Welcome to Colfax Avenue.

For some, Colfax needs no introduction. For others it does. For all of us, this street has everything to do with what's right & what's wrong with this country. Colfax has old & new — but most of it old — and much of that attaining a special status: some is historic, some of it sleazy, all of it unique.

For better or worse, Colfax is still all about Denver. I-70 has taken away the interstate traffic so some of the once-proud motor inns are now renting out by the hour.

Further west on Colfax: the Denver Zoo district & the Colorado State Capitol. Every person in America relies on the US Mint, also on Colfax, churning out 50 million coins a day. These are future stops for Ace & Friends — stay tuned.

All along Colfax: great diners, ethnic neighborhoods, time warps of all sorts ... over 30 miles of good stuff from DIA to Golden.

We'll do Colfax in sections. We begin on the east side. Most of this Colfax is in Aurora. This is also the grittiest Colfax. Here you'll find abandoned buildings & the occasional hooker. Also the area's best thrift stores ... and lots of specialty stores. Among the places we visited:

	Angel's Braiding Salon is easy to find because her shop is in a still-turning wind mill. Angel's braids start at about $50 and can creep up to the low hundreds. Angel on her braiding services — and whether Ace qualifies.

Down the street a few blocks, we visited a Mexican bakery. So you say, you haven't tried Mexican pastries? They'll take a little getting used to. Mexican flour is heavier — nothing like the airy stuff at Krispy Kreme. The proprietor on the bakery's unique goods.

	Next stop: Hub Cap Annie's. There is no "Annie." She long ago sold the business to Jane Withers. There ARE plenty of hub caps, though. When we dropped by, Jane was out ... but we did talk to Paul: The immense stock at Hub Cap Annie's.