GOODS & SERVICES

Many an unintentional wedding dress has been plucked from Circa 1900's racks, as have otherworldly periwinkle gowns with turquoise rickrack and whimsical things like cotton shorty dresses with hunting-dog motifs or those linen lumberjack sneakers that are currently in vogue. Here's a place where you can be demure or sprightly--and if the folds of your demure or sprightly purchase are a little too voluminous, you can even buy a rose-festooned clip to gather them in.

Best Place to Land Feet First
DSW Shoe Warehouse
8051 S. Broadway, Littleton

In heaven, they say, the streets are lined with shoe stores. But if you're not yet ready to depart the planet, DSW is a near-facsimile. The big store, boasting over 20,000 men's and women's shoes at any given time, sells designer and name-brand shoes at up to 50 percent below retail. But it's not your typical junky discount shoe house: DSW stocks classy brands like Amalfi, Via Spiga and Papagallo alongside sensible footwear from Clark's and Rieker. And selection? Aisle after aisle of shoes are lined up according to heel height and fanciness quotient, with boxes containing various sizes of each style right on the floor, where you can try them on at your leisure.

Best All-Round Vintage Clothing
Candy's
4483 N. Broadway, Boulder

For more than eighteen years, the pink building with bright turquoise trim in north Boulder has been known as Candy's--run by (who else?) Candy, as keen a cowgirl as you're likely to find in these parts. Whether you're hankering to look like Patsy Montana or Tom Mix, there's no finer selection of classic Western wear available in the state. And if vintage Western isn't your cup of tar, there are men's and women's clothes in styles ranging from turn-of-the-century on up. Even those lost souls heavy into the polyester-disco-platform-shoes look will find wearable bliss here.

Best Western Consignment Shop
Attitudes
77 S. Sheridan Blvd.

You'll find plenty of changes in Attitudes. This consignment store specializes in Western clothing, particularly women's attire, and has plenty of prime stock to choose from. Whether you're looking for something to wear down on the farm or the next time you kick up your heels, these racks show exactly how the West was worn.

Best Anti-Leather Protector
Cowgirl Cream
It's never too late to save face. To combat the harshness of the Colorado climate, Boulder resident Donna Baase developed Cowgirl Cream. It's an intense blend of botanical ingredients--including herbal extracts, sunflower and vitamin E oils, aloe vera and jojoba--designed to soften even the most craggy range-rider's weather-stressed skin. The cream has become so popular that Baase now mixes up a fresh batch of the stuff each week; you can purchase it at local stores, including Alfalfa's and Wild Oats, or order by mail (3555 Cloverleaf Drive, Boulder 80304).

Best Deal on Leather Goods
Atlas Luggage
2433 Curtis St.

Who wants to spend a lot on luggage when it's about to go through DIA's baggage system? When you're going for bulk--and bargains--join the pack that frequents Atlas Luggage. This is the outlet for the metro area's seven Colorado Baggage stores, and it carries discontinued or irregular models of Samsonite, Hartmann and assorted other name brands at incredibly discounted prices. Carry on, Denver.

Best Used Levi's
Boss Unlimited
301 E. 57th Ave.

The front of Boss Unlimited doesn't have a fancy sign--just a seventeen-foot tall pair of Levi's plastered on the front of the building, calling out to commuters on I-25. Boss does a whopping business in the used Levi's trade--and its vintage clothing, shoes and jewelry collection has become regulation wear for those trendy little bar-hoppers in their early twenties. Boss isn't only a favorite for locals; George Clinton's people shopped there when they were in town. Why? Because it's kitsch. It's cool. And it looks divine on your behind.

Best Thrift Store
Your Kinda Thrift Store
7150 N. Pecos St.
9365 Ralston Rd., Arvada

The Your Kinda Thrift Stores aren't as large as some of their competitors, but they hold treasures for those who know how to look. Some of the gems we've found include a Fifties-era ladies' Western shirt in mint condition, books on jazz history, King Louie bowling shirts, vintage dresses and tuxedo jackets. Prices range from cheap to reasonable, and Wednesdays are bag days--bring your own paper grocery bag and fill it with specially tagged articles for only three dollars a bag.

