Turquoise Trail

One of only 96 "Scenic Byways" in the United States, the Turquoise Trail is also known as Highway 14. This scenic and historic area encompasses 15,000 square miles of largely unspoiled ancient landscape. The trail begins in the Village of Tijeras and travels all the way to Santa Fe.

Village of Tijeras

Tijeras is Spanish for scissors, named the intersection of the Sandia and Manzano mountain ranges. It is the southern gateway of the Turquoise Trail. Here you will find a ranger station and the site of the Tijeras Pueblo ruin. Today the pueblo is a grass-covered mound where once stood a 200-room pueblo. Talking Talons Leadership Center and Living Conservation Museum is also located in Tijeras.

Cedar Crest

Shops and eateries dot the Turquoise Trail through Cedar Crest. Cedar Crest is also home to the Museum of Archeology and Material Culture, which explores the story of North America's earliest inhabitants.

Tinkertown Museum

Tinkertown is a privately owned and operated business that showcases contemporary miniatures, mechanical shows, and over 600 hand-carved wooden people. It is open seasonally and there is a small admission fee. Tinkertown began as the 40 year hobby and passion of the late artist Ross J. Ward. Today it delights with its animated miniature Old West Town and circus relics. Tinkertown is located near the base of the mountain on the SR 536 (Sandia Crest Road).

http://www.tinkertown.com/

Sandia Cave/Sandia Man

If you take the road to Placitas off of SR 536, you will find the Sandia Man Cave. This is a Historic Landmark and significant paleo-american site. The cave was originally discovered by boy scouts in the 1930s.

Golden

A major western gold rush occurred here in 1822, years before the California Gold Rush. Gold was found in the Ortiz Mountains. That is how the town of Golden got its name. Unlike some other "ghost towns" that are being awakened by artists and craftsmen, Golden is still sleeping, awaