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Best Place to Pretend You're Rich and Famous

Cherokee Ranch and Castle
Castle Pines

The home of late socialite Tweet Kimball is arguably the most spectacular in Colorado. Modeled after a Scottish castle, it sits on a bluff that offers mind-boggling views of the Front Range, from Pikes Peak to Longs Peak. Kimball could have sold the 3,000-acre property for millions of dollars but instead chose to create a foundation that has preserved the ranch as open space; it recently opened the stone castle to the public. A devoted Anglophile, Kimball lived in England for several years, and the castle's designer, Denver architect Burnham Hoyt, included a cavernous Great Hall, complete with a minstrel balcony for visiting musicians. One whole room is filled with photos of Winston Churchill and Princess Anne, who visited the ranch and rode horses there. A winding stairway that circles up inside a turret is reminiscent of the Tower of London. The antique furniture and art are suitably grand, with overstuffed armchairs and elaborately carved serving tables. Cherokee Ranch and Castle is also a perfect place for afternoon tea, which is served every Thursday in the Great Hall and includes salmon, scones, clotted cream, jam and sweets. Tours of the castle are offered several times a week, but call ahead, because reservations -- and directions to the hard-to-find mansion -- are required. If you want to be king or queen for a day, this is the place.

Best Cop Museum

Arvada Police Department

For half a century, Arvada's men and women in blue have been enforcing the law and protecting the citizenship of this Denver suburb. Now some of that history can be viewed in the Arvada Police Department's display in the lobby of its building. It includes dozens of photos, uniforms, badges and other memorabilia donated by retired cops -- a most arresting exhibit.

Best Cop Museum

Arvada Police Department

For half a century, Arvada's men and women in blue have been enforcing the law and protecting the citizenship of this Denver suburb. Now some of that history can be viewed in the Arvada Police Department's display in the lobby of its building. It includes dozens of photos, uniforms, badges and other memorabilia donated by retired cops -- a most arresting exhibit.

Best High School Museum

South High School

History class might be boring, but the history of South High School -- that's a different subject. Tucked into the school's bell-tower attic and its basement are huge collections of photos, clothing, trophy cups, scrapbooks and other mementos that tell the history of this 101-year-old institution. And thanks to the dedication of South alumni, they've been recorded and displayed in an actual museum that is open to the public; call the school to find out the hours. Don't know much about history? Here's your chance to find out.

Best High School Museum

South High School

History class might be boring, but the history of South High School -- that's a different subject. Tucked into the school's bell-tower attic and its basement are huge collections of photos, clothing, trophy cups, scrapbooks and other mementos that tell the history of this 101-year-old institution. And thanks to the dedication of South alumni, they've been recorded and displayed in an actual museum that is open to the public; call the school to find out the hours. Don't know much about history? Here's your chance to find out.

Best Bet for Teens With DPD Spy Files

Students 4 Justice

Give these kids extra credit in civics: Students 4 Justice, a group of Denver-area high school students affiliated with the Colorado Progressive Coalition, takes on issues ranging from Nike's use of foreign labor to profiling in the Cole community to a shortage of federally subsidized lunches at West High. Along the way, they rate high marks for their eloquence and enthusiasm.

Best Bet for Teens With DPD Spy Files

Students 4 Justice

Give these kids extra credit in civics: Students 4 Justice, a group of Denver-area high school students affiliated with the Colorado Progressive Coalition, takes on issues ranging from Nike's use of foreign labor to profiling in the Cole community to a shortage of federally subsidized lunches at West High. Along the way, they rate high marks for their eloquence and enthusiasm.

Best Bet for Adults With DPD Spy Files

Denver CopWatch

Smile! You're on not-so-candid camera. In the wake of several controversial Denver Police Department actions, including the shooting of Ismael Mena, Denver activists took the Neighborhood Watch concept a few steps further and banded together as Denver CopWatch, a citizens' watchdog group that keeps an eye on the Denver Police Department. Founded by activists Stephen and Vicki Nash, the group has taken its cause to the streets -- including some of the town's meanest -- where members inform teens, the homeless and assorted hangers-on of their rights. Since CopWatch acquired a camera, it's started capturing cops on film, issuing quarterly reports and coming up with enough evidence that the ACLU has picked up a dozen cases documented by the citizen snoops.

Best Bet for Adults With DPD Spy Files

Denver CopWatch

Smile! You're on not-so-candid camera. In the wake of several controversial Denver Police Department actions, including the shooting of Ismael Mena, Denver activists took the Neighborhood Watch concept a few steps further and banded together as Denver CopWatch, a citizens' watchdog group that keeps an eye on the Denver Police Department. Founded by activists Stephen and Vicki Nash, the group has taken its cause to the streets -- including some of the town's meanest -- where members inform teens, the homeless and assorted hangers-on of their rights. Since CopWatch acquired a camera, it's started capturing cops on film, issuing quarterly reports and coming up with enough evidence that the ACLU has picked up a dozen cases documented by the citizen snoops.

Best Reference to the Three Little Pigs in a Legal Ruling

U.S. District Judge John Kane

Senior U.S. District Judge John Kane is erudite, wise (he's taken a controversial, and eminently reasonable, stance opposing the War on Drugs) and witty. In a recent bankruptcy ruling, he noted that the appellant "presents a version of the three little pigs who outsmarted the big bad wolf, and despite all his huffing and puffing kept a house and sold it for a profit." The judgment concluded:

Alas the tale is done

Truth be told, no one won

This court has simply tried to resort

That which is to what was before

(The defendant) paid the price

For what the deeds of trust thrice

Deviously sought to take away

And such is the fate of claims made of hay.

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