Best Upscale Thrift Store
Sally's Attic
4751 N. Broadway

If you've ever wondered where the Salvation Army's good stuff goes, we have the answer: Sally's Attic. The fine china, old (verging on antique) furniture, faux-silver goblets, 25th-anniversary plates, beaded purses and nicer clothes (including wonderful period wedding dresses of the quality you can rarely find anymore) are packed into this little shop on the grounds of the Army's Denver rehab center. You'll have to dig a little deeper into your coin purse, of course, but almost any piece that's hung around the shop more than thirty days is discounted 25 percent. One trip to Sally's and you'll be an attic fan.

Best Stocking Stuffer
Ultra Legs Hosiery and Lingerie Outlet
3444 S. Broadway, Englewood

The thigh's the limit at Ultra Legs, which has about every kind of hosiery you could want, often for a fraction of what you'd pay at department stores. Need some purple pantyhose? Choose from not one, not two, but a dozen different shades. A naughty nightie? Ditto. Walk, don't run, to South Broadway.

Best Costume Shop
Marcia's of Denver
8693 Washington St., Thornton

If your first trip to Marcia's of Denver comes just after you've cruised all those pricey costume shops in fancy retail areas, you're guaranteed to feel like you walked into an after-the-holiday sale. It's noticeably cheaper than snobville and has a lot more masks and headwear than you'll find in most other stores. Marcia's also has an extensive collection of rental costumes at prices that wear very well--and one of the most dramatic displays of theatrical makeup around. Put on a happy face--and remember, despite its name, the shop is located in Thornton.

Best Drag Queen Clothes
Hero Group Outlet
227 N. Blue River Pkwy., Silverthorne

To be a truly successful female impersonator--or just to bask in the reflected glow--you need enough fluted beads to choke a horse, enough cleavage to smother a small child, and a high-enough leg slit to force Liza Minnelli to give up and leave town. So you need to drive a few hours to obtain all this? No one ever said entertaining was easy.

Best Place to Sell Your Jewelry
Marshall's Precious Metals, Inc.
3509 W. 38th Ave.

There's big money in antique jewelry. But Marshall's Precious Metals deals in more than that. Bring your scrap gold, that garish diamond ring Aunt Sophie left you, those gold cuff links you've been hiding in the back of your top dresser drawer for the past twenty years and your ex-husband's wedding ring. Marshall pays better than pawn shops and most of those jewelry-and-coin dealers in town. And nowhere else will you find such an amusing character to deal with.

Best Party Shop
Party America
Four metro locations

Whether you're planning a party for wee preschoolers, slacker graduates, lamenting middle-agers or cranky octogenarians, don't try to do so without first visiting Party America. Batman and Barbie cakepans, Wurmz-n-Durt gummies in cookie crumbs, life-sized Star Trek standups, guitar pinatas, Tasmanian Devil helium balloons, silk flowers and Old Geezer photo storybooks all commingle happily under one broad-minded roof. If you can't accommodate your theme here, forget it.

Best Paper Plates
Cherry Creek Card and Party Shop
2828 E. 6th Ave.

You want to throw a special fete, but you can't bear the thought of doing endless amounts of dishes. That's when you head to Cherry Creek Card and Party Shop, which has plates so gorgeous they look like china. They've got paper plates suitable for Hawaiian luaus, Mexican fiestas and Kentucky Derby do's. They've got paper plates in gold, black, white and fuchsia. You get the idea. In fact, you may end up washing them instead of throwing them away.

Best Gift Wrap to Buy
Tattered Cover Book Stores
2955 E. 1st Ave.
1628 16th St.

The Tattered Covers don't have an endless selection, but what they do have--available in individual sheets or rolls--is beautiful, capricious and ever-sophisticated. Choose from smiling, candy-colored cats for your nephew's picture book, a map print for Dad's travel guide or chile peppers for that salsa cookbook. That's a wrap.

Best Dried Flowers
Frippery's
244 Detroit St.

The folks at Frippery's don't consider themselves florists, but this is the choicest place we know to pick dried flowers. Most of the blooms are dried by the staff and vary by the season. You can always find roses, but late spring is a good time to get dried mums, yarrow and lavender. Sunflowers abound at the end of summer.

Best Flower Shop
Thomas Floral
1 Broadway

Thomas Floral employs arrangers who specialize in weddings, parties, funerals and other occasions, and it's clear they love their work. The staff is never too swamped to make that one-of-a-kind arrangement or talk with an indecisive customer. Those who routinely buy cut flowers know they can be fairly pricey around town, but the deals here may make you blush--just like the assortment of adult games and novelties in Thomas's gift shop.

Best Florist for Bizarre Requests
D'Clement Florists
909 S. Oneida St.

