New Mexico's Turquoise Trail

New Mexico's Turquoise Trail

Explore three significant and historical town on the Turquoise Trail of New Mexico – Cerrillos, Madrid and Golden. Each offers a glimpse into the heady days when mining for gold, silver and other precious metals, as well as hard and soft coal, made this region wealthy. Today, each is virtually forgotten, although not officially ghost towns. Madrid is being resurrected as an artists’ colony; Cerrillos is still a little sleepy village;; Golden, with only 10 families, is but a blip on the map.

46 Comments

  1. Bonnie Silver on November 26, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    My family and I owned a one room chaco canyon style stone house in Cerrillos,NM in the 70s..We had no power or running water, we jerked beef and cooked on a one burner wood stove..It was a very interesting learning experience…

  2. Leo Chavez on November 26, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    One =100
    2= 1000
    X7
    X7
    X7

    U lost ur country golfing. Amazing. United States the bully of all bullies is now owned by 6 flags…..
    Those damn cowboys…..congrats u own United States….thank spm
    God bless

  3. Mike Paniora on November 26, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    a place to retire in hmm

  4. Arctic Gummibear on November 26, 2020 at 9:15 pm

    Well done video…your silence adds to the quietness of the region and is loneliness.

  5. Brenda Ortega on November 26, 2020 at 9:16 pm

    I think my great grandfather lived here, his name Hilario Branch.

  6. Chrispy D on November 26, 2020 at 9:17 pm

    Sra. Padilla,
    Mil gracias for all you do and your stories!

  7. pat goff on November 26, 2020 at 9:18 pm

    Thank you for taking us on vacation with you

  8. bcfbasil on November 26, 2020 at 9:21 pm

    We live not far from the Turquoise Trail and make the drive up to Madrid regularly. By the way, the town of Madrid is where a lot of the movie "Wild Hogs" was filmed. There is even a Wild Hogs cafe there now.

  9. Dave Silverman on November 26, 2020 at 9:22 pm

    Video didn’t mention the railroad museum and ampitheatre in Madrid or the Golden Inn in Golden, a well known road house where many well known musicians preformed and many other landmarks along N.M. 14 in the stretch between Tejeras Canyon (where I-40 and 14 intersect)and the village of Madrid. I lived in Madrid for a couple of years before the artists arrived in one of the old company houses when this place was a true ghost town. There were perhaps a dozen others there at the same time. That was in the middle of the 70’s. The feel of the place has completely changed. While it’s good to see Madrid lived in again it’s nothing like it is in my memories. Sad.

  10. Leo Chavez on November 26, 2020 at 9:26 pm

    #51 cow dance and alligator dance

  11. Juan Manuel Perez on November 26, 2020 at 9:29 pm

    These is Mexico 🇲🇽

  12. sss on November 26, 2020 at 9:29 pm

    gosh i can’t wait

  13. Bonnie Garber on November 26, 2020 at 9:30 pm

    This has been a wonderful video…thank you for sharing

  14. Ojo Felix NM on November 26, 2020 at 9:32 pm

    One of my favorite drives for the last sixty years. New Mexico is a beautiful state. Fall is the best time of the year.Wish I still lived there. Madrid looked like a real ghost town in the forties with most of the old mining company houses falling apart and the entire town in a state of advanced decrepitcy. If I recall correctly, the old stone coke ovens were still to be seen in Golden.The road from Golden to Cerrillos wasn’t paved until sometime in the late fifties. The road was New Mexico 10 until changed by the state to NM-14. Don’t really know why the state did that. Give yourself plenty of time if you plan to explore New Mexico. There is much to see and experience.

  15. Dale Kundtz on November 26, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    Thank you for the historic tour and education of an area of New Mexico. There is beauty in the state.

  16. Tawdry Galaxy on November 26, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    I lived in New Mexico my entire life

  17. Cynthia J Candelaria on November 26, 2020 at 9:37 pm

    Wortley Hotel…..can’t digest that name. They do not belong to the architecture of my lands!

  18. Cate Fitzmaurice-Torres on November 26, 2020 at 9:39 pm

    Don’t know if anyone remembers, but during the early 1970s the band, "The Family Lotus" played at the annual summer Cerrillos Fair which was a fund-raiser for the Turquoise Trail Fire Department (all volunteer). We played our music on Main Street where the dust sometimes swirled, the children played at the park, the home-made food was sold by local vendors and other bands like "Red Dirt" & "Last Mile Ramblers" filled the afternoon with good folk rock that made the dancers in the dirt street real happy.

  19. Leo Chavez on November 26, 2020 at 9:39 pm

    Lol……no digital or satellite television. No electric….NOW ITS Y2K
    Y
    2
    KIDS
    ANSWER…..I.DEES

    GO EAT LUNCH WITH RUDY AND OMAR BYE

  20. Tiger Alderman on November 26, 2020 at 9:40 pm

    I retired here in New Mexico 5 month ago, love it here, not sure i would wanna earning a living here though.

  21. Tta K on November 26, 2020 at 9:44 pm

    In regards to the comment, "one of the recent galleries to open in 2005" (ref: Chumani Gallery), is not true. The gallery opened in 1999.

