For a scenic trip take the North 14 exit off I 40 to drive the Turquoise Trail to Santa Fe which is only 52 miles. The Turquoise Trail and Historic Route 66 intersect a few hundred feet west of the Tijeras Village Hall. Both roads have received Federal Highway fame that named then National Scenic Byways and they became the country's first 2 national byways to intersect! Heading North from Tijeras, the Turquoise Trail winds thru the vilage of San Antoio and Cedar Crest. Signs will lead you to the Museum of Archaelology and Maeial Culture, some of the exhibits include a 12,000 year time line of North America's earliest inhabitants up through the 1890's. Along the way to Santa Fe you will find three revived ghost towns: Golden, Cerillos and Madrid. Located just north of Cedar Crest and Sandia Park and just past the comunities of Paako, San Pedro Creek, and the award winning Paa-ko Ridge Golf Course is Golden where the first gold rush west of the Mississippi took place. Next on the Trail is Madrid, which once was a coal mining town and is now a haven for artists and craftspeople. Last but not least you will find Cerrillos. Cerillos once had 21 saloons with only four hotels; can we say Wild, Wild West? It was populated with miners who worked the hills for gold, silver, lead, zinc and turquoise. Several hundred years before the Spanish used Indian slaves to mine the gold. It was very brutal and unforgiving; bones of the less fortunate Indians could still be found in the mining pits!
For a slight diversion, you can take the Sandia Crest Road just after Cedar Crest where you will climb to 10,678 feet and be able to see an extinct volcano to the west! At this breathtaking height you can look down at Albuquerque and perhaps catch a few hanggliders jumping off for the ride of their life! Just down from the crest at 8,609 feet is the Sandia Ski Area. Open for both skiing and also biking in the summer.