Debbie Clement Holmes of D'Clement Florists has transformed a family dog into a ring bearer (complete with satin pillow) and made tents into Taj Mahals. She's known for personally designing and delivering wedding flowers (no clueless delivery boy arriving with the wrong load on your special day) and shuns the boring carnation/mum fare in favor of tropical, Holland and wildflower blooms. Best of all, she dazzles without pretension.

Best Garden-Supply Shop
Englewood Garden Center and Florist
3446 S. Emerson St., Englewood

Englewood Garden Center is a garden supply for gardeners. Old-fashioned and gracious, it's the place to find unusual plants for indoors and out, as well as the little, unexpected things that give a garden character: patinaed squirrels, hatching-dinosaur ornaments, lifelike cast lizards, costumed lawn geese or a sweet little sunflower birdfeeder you can hang from a fence. There are free handouts offering growing hints for specialty rock, butterfly or shade gardens. Finally, the place is just plain pretty, bursting with showy bromeliads and orchids resting on baby-tear beds, purple-and-black Colorado Rockies pansy gardens, hanging baskets of pumpkin-hued, black-eyed sultanas, cherry-red hibiscus bushes, hardy cacti and variegated bougainvilleas. Color us sold.

Readers' choice: Dardano's

Best Upscale Garden Supply
Smith & Hawken
268 Detroit St.

Smith & Hawken's tony garden wares have long been available by catalogue. Now you can shop for the company's stylish patio furniture, sun hats, spades and pitchforks, angel-festooned clay containers and gardening clothing right here in town. Located in Cherry Creek North, the Denver addition to this California chain fits right into the neighborhood. Check out those Japanese farmer pants.

Best Place to Hear War Yarns While Buying Trees and Shrubs
Good's Discount Nursery
7105 E. Evans Ave.

Seventy-something Hal Good was off in the Philippines on V-J day--and he'll tell you all about it. After the war, Hal, born in Nebraska, came to Colorado and pulled what is now the second-oldest active nurseryman's license in the state. So he'll also tell you all about how to get any of the hundreds of vigorous trees or shrubs on his lot to flourish in our unforgiving climate. Unlike the plants at many roadside outlets, the things Hal has will actually grow here.

Best Cheap Compost Bins
Denver Recycles
Organic gardeners know the value of compost, and certain garden stores know they can charge a lot for the more efficient and neighbor-friendly bins that hold the stuff. The city's Denver Recycles program, however, has a once-a-year sale for Denver residents at which it sells compost bins for 60 to 70 percent less than you'd pay at one of the aforementioned stores. If you missed the 1995 sale (June 23 and 24 at South High School), take heart--you still might be able to nab one if they have any left.

Best Gardening Advice
CSU Cooperative Extension
110 16th St., Ste. 200

Colorado State University's Master Gardeners don't come by their knowledge easily--they receive intensive horticultural training, covering subjects from composting to xeriscaping, before setting foot in the gardening arena. The masters must donate at least forty service hours--answering phones, working garden shows, meeting with walk-ins bearing problems and generally helping people all over the state with their droopy dahlias and wan wax beans. And if one of them doesn't know the answer to your question, he'll probably know someone who does--operators are standing by.

Best Immovable Objects
Judie's Concrete Critters
U.S. Hwy. 85 and Road 18 (north of Fort Lupton)

Forget about those roadside statuary stands in metro Denver. For good prices and choices, take a drive up Highway 85 past Brighton to Judie's Concrete Critters. Look carefully on the northeast corner of the highway's intersection with Road 18, and you'll see a little fenced-in area full of concrete things for your yard. Classically simple birdbaths are a steal, averaging only $40 to $45, and they hold up admirably. Frogs start at $15. Nothing seems to move at Judie's, but give her a chance. She lives in the nearest house and will come strolling out if you honk your horn a few times. Or call before you go.

Best Way to Get to Know Kids in the Neighborhood
Community gardens at Steele School
320 S. Marion Pkwy.

Dig into a ten- by eleven-foot plot of your own for only $20 for the season. Grow a truckload of vegetables and flowers under the watchful eye of K-through-6 kids who couldn't be more delighted by the prospect. At the end of the season, if you leave your plot cleaned and turned, you get $10 of your initial investment back. What a deal. Sure, we've got other community gardens out there, but only a few of them ensure proximity with our hope for the future the way this one does.

