Hi Pixie, When you posted about Little House on the Prairie I looked some things up and was planning to post but just haven't found the time! I'm glad you explained why you wanted to do the plains! At least now it makes sense! After you posted I looked up DeSmet on google Earth--to get the "lay of the land," and I think your daughter would be really disappointed with the "plains" we have out here compared to the terrain you'll find in eastern SD. The link I posted to a pic of "our" plains up above really is pretty accurate--there is simply nothing out there! If you do DeSmet I doubt that she'll actually be looking at "the land" very much when you do it, and she'll have all the Little House things, which is what she actually thinks of when she's reading the books. (Love it when kids are reading books!) So rather than taking her for a hot, dry, flat drive, and destroying her mental image of Little House, I now very definitely think you should skip the plains and enjoy the extra time in the hills! A couple things about the fishing if you're gonna stick that in. Wherever you do it you'll need a Colorado fishing license, so be sure you plan ahead for that so you're not disappointed. And if you do decide to go to the Poma Ranch near Pagosa Springs, you'd really need to stay there two nites to have time for fishing. Checkin is at 3:00, so that wouldn't leave much time on the day you arrive, and checkout is at 10:00, so there wouldn't be time on the day you were leaving. The Weminuche River that runs thru the ranch flows very gently and it could easily be fished wading or from the bank. Check out their Fishing page at the link below, and there's more fishing info on their FAQs page, including that they rent "basic" and "kids" fishing gear at the ranch. I don't really know anything about fishing so I'm not sure what all that would include, but if you're seriously considering it and have any questions, call the ranch and ask for Karen! Also, since the river flows gently--and is shallow (a "river" out here is not the same as a "river" in the midwest or east!) your daughter might enjoy wading around in it (probably with a pair of cotton tennis shoes or at least flip flops since the bottom will be "rocky")! But she probably wouldn't stay in too long since water in the mountains is COLD--it's melted snow--and the ranch is at 8,000'! Also, if you're seriously considering staying there, PM me and I'd be glad to send you some more pictures of the inside (and outside) of the Hideaway cabin! I've stayed there three times now so I have pics of the outsides of the other cabins too. This is a favorite pic! I couldn't help but smile the first time I drove in there and saw the Welcome Home sign! I immediately knew I was gonna love the place! (The sign is on the back side of the "bathhouse" building that has the "waterfall showers!") And before I got to the welcome home sign (on the small building on the right) I ran into this roadblock on the drive in! (If it looks gloomy, that's because it was raining on and off on the drive from Pagosa to the ranch the first year I stayed there! Then, right after I got there, the sun came out just in time for sunset!) This was a view heading out of Pagosa toward the ranch that year! The ranch is in them thar hills! I also highly recommend the "Cozy House" at Dolores for the Cortez part of your trip, and would be glad to send you a bunch of pics of that place too to help you decide if you're interested. One more thing since Zinnia brought up Dinosaur Ridge! Just a little further down the road, in Morrison, is a place called Tiny Town! Perhaps in lieu of Little House your daughter would like to see some "little houses"---and other buildings! I don't have time to live link these pages, but here's a copy/paste link to their site, and if you google for images of Tiny Town you'll come up with lots of pics of the buildings with people standing by them so you can get the scale. I haven't been out to this place since the late 70's when it was a run down (tiny) ghost town all overgrown with weeds, but it's been all spiffied up and is back in business, and this could be a real fun Kid Thing! You could plan your whole last day to do Red Rocks, the dinosaurs, and Tiny Town, and then head to the airport for your last nite's lodging! http://tinytownrailroad.com/ Out of time for tonite! I can't wait to find out what all you finally decide to do! Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: Fishing on the V. A. Poma Ranch!

Faron! So glad you saw this and responded. Pre Valspar bath paint( the glossy paint) was Valspar eggshell. The walls were prepped by washing with a TSP solution (my hubby did this step, he usually washes and rinses), then I primed it with some sort of primer that I had around the house. Said it was ok for drywall and for washed painted walls. The eggshell paint had those "runs" from moisture so we wanted to cover it with primer before painting, just to be safe. The Valspar Bath paint was put on the wall 8 days ago (last Sunday). Immediately I knew it was not going to work for me. (the color, the sheen, the combination of the two) So, when I found the 123 and it said I could use it on glossy surfaces, I thought this was going to be the stuff for me. Well, what do you think? What should I do? Ripping the drywall down isn't an option. I could never get it done before my dh returns from his trip this week. lol The 123 looked slightly glossy, it didn't really cover the Valspar thickly, like the Kilz always does. Is this ok? I"m thinking that this is why the dark color didn't really cover, it was being repelled by the glossy surface. arghhhh Thanks so much for your help. Maybe I should go ahead and rip the drywall down... -Bee

I would love to see it! I love paint, it is such an amazing substance and I love to see color glide on objects and my house. It's viceral, somehow, and organic to humans to decorate their space. Please, please let us see your paint space! Katie

Faron  Are you Scroogey?! I think I take after my Grandma, she goes all out and gets really excited for holidays. My Mom used to when we were younger but sheÂs "cleaning out" and hardly puts anything up anymore. I tell her sheÂs scroogey. Ha she doesnÂt like it much! This is my first Thanksgiving, Christmas..all the holidays in my own house and I donÂt really have anything so it appears that IÂm going overboard. Ahh man! The high hiding white is grayish/brownish!?? Then I want nothing to do with that paint. Ultra white sounded so BRIGHT. Serves me right for asking the nice guy who didnÂt appear to know too much. Can I exchange that? IÂd imagine it would be fine. That really bites that IÂm going to have to drive back over there. ItÂs almost an hour drive from my house. I could go after work I suppose, but I need to prep Monday. Grr. Thank you for the heads up though because I wouldnÂt have looked and I would have been repainting. When you say for ceilings the "wall white" is fine are you talking about the base (remember I know nothing about paint) because I had them mix the Light Navajo for the ceiling. I will post before and afters. IÂm sure IÂll be in paint shock when I get home Tuesday. Hopefully not too bad.