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.

49 Comments

  1. Arctic Gummibear on January 25, 2021 at 5:12 am

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

  2. Kathy Peterson on January 25, 2021 at 5:13 am

    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.

  3. Ojo Felix NM on January 25, 2021 at 5:16 am

    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.

  4. Charles E. Terry on January 25, 2021 at 5:16 am

    WW WH BEUTIFULSECERY

  5. Cate Fitzmaurice-Torres on January 25, 2021 at 5:16 am

    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.

  6. Darren on January 25, 2021 at 5:18 am

    Cerillos not changed in 40 years

  7. Cynthia J Candelaria on January 25, 2021 at 5:18 am

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

  8. Leo Chavez on January 25, 2021 at 5:20 am

    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

  9. sss on January 25, 2021 at 5:21 am

    gosh i can’t wait

  10. Pontiac Soviro on January 25, 2021 at 5:21 am

    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

  11. Maria Wolski on January 25, 2021 at 5:25 am

    Ja tez tam byłam,ale dużo wcześniej od ciebie…….Więcej takich filmików..

  12. Clyde Peppin on January 25, 2021 at 5:25 am

    I remember my Dad telling me Madrid used to go all out decorating for Christmas. So much that Frontier pilots would sometimes veer a bit to fly over Madrid in December.

  13. Dale Kundtz on January 25, 2021 at 5:26 am

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

  14. Leo Chavez on January 25, 2021 at 5:26 am

    #51 cow dance and alligator dance

  15. Greg Warner on January 25, 2021 at 5:27 am

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

  16. Dave Silverman on January 25, 2021 at 5:29 am

    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.

  17. Tawdry Galaxy on January 25, 2021 at 5:31 am

    I lived in New Mexico my entire life

  18. Brenda Ortega on January 25, 2021 at 5:33 am

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

  19. Leo Chavez on January 25, 2021 at 5:34 am

    Father Terry ? Hello

  20. 49LivingtheDream on January 25, 2021 at 5:34 am

    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.

  21. Tom Marks on January 25, 2021 at 5:34 am

    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

  22. Chrispy D on January 25, 2021 at 5:37 am

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

  23. Tta K on January 25, 2021 at 5:39 am

    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.

  24. Leo Chavez on January 25, 2021 at 5:40 am

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

  25. sigwart on January 25, 2021 at 5:41 am

    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.

  26. Edward Jones on January 25, 2021 at 5:43 am

    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!!

  27. Bonnie Garber on January 25, 2021 at 5:45 am

    This has been a wonderful video…thank you for sharing

  28. Justin Hadley on January 25, 2021 at 5:45 am

    This is great. Thank you for sharing.

  29. pat goff on January 25, 2021 at 5:46 am

    Thank you for taking us on vacation with you

  30. Ben Gomez on January 25, 2021 at 5:46 am

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  31. Juan Manuel Perez on January 25, 2021 at 5:50 am

    These is Mexico 🇲🇽

  32. Tiger Alderman on January 25, 2021 at 5:51 am

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

  33. Mr. Jetson on January 25, 2021 at 5:53 am

    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!!!!

  34. Leo Chavez on January 25, 2021 at 5:54 am

    Or clean ur yard

  35. Timothy Hurley on January 25, 2021 at 5:54 am

    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.

  36. Greg Warner on January 25, 2021 at 5:56 am

    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.

  37. Sprouting Jugs on January 25, 2021 at 5:56 am

    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. Tim Scoggins on January 25, 2021 at 5:57 am

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

  39. lillian padilla on January 25, 2021 at 5:57 am

    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.

  40. Bonnie Garber on January 25, 2021 at 5:59 am

    What!?🙆… No Dollar General?

  41. lobohoops on January 25, 2021 at 6:01 am

    Love the 505

  42. Bonnie Silver on January 25, 2021 at 6:04 am

    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…

  43. bcfbasil on January 25, 2021 at 6:05 am

    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.

  44. Tim Scoggins on January 25, 2021 at 6:07 am

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

  45. Mike Paniora on January 25, 2021 at 6:07 am

    a place to retire in hmm

  46. pat goff on January 25, 2021 at 6:08 am

    It was an honor to go with you

  47. Rusty Nail on January 25, 2021 at 6:09 am

    A Very nice video. thanks.

  48. Leo Chavez on January 25, 2021 at 6:12 am

    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

  49. iLikeTigerz101 on January 25, 2021 at 6:12 am

    Suprised you didn’t find a hippie.

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