Best Out-of-the-Ordinary Wedding Gifts
Warner's Antiques
1401 S. Broadway

Next time you've got to come up with one present to please two people, this is the place to come. Mariella Warner has a wide inventory of antique silver at Warner's Antiques (settings, cream-and-sugar sets, pitchers, you name it), along with china, clocks and one-of-a-kind furniture. She wraps nice, too.

Best Way to Hop to It at Home
Brewhoppers Homebrew Kits
P.O. Box 1057
Broomfield 80038

There are several shops out there where you can buy all the fixin's for brewing ales, stouts and porters in your own basement. But if you're shy, this Broomfield-based mail-order outfit ships kits with everything you'll need to do it at home, including a copy of The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing, all for $89.95 plus shipping. If you decide you like it and spring for a membership, you'll receive a newsletter and new kits, delivered monthly or semi-monthly, at $21 a pop. The perfect gift for hops-loving agoraphobics.

Best Plumber's Helper
Gary Winn
University Hills Ace Hardware
2500 S. Colorado Blvd.

When faced with a leak, the last thing you want to do is talk to a drip. So go see Gary Winn. He doesn't bore you with war stories of past pipe fittings, and he doesn't talk down to you even though you're ignorant about the tools of the plumbing trade. Ask him for a "thingamabob" and he'll figure out what you're really looking for. He's got all the supplies, he's friendly, knowledgeable and efficient, and he'll even loan you a wrench. One good turn deserves another.

Best Tool-Lover's Fantasy Land
Surplus Tools & Commodities Corp.
1411 W. Alameda Ave.

The dark, musty aisles at Surplus Tools might seem surprisingly daunting to suburban people used to the monstrous, well-lighted ones in Hugh M. Woods or HomeBase. But anyone with a penchant for urban junking will love the place, where helter-skelter new and used items rub shoulders on the shelves. Or wherever. If you come here looking for stuff, you're sure to find it.

Best Kitchen Design
Hardwood Originals
3870 Elm St.

When a small army of architects couldn't come up with a kitchen that worked for Eugenia Bickerstaff (Bernie's wife), she turned to Mike Thulson and his father, Ken, of Hardwood Originals. The result earned a spread in a home-decor magazine. Though the Thulsons don't guarantee glossy-paged tributes to all their projects, they've mastered the craft of building cabinetry, as well as the tricky art of helping homeowners dream up a kitchen that won't give them nightmares once the sawdust settles.

Best Floor-Tile Store
Design Materials
400 Quivas St.

One or two other stores have walk-on displays of floor tile as artful as the one at Design Materials. But none can compete with their helpful staff (Tom Menard is particularly good) and selection of quality tiles, including stone, ceramic and porcelain. Of course, there's a hitch: They're wholesale, so you can pick out a great Italian faux-marble ceramic, but you have to send a contractor, tile layer or architect to buy it.

Best Place to Buy House Paint
Belcaro Paint and Decorating Center
830 S. Colorado Blvd.

Buy the stuff the professionals use, at a place the professionals frequent, and get advice from experts who don't mind helping out an amateur. Belcaro Paint and Decorating has an abundance of paint and wallpaper samples that will satisfy even the most picky decorators. And if you're still not quite sure of a color, they'll sell you a paint "swatch"--one and a half ounces of custom-mixed paint--for $2. The swatches, which cover about two square feet, are the brainchild of store owner John Harris. This is the kind of great idea that catches on.

Best Place to Plan a Coverup
Colorel Blinds
Seven metro locations

So you just got your dream apartment, loft or house. But there's nothing on any of the windows to protect you from the damaging UV rays of the sun or the prying eyes of your nosy neighbors. Custom drapes? Got $10,000? Plantation shutters? That'll be $5,000. Plus, it'll take six weeks to get them installed. But if you order custom mini-blinds or verticals today from a Colorel showroom, you can have them by tomorrow for only a few hundred dollars. At that price, if the mood strikes, you could change them every year. To make blinds this fast, you'd have to own the factory--and that babe on the commercials does!

Best Oriental Rug Makeovers
Robert Mann Oriental Rug Restoration
2540 Walnut St.

The reputation of Bob Mann's state-of-the-art cleaning and restoration facility has other cleaners and restorers consigning their most difficult jobs to him. That's because the crew here really knows what it's doing, especially the able team of Asian-American craftswomen who tend to the delicate repair jobs. Despite the credentials of the place, prices are not only competitive but downright cheap.

Best Place to Plan Your Dream Home
Bed, Bath & Beyond
2500 E. 1st Ave.

