A visit from my family.

As I hinted in my last blog, my whole family came down for a visit last week. None of them had ever seen the Southwest before, or had even seen a desert until now (just like me before I moved here). They drove the whole way down, stopping at a couple of places along the way including Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they went whitewater kayaking. 

Ghost town!

Finally, on the afternoon of July 2, they arrived in our city. I met them for a visit to the Border Patrol Museum first. The museum was pretty interesting. I'll admit that I hardly knew anything about the Border Patrol, and what I did know I wasn't too thrilled about because of the way immigrants have been treated in our country. However, I discovered that the Border Patrol does more than apprehend immigrants--it often comes to the rescue of people facing death in the harsh desert. I also had no idea what a dangerous job working in the Border Patrol actually was. As I leafed through hundreds of names and photographs of Border Patrol people who had died in the line of duty, I came to appreciate the fact that you never hear about these men and women who are killed trying to rescue others in the desert. Although I may not agree with some of the INS's policies, I can appreciate the sacrifices these men and women make to keep people safe.

Parents at Old Mesilla :)

After the museum I took my family to our apartment to show them around. Of course there wasn't much to see, but they were still impressed. It made me happy to know that my parents were very pleased with where their married daughter is living now. After listening to them relive their kayaking experience (which sounds hilarious), I went to class and they met AJ for a tour of the scenic drive and dinner.

On Wednesday we got up bright and early for a drive to Hueco Tanks State Park. Hueco Tanks is kind of like an oasis in the desert, where you can actually find standing water and lots of plants. As a result, the site has become a refuge and sacred site for local Native American tribes. We went on a guided tour that included climbing over rocks, learning about local plants, and seeing lots of rock art left by different tribes over the past few hundred years. Our tour guide was great, and we learned so much about the local culture. My family agreed that they would have spent the entire day there if they could!

After that my parents dropped me off so that I could prepare a presentation and get to class. AJ took them out for a relaxing dinner, showed them the border, and that was the end of the evening. Finally, AJ and I both had the Fourth of July off to spend with my family. We drove out to the middle of nowhere New Mexico to see a real ghost town. And when I say middle of nowhere, I'm so not kidding. If you think Illinois is rural, you haven't seen the Southwest!

The ghost town was actually very interesting and worth the long drive. We got to learn all about the town and see the place exactly as it was left. Once we finished we drove to Old Mesilla, New Mexico to browse the historic buildings and shops. My dad bought me a Navajo sand painting, which has yet to find a special place in our home. That night AJ and I treated everyone to a steak dinner and we went to check out the laser light show on post, which was actually pretty lame :( Still a great day though.

Brother and sister.

On Friday morning we took everyone on a tour of post and stopped by the museum to do...what else? Take pictures with tanks. ;) We finished our time together by eating at Taco Tote, a fast food restaurant that has migrated over from Juarez, Mexico. It was really sad to say goodbye after lunch. I keep holding on to hope that maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to come home for Christmas. But of course when you're in the Army you just never know!

The men in front of a tank of course.

Army folks.