New Mexico

I just got back from a fabulous weekend in NM. I can't express how good it was to see Greg. It was wonderful to have a break from the humidity, loneliness and work. Most of all it was wonderful to see  and spend time with Greg.

On Friday Greg had to work so Jet came down and we went shopping. It was so fun to visit with her and have a relaxing day. After Greg got home from work he took me on a date up to Sandia Peak. We rode the tram up then had a picnic and watched the sun set. The views were beautiful and the weather at the top was refreshingly cool. When we got back from the tram ride we took a dip in the pool before we called it a night.

Saturday morning we headed to Greg's parents house to spend some time with his family. We mostly had a mellow day just relaxing at the house and visiting with everyone. We went swimming again and enjoyed a friendly game of water basketball where I even managed to score a couple points. 

Sunday was an eventful day in NM. It's a kind of long story so I'll pop it at the bottom of the post if you're interested in reading about it. Long story short there is a big fire raging near Greg's parents house so we had to leave for Albuquerque last Sunday night to make sure I didn't miss my flight Monday morning.

Now I'm back in VA and can't say I'm super excited about it. Living apart for the last month has been hard for both of us. I don't know how we're going make it through the next 6 weeks we have until we see each other again. After the 6 weeks we'll have a week together in CA then a couple more weeks apart while he starts school and I finish my time in CA. Neither of us knew what we were doing when we decided to have Greg take the internship in Albuquerque. I guess time will pass and it will be September and life as usual before we know it. What can we do besides press forward?

It all started at church Sunday morning. During sacrament meeting a letter from the stake was read asking for a stake fast next week for moisture. They haven't had rain in over a month and that means fires. Within a couple hours of church ending we could smell smoke and see the smoke filling the sky from a fire that started less than 20 miles from Greg's parents house. By the evening ash and burnt pine needles and leaves were falling from the sky. The fire was spreading quickly and by 8pm or so a voluntary evacuation was called. Based on stories from the last evacuation about 10 years ago Greg and I decided that we better leave for Albuquerque that night instead of waiting until the morning. My flight was around 9am and we didn't want to risk getting stuck in town. Although to be honest I did think about the chance that if we didn't leave we'd get stuck, miss my flight and I'd have to stay in NM for another day or so. Sadly, my responsible side won so we left town before a mass exodus could begin. As we were driving out we had to drive around the fire at a distance and it was very ominous. Seeing the smoke and flames again the dark sky was quite an eerie sight. The fire is still raging (43,000 acres burnt so far) and now the town right next to Greg's has been evacuated. When I talked to Greg he said his brother's family already left town and his parents were packing up so they'd be prepared when the evacuation for their town was called. Hopefully conditions improve and the fire can be contained before it reaches homes and the lab. Keep the residents of Northern New Mexico in your prayers. I can't imagine the stress and fear of having an unstoppable fire spreading towards your home.