One-stop shopping is the wave of the future. The reason, perhaps, is that you can meander through megastores like Bed, Bath & Beyond for hours and no one will ever bother you. Located in the old Denver Dry building in Cherry Creek, this is a practical museum for wandering homebodies, with two floors of discounted items, including--as the name implies--bath accessories and bedding, as well as pots and pans, thousands of kitchen gadgets, storage aids, wrapping paper and other useful stuff. Watch out for the fabulous wall o' towels--but don't let temptation dry up your resources.

Best Slightly Used Furniture
Model Home Furniture Store
3265 S. Wadsworth Blvd.

What the name at Model Home Furniture says is what you get: a showroom of discounted furniture culled from model homes. Though a weary husband or two may have perched on these furnishings during endless home-shopping expeditions, everything--dining-room tables and chairs, bedroom sets, sofas and coffee tables--looks brand-spanking-new, if not absolutely sleek. And pricey it's not.

Best Lamps of the Future
Light Spot
1516 Wazee St.

Either you've got style or you don't, and the lamps at Light Spot definitely have it. They're chic, postmodern and always architecturally correct, from the little candy-hued Phillipe Starck table lights to the high-tech stem lamps arching down seductively from the ceiling. Even a nostalgic coolie-hat shade of amber seed beads looks strikingly contemporary in this slick showroom, right at home with the art glass and sculptured furnishings also on display.

Best Old Lamp Repair
Bonnie Brae Repair Shop
2339 E. Ohio Ave.

God said, "Let there be light." But when that light goes out, thank the Lord that the Bonnie Brae Repair Shop is around. For the past fifteen years, its work has been illuminating: repairing old lamps, replacing cords on just about anything and even making lamps, shades and chandeliers to order.

Best Brothel to Take Your Spouse To
The Fortune Club
Main Street, Victor

Hattie May Jordon, the madam of this Victorian-era whorehouse, doesn't live here anymore, but the charming, clean, informally run Fortune Club--unadvertised and across the street from the gentrified Hotel Victor--features solid mattresses, thick walls, a fully equipped kitchen and a liquor store and grocery on the first floor. What more could you want, especially for $45 a night?

Best Place for a Romantic Night
The Lumber Baron Inn
2555 W. 37th Ave.

When Maureen and Walter Keller first laid eyes on this towering brick mansion, its interior, exterior and reputation were in a state of extreme disrepair. But where others saw a ramshackle crack house, they saw possibilities, and they were right. After a $750,000 renovation, the Lumber Baron Inn is now an antique-filled bed-and-breakfast and the winner of the 1994 Historic Denver Community Preservation Award. The Kellers, however, ignored authenticity when it came to comfort--they managed to make room for a Jacuzzi, and all the guest rooms have private baths.

Best Boulder Bed-and-Breakfast
The Alps Boulder Canyon Inn
38619 Boulder Canyon Dr., Boulder

Definitely not for the Motel 6 crowd, the Boulder Canyon Inn is an old Moose Lodge built right into the mountainside overlooking downtown Boulder. There are double Jacuzzis and fireplaces in some rooms and, when you get hungry, gourmet breakfasts and homemade desserts to recharge. Bring your bike and hit the bike trail just outside the front door. That is, if you can ever budge from that Jacuzzi.

Best All-Purpose Kids' Supply Center
U.S. Toy Constructive Playthings
8101 S. Quebec St., Englewood

First off, this place is huge. Second, its prices aren't. Third, U.S. Toy has an inventory second to none. The collection of educational supplies--workbooks, teaching guides, posters--is daunting, and the assemblage of puzzles, games and random knickknacks is tremendous. This is also the place to find trinkets and other miscellanea such as hats, masks, sunglasses and balloons, in whatever quantity you want. If it's not here, your child probably doesn't need it.

Best Used-Toy Store
Toy Exchange
12354 W. Alameda Pkwy., Lakewood

Toy Exchange sells some new toys, including hard-to-find future collectibles, but what sets it apart are the previously owned playthings available to you and yours at severe discounts. The management only accepts toys that are in excellent condition, and everything looks as clean and hygienic as the new stuff that costs a great deal more. Also, the Exchange buys used items outright--there's no consignment policy--so you can turn that Barney your child has finally discarded (thank God) into ready cash.

