THE TURQUOISE TRAIL

The easiest and most direct route from Albuquerque to Santa Fe is I-25.  However, the most interesting, if longer and slower, route is State Highway 14, known as the Turquoise Trail, which is a two lane road that runs several miles east of I-25.  A friend recommended this route and it is the road we took to Santa Fe for the first part of our New Mexico trip.  The road passes through a couple of former mining towns that had become ghost towns after the mines played out but recently have seen some revival.  I thought I would post a few photos to document that first leg of our trip.

One of the towns is Madrid, which has seen a revival in funky shops, if nothing else.  We had lunch at the town's most notable eating and drinking establishment, the Mine Shaft Tavern, which had a little stage for entertainment and a more than interesting bar.

After lunch we did a little browsing in the town's shops, which featured some interesting doorways.

Further on toward Santa Fe, we visited another town, Cerrillos.  This town, which sits about a mile to the west of the highway, has not seen appreciable recovery yet.  Here are a few random shots from our drive through the town.

And then it was on to Santa Fe.

John