  22. lillian padilla on November 26, 2020 at 9:48 pm

    I visit there often all of my ‘Dads family was born in the village of Los "Cerrillos, and my "Grandpa Juan worked in the mines, he is ‘buried in "Santa fe, ‘my grandmother is buried in arizona. my dads cousins and uncles alot of them worked in the madrid mines under ‘harsh conditions. back in old times.

  23. Tim Scoggins on November 26, 2020 at 9:51 pm

    great vids I would love to spend a lot of time checking out nm.

  24. Charles E. Terry on November 26, 2020 at 9:51 pm

    WW WH BEUTIFULSECERY

  25. Timothy Hurley on November 26, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    I have drove this part of villiage of Golden, Madrid and beautiful Cerrillos.
    That was back in 1971 we were ride old step van with my sister, my baby brother and my sister lover boy and we carry motorcycle inside stepvan from Sarasota,Fl..
    That was a long trip to get here in Madrid,Nm.
    It took us about 3 days trip from Sarasota,Fl. to Madrid,NM. non stop in 1971.

  26. Mr. Jetson on November 26, 2020 at 9:53 pm

    What about the Golden Inn ? That used to be THE place to party!!  I’m from Tijeras. Sure miss N.M. The vibe is not the same here in Maryland!   HOMESICK!!!!

  27. Greg Warner on November 26, 2020 at 9:53 pm

    That trip we flew to Albuquerque in April. As we arrived early we decided to drive up the east side of the Sandia ridge. Halfway up we were driving the rental on snow! We flew all that way fron New Hampshire to drive on snow. Great fun and no problem as we had been driving on the stuff for decades. Start of another great visit to New Mexico.

  28. Leo Chavez on November 26, 2020 at 9:54 pm

    Or clean ur yard

  29. Pontiac Soviro on November 26, 2020 at 9:54 pm

    That is a Beautiful ride.I know this area. Cerrillos and Madrid are Full of Old Hippies addicted to Meth AND they have Militias full of Psycho Trump supporters..Nothing is as it seams

  30. Darren on November 26, 2020 at 9:55 pm

    Cerillos not changed in 40 years

  31. Bonnie Garber on November 26, 2020 at 9:56 pm

    What!?🙆… No Dollar General?

  32. Justin Hadley on November 26, 2020 at 9:56 pm

    This is great. Thank you for sharing.

  33. Tim Scoggins on November 26, 2020 at 9:56 pm

    great vids I would love to spend a lot of time checking out nm.

  34. Leo Chavez on November 26, 2020 at 9:57 pm

    Grounded have fun with curfew no damn littering and no elbows on table. Sterilization….for all us land

  35. Edward Jones on November 26, 2020 at 9:59 pm

    Aptly named the land of enchantment!! In my past travels I love that state. Honestly think that Nov and Dec are ideal for visiting the northern parts of New Mexico, including Santa Fe and Taos and the native American pueblos there and statewide.The snow accented Adobe Structures can easily captivate any tourist!! Every place is unique there!!

  36. pat goff on November 26, 2020 at 9:59 pm

    It was an honor to go with you

  37. Sprouting Jugs on November 26, 2020 at 9:59 pm

    You should seriously consider changing the name of this video. I’d love to have the fifteen minutes I wasted watching this back but that’s not possible. I hope to save other people from the egregious error of viewing this.

  38. Leo Chavez on November 26, 2020 at 10:01 pm

    Father Terry ? Hello

  39. lobohoops on November 26, 2020 at 10:01 pm

    Love the 505

  40. sigwart on November 26, 2020 at 10:03 pm

    When I lived in albuquerque, I frequently headed up 14 to sandia peak dr
    to hike the east side of the sandia peak but I never went north up to Santa Fe.
    Until one day after some sales calls in the city different I decided to take the
    scenic and long way home back down this mysterious highway. I must say that
    this video doesn’t even come close to doing Madrid justice. It was busy when I
    drove thru it and it seemed like there was commerce everywhere. It totally looks like a town out of a novel. There is no other state in our nation mysterious, haunting and historically rich as new mexico. It’s a lonesome and hard place
    to make it but i’ll never regret the life enriching 4 years I lived there.

  41. iLikeTigerz101 on November 26, 2020 at 10:05 pm

    Suprised you didn’t find a hippie.

  42. Rusty Nail on November 26, 2020 at 10:06 pm

    A Very nice video. thanks.

  43. Greg Warner on November 26, 2020 at 10:07 pm

    You missed the Mineshaft Tavern. Great food in a fine bar. In Madrid.

  44. 49LivingtheDream/SVC on November 26, 2020 at 10:07 pm

    I lived in Albuquerque for about six years, and traveled to this area often. I took a visitor to Madrid and Golden, where we sat for church services. In my retirement, I hope to be able to visit many ghost town areas in our country, particularly in the west.

  45. Tom Marks on November 26, 2020 at 10:09 pm

    A wonderful video…. we are thinking of moving to New Mexico after our long stay in Arizona…. It is compelling how beautiful it is… thank you

  46. Kathy Peterson on November 26, 2020 at 10:11 pm

    As a New Mexican, I loved seeing all the places I have been. Was really surprised to see the Murphy/Dolan sign on the Wortley Hotel name on a building in Cerrillos! I didn’t know their business and influence went that far north during the Lincoln County War days.

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