Best Kids' Haircuts
Lil' Things
8055 W. Bowles Ave., Littleton

Parents of toddlers know it's not easy to get Junior to sit still while a strange person with scissors makes snipping noises a millimeter from his ear. The solution is Lil' Things, which has a haircutting area designed with squirming tots in mind. The barber chairs look like amusement-park rides, and they face video monitors that pump out a constant stream of Disney cartoons guaranteed to mesmerize all but the least video-obsessed youngsters. Drop in and have someone take a little off your progeny's top.

Best Party Dresses for Little Girls (Tomboys Included)
Chocolate Soup
7400 E. Hampden Ave.

Some girls were made for velvet, lace and Mary Janes--but none we know of. Luckily, this store has a huge stock of un-scratchy, un-stuffy but wildly festive garments even Jo March would appreciate. Check out their knit palazzo overalls (in tiny sizes) and fabric dresses with matching hats, all made by the store's own designers, with a few Osh-Kosh staples thrown in.

Best Place to Buy Used Baby Clothes
Lil' Rascals
4361 Lowell St.

To us, it's just plain silly to shell out $20 for a pair of designer overalls that your junior fashion victim will grow into and out of before you can say "Put down that ketchup bottle!" Lil' Rascals offers clean, preworn clothes for about half of what they'd cost new. The shop is filled with brand names (Osh-Kosh and Carters, to name two) as well as books, toys, car seats, Snuglis and children's furniture. Parents with a really tight budget should check out the bargain table, where all kids' clothes are marked down to 50 cents.

Best Place to Buy Froufrou Kids' Clothes on the Cheap
The Children's Exchange
307 Columbine St.

Of course, some Cherry Creek moms plunk down big bucks for DKNY and Bill Blass kids' wear. But you don't have to. This is one designer consignment store that'll make you the envy of greater Stepford. Prices run from $2 for little things to $100 for really fancy dresses. The Exchange won't accept anything for consignment that's more than two years old, so rest assured you're dressing Junior in the latest fashion. Great for Laura Ashley dresses.

Best Place to Brush Up on Your Ho Ho Ho
Professional Santa Claus School
American Events & Promotions, Lafayette

Proper Clausing involves more than sitting in a chair and enduring small children in your lap for hours at a time. That's why each Saint Nick to graduate from American Events & Promotions' program--said to be the third-largest in the nation--has to conquer everything from American Sign Language, Santa Claus history and child psychology to kazoo playing, storytelling and memorization of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" before he's let loose at a department store, school or private function. Out of hundreds of applicants, only about fifty complete the course: There's more than a bowl full of jelly under these belts.

Best Tap-Dancing Classes for the Rhythmically Challenged
Gwen Bowen School of Dance Arts
714 S. Pearl St.

Three generations of hoofers dance side by side in this 43-year-old neighborhood studio, and you don't have to be gorgeous, young or coordinated to join them. What Gwen Bowen--known to the faithful as Miss B.--loves is instilling the passion for dance, and nobody does it better.

Best Place to Hit the Charts
Maps Unlimited
899 Broadway

You can figure out how to get anywhere from here. From a wall poster of Blaue's World, circa 1665, to an up-to-date world globe, Maps Unlimited has more map-oriented merchandise--travel guides, atlases, topographical and trail maps, star and ocean-bottom maps, histomaps and children's puzzles--than we'll bet you've ever seen in one place in your life. Our favorite? It could be the bird's-eye view of Manhattan. Or possibly the topographic chocolate, available in the shape of Aspen and other exotic places (eat one and you might end up looking like the Michelin Man). By the way, you can buy little plastic Michelin Men, too.

Best Trail Maps
Trails Illustrated
P.O. Box 4357, Evergreen

Forget the hassle of going to the U.S. Geological Survey for crinkly, outdated paper quad maps. Trails Illustrated was started eleven years ago to make outstanding maps for hikers, mountain bikers and other lovers of the outdoors. Cartographers here don't just sit at drafting tables--they spend hours in the wilderness, conferring with park rangers and checking every campground and trail. Best of all, the maps are printed on waterproof plastic, which satisfied customers swear works not just for finding their bearings, but for changing babies, fixing broken Jeep windows and making peanut butter sandwiches in the rain. Find these nine-buck beauties at EMS, REI and the Tattered Cover.

Best Place to Buy Liquor, Drugs and Exotic Toys
Joy Pharmacy
1302 E. 6th Ave.

While you wait for your prescription to be filled by the amiable, helpful pharmacist here, you can stock up on microbrews, wines and other spirits (often at an agreeable discount). But if you're too young to drink--or too sick--you can always peruse the crazy assortment of handcrafted and imported toys.

end of part 2