For those travelers touring New Mexico's Turquoise Trail, Madrid will surely be high on the list of "must-see" locations. Even if art galleries and coffee shops aren't your thang, most people like food and the Mine Shaft Tavern has the best burgers around.   
​     Personally, I have no interest in being where the tourists are but there is another secret destination that makes Madrid worthwhile.

     New Mexico's capital city, Santa Fe, is world famous for it's rich history, museum quality art, and signature "Santa Fe style". Visitors flock to the City Different to buy legit Native American jewelry, don their best "Southwest" outfit and pursue enlightenment while navigating impossibly narrow roads in the reluctant metropolis that relies on tourism but rejects the concept of city planning.
     Any visitor worth their salt will plan to see the Loretto Chapel, San Miguel Mission, The Palace Of The Governors, La Fonda Hotel, Georgia O'Keefe Museum, and all the art galleries on Canyon Road just to get warmed up.
     As for myself, I like to seek out the places where the tourists are not. Places that don't sell Kokopelli incense burners or Pendleton blankets and where nothing is adorned with a howling coyote. 

     Back in April, my mom and I made a return trip to Cerrillos and I got some shots that I wasn't able to get the first time. For example, I really wanted to get some photos of the Antonio Simoni building (see above) but on my previous visit there were cars parked out front, ruining the old and haunted vibe that I wanted to show. But on this trip, no cars and a nice little breeze to blow that New Mexico state flag out at the exact perfect angle. Sometimes I get lucky!
     To see the photos from my first post about Cerrillos, including Mary's Bar and other iconic locations, click here. 

     An easily overlooked stop on the Turquoise Trail road trip, Cerrillos is literally a living ghost town. At least six or seven people still live here and they even put up historical markers providing interesting information on the town's ancient buildings. 

     The last time I photographed this abandoned house in Golden, NM was about ten years ago. In fact, my profile picture for this blog (the one with the guitar) is from that trip and was shot right there on the front porch.