The Best Walk

Many of the scenes from the recent movie “Wild Hogs” were filmed using Madrid, New Mexico as the backdrop. Madrid is a small community with a population of about three hundred - many of which are artists. While watching the movie I was reminded of a walk we took a few years ago. We traveled to New Mexico with another couple to see the International Balloon Festival in Albuquerque. The trip was suggested by a local ballooner who said that if all went well he might be able to give us a ride. After spending a couple of days watching the balloons depart and touring the fairgrounds, we decided to see what else New Mexico offered.

From Albuquerque Santa Fee is easy to get to via its easy to Route 25. We stayed for a couple of hours walking around the Santa Fee business area. Basically its a collection of shops and museums featuring a Southwestern theme. While there we learned that we could take the more scenic Route 14 back. We were told that this area is also known as the Turquoise Trail and is much more scenic.

Most of the ride back was indeed scenic with colorful rock formation and desert scenes. We soon arrived at Madrid. There is a small uptown area there with side streets leading you up several hills. And, as you might expect, it looks very Western. On one side of the street a diner caught our attention. It was about two in the afternoon and we had forgot about lunch. We went in and to our surprise a blue grass type group was getting ready to play. The music was enjoyable so we took time with lunch. The lead singers voice seemed far superior for this venue, but it made our experience that much better.

After lunch the shops caught the woman’s attention. The guys went for a walk. We took the first side street up to the hills and as with any hill, the higher we climbed the better the scenery. And, in this area of New Mexico the scenery was so much different than anything we had seen, that it was worth stopping a few times to understand what we were looking at.

Years ago Madrid was once a mining town, but once the mining stopped it became a ghost town. But in the early 1970’s, artists and craftspeople arrived. They converted old company stores and houses into quality shops and galleries and services. As a result, you can see still find an abandoned house or even an old piece of furniture out in the rocky hills.

For the most part we stayed along what seemed to be an unused road until the road stopped climbing. We then cut across a field to gain access to an open area which allowed us to continue our climb. We passed a sparse scattering of occupied and unoccupied. dwellings. From the top of the hill we could look down at Madrid. From there we found a dirt road which circled the hill and took us back to town’s center. Other than the unique scenery, this walk offered another benefit. The weather was perfect. It was a dry, slightly windy eighty degrees (F). And, the sun was out. It was a great walk and we debated about extending the walk, but knowing there was more to see ahead, we decided to find our spouses and see what the next stop offered.

Filed under: New Mexico on April 15th, 2007 | No Comments »