…Rich is probably the guy. He is either a practiced liar or someone with genuine concern for the participants and who is committed to using hypnotism for positive purposes.Continue Reading
Since I wrote before about the tremendous Tecsun PL-880 shortwave radio, I figured I’d also do a quick review of my latest electronic toy purchase, the Tecsun Q3. This is an extremely small combo of a FM radio, computer speaker (with music controls), MP3 player, and audio recorder (from built-in mic, FM, or line in).
Instead of repeating it here, please take a look at my Amazon.com review of the Q3. Short version is that it is an amazing piece of technology and well worth the $36 I spent on it. Strasburg Rocks! gives it 4 1/2 stars out of 5 and highly recommends it!
UPDATE August 8, 2016: A reader who had a Q3 with Chinese characters asked if I could scan the English manual so he could know what the buttons did. I searched on-line and couldn’t find one (kind of odd)…so I did…and figured I’d link to a copy of that scan here.
It hit me yesterday, when I stopped on my bicycle ride to grab a Bug Juice for my eight year-old (not to mention a thirst quencher for me), that I hadn’t done a review of a place I visit more than any other business in our small town: the Strasburg Convenience Store.
As a “convenience store it definitely” is convenient. It has anything you might expect, has reasonable prices, and is open most of the time a regular human would be awake. 🙂 (Okay, I’ll admit I don’t know its exact hours…but I’ve only once been on the road earlier than it has been open, and I think it closes at 10PM most nights.)
What really makes the store an awesome place is its employees. Not a single one is a grump, and most are as congenial as they come. I have to especially do a shout-out to Dave, who was a friendly face the first time we visited Strasburg. Snowstorm and all he was working and gave us some pointers on where we might buy a house. Now, I could mention more names, but they are all great…although…okay…Amanda and Chantelle do seem to be there a lot when I arrive and are also superb! 🙂Continue Reading
In the “you’ll never know what you’ll find on Strasburg Rocks!” category is this review of an album I purchased last night. 🙂
“Invincible” is Shayne Leighton’s new, debut EP (6 songs). It is titled after her remake of Pat Benatar’s hit of the same name. Now, to start off, I think it is always dangerous to do a remake of a classic song…and especially when that classic version is done by an artist who defined the female side of her genre during the time it was recorded.
But, you know, Shayne pulls it off! Is it as good as Pat’s? That’s an unrealistic question to ask a guy who was a rock-lovin’ hormonal teenager when Pat was in her heyday. 🙂 Instead, I’ll say that Shayne’s version is very good, doing justice to the original. It is a great addition to an EP where all the tracks are strong.
Having said that, it’s not my favorite tune on the album. Instead that award goes to “Midnight Man,” the fourth track. That song is so good I basically had it on repeat half the time I was mowing the back lawn this afternoon. It’s a catchy work that speaks to how desire and temptation combined with rationalization can lead us to doing what we know is wrong. Maybe that wasn’t the author’s intent…but that’s the message I heard. 🙂
I highly recommend purchasing this EP (Amazon Music | iTunes | Spotify). I give it 4 bulls (out of 5). In case that seems low…with music it is near impossible for me to give 5 bulls. I grew up when groups like Led Zeppelin and Queen were ruling the rock music scene, and 4 bulls is as much or more than I would rate some recent releases from my favorite bands. Four means it is really good.
Great work Shayne! I look forward to seeing what your future holds, both for you and my listening ears! 🙂
You can check out the album’s title song below:Continue Reading
Between Internet radio (we have redundant TDS and Bijou connectivity in our home) and SiriusXM satellite radio (which I also listen to mostly over the Internet)…I don’t really have a need for “normal” radio anymore.
But I miss it…along with a former hobby of mine, shortwave listening.
So, I decided to save up some money and get a new shortwave radio, settling on the Tecsun PL-880. I could not be happier. However, instead of repeating why here, please check out my short Amazon.com review.
If you have never listened to shortwave radio, give it a try. There are much cheaper options (e.g. down toward the $30 range)…so you don’t have to spend $150 on the Tescun PL-880 to start (although, it is so sturdily and beautifully built and performs so well, it’s worth that even if you only listen to AM and/or FM). Two great sites to check out as you consider this purchase (and associated hobby) are SWLing.com and RadioJayAllen.com.
Strasburg Rocks! recommends this device and gives it five bulls!
Yesterday we were able to quickly visit a true gem available here in Strasburg: Comanche Crossing Museum. In the future I hope to do a more thorough review of the place…below is just a small taste of what’s available there. (It is especially lacking when it comes to the incredible collection of items that are available inside the various buildings.)
Short version: Comanche Crossing Museum gets 5 bulls and a hearty Strasburg Rocks! Recommended. Neat place. Great people (volunteers).
(Click on any image to view the gallery.)
I could probably live off pizza…well, if I was willing to be 500 pounds. 🙂
Not only could I live off pizza, I’ve worked for a pizza restaurant (delivery)Â and a good friend of mine back in New Hampshire owns a pizzeria. I know good pizza and I know bad pizza…
And The Pizza Shop has great pizza!
What makes it more incredible that I can say that is I am more of a thick crust type (“pan pizza”) and The Pizza Shop pizzas have a thin crust…but…well…mmm… 🙂