The Sun Bowl and New Mexico.

On Monday AJ and I went to the Sun Bowl, as he'd been given two free tickets from the Army. He wasn't sure if I'd want to go because I'm not into football, but I had been wishing we'd attended more Illinois games so I was pretty excited about going. We got to the game a little late because parking is just plain crazy there--there are no signs for where to go and you need a UTEP permit to get even remotely close to the stadium. We made it, though. While at the game we enjoyed some nachos and funnel cake, along with a halftime show where both USC and Georgia Tech performed. We left not too long after halftime because it was not a sunny Sun Bowl! It was an unusually chilly day for El Paso.

We had a tough time finding something to do on Tuesday, as it was a federal holiday and all the museums are closed. I suggested we check out Las Cruces, a decently large city in New Mexico mentioned by the Army couple we had lunch with. Eventually we ended up deciding to visit Historic Old Mesilla, a quaint historic town with some fun shops and restaurants to visit. We enjoyed a peaceful walk around the area, where the buildings are all original. We found an old, authentic New Mexican restaurant for lunch, which was really fun. I definitely felt like we got to sample the local culture there.

Once we finished at Mesilla it was a lengthy drive to our next stop, White Sands National Monument. White Sands is located near the White Sands Missile Range, so on the drive out there you see nothing but mountains and desert foliage. We had to go through a border control checkpoint, which was a first for me! We didn't know exactly what to do, but thankfully the officer didn't think we looked suspicious.

White Sands National Monument is a vast area of gypsum sand dunes in the middle of the desert. Basically, it has formed from gypsum that erodes off the surrounding mountains and washes into the basin when it rains. It's definitely a place unlike anything else you've ever seen--in fact, it's by far the largest gypsum desert in the world. After driving in the middle of nowhere for what seemed like too long, we arrived. Luckily for us, the whole excursion was free because we're active duty military. You drive through the path made in the desert, and there are plenty of places to stop and explore along the way. It's incredible to be in such a quiet, peaceful place surrounded by mountains and endless white sand dunes. Although we didn't have time to do a ton of exploring, we loved visiting such a unique, breathtaking place together.

Our evening was pretty uneventful, as it was our last night together until mid-May. I don't think it's registered in my mind that I won't see AJ for nearly five months, but maybe that's a good thing. I'll miss him terribly, but we're so thankful that this is the last leg of our journey apart at this point. As long as I know where he is and that he is safe, I'll be fine.