Hi I'm in Palm Beach county the northern limit of 10. greenhouser Afaid so lol. The only frost proof place is Key West. Doesn't do it every year and have only experienced one hard freeze .27 for four hours though it got to 22 by the lake. We once had a snow, 77/78 as I recall. What a sight that was lol. Has never done it again . Since I'm so close to the gulf stream I'm usually about 5/ 8 degrees above the inland parts of the county Last year the low was 37 while 42 the year before. Cold fronts usually last 3 days with each night progessively warmer. The coldest daytime I remember was 53. It's kind of interesting as in order to frost the cold air must come straight down the peninsula and it must be dead calm. and perfectly clear. Other wise the warm ocean raises the temps.as well as cloud cover prevents radiation. So the next day is always brilliant sunshine with an incredible rise in ground temps while the air can stay cool. My first attempt at heating the GH was using sheet plastic. Worked beautifully during the night with a low of 30. I went to work before dawn and was so thrilled the GH was toasty 60 lol When I came home it was 140 degrees inside while outside was 62 lol. I lost everything lol. My new system will work !! gary

ponder is absolutely correct. It's about the LRV, Light Reflectance Value of a color. How much light (which is energy) a color absorbs and how much it reflects. If you paint vinyl siding with a color that has too low of an LRV, that absorbs too much light and energy and thus retains too much heat, the siding will warp and get wavy. Paint the siding a color that is similar in value or lighter and you have nothing to worry about as long a proper prep is done and quality product is used. Sherwin Williams is a good source for a specific palette that is suitable for all colors of vinyl siding. Also, a lot of the new non-wood exterior architectural elements that are now available are kind of, well, cheap and can not with stand a color like dark green, navy blue or black. Often, the minimum LRV is listed in the warranty for these products and that's something you want to comply with. This is not something that many people are aware of - professional nor homeowner. A few years down the road when a product starts to look crappy it's often blamed on overall quality. Quality may indeed be an issue, but painting it a darker color than it was manufactured to withstand likely initiated the product's failure. Here is a link that might be useful: LRV

That photo of Tent Rocks is incredibly gorgeous. I read more about the national monument yesterday and definitely want to see it. Sable, thank you so very much for the very helpful suggestions! I hope you and your DH will be planning a return yourselves very soon. You're bringing back some memories to me now, as I do recall how beautiful the drive is into Los Alamos. I also remember how gorgeous the golden cottonwoods are in the fall. (And the rustling of the leaves! Is there a better sound than rustling, whispering cottonwood leaves? I think not.) We're going to have to rent The Milagro Beanfield War again. I know we've seen it before, but it's been a long time! I think I do remember going through Truchas at some point on a previous trip, but it's been so long since I've been out to New Mexico (and I do have "CRS Disease" - y'know, "Can't Remember Sh*t" - ) that I'm thinking much of it will feel new to me again after all this time. This itinerary is still very much a work in progress, but here's what I have so far. Would definitely like to ensure that we make the best use of our time by combining a couple of different sights per day if possible - still being mindful of the "don't overwhelm him" mantra I keep repeating in my head re DH. ;-) Day 1: Arrive late afternoon Day 2: Spend the day in Santa Fe (buy groceries for condo!) Day 3: Petroglyph National Monument Day 4: Taos: Take the high road up and make stops along the way TBD; visit pueblo (call ahead to ascertain opening hours), drive out over Rio Grande Gorge Bridge; drive back down 285 thru Ojo Caliente - possible stop at mineral springs there Day 5: Jemez Springs? Still undecided. Pretty drive, but if we do Ojo Caliente on Day 4, we won't do the mineral springs in Jemez. Could just take the drive and detour at some of the other pueblos going and returning, maybe plan to have lunch in Jemez. ETA: Would also be interested in a visit/trek to Jemez Falls and possibly exploring other trails in the area. Day 6: Los Alamos / Bandelier. We'll spend most of the day hiking in the monument. Day 7: Spend another day in Santa Fe - maybe. Might look into a half day trip in the morning, then spend the afternoon in SF and have dinner out there that evening Day 8: Tent Rocks National Monument Day 9: Head home Any recommendations/suggestions on this tentative schedule?

@sharron08: yes, Pella was definitely cheaper than Marvin because they also offered the installation at a discount. If you buy from Marvin, you will need to find your own installer, and that was a deal breaker for us since finding competent professionals around here is kind of difficult. And our builder didn't seem familiar with Marvin, probably because they don't have a strong presence here. I would recommend that you get some additional quotes from different window brands. In Albuquerque there not many, unfortunately, this is why Pella dominates the market. You can still get quotes from Marvin and Kolbe, who have dealers in Santa Fe. Pacific Mutual Door and Windows in Albuquerque is supposed to sell Marvin and Milgard, but we were unsuccessful in getting a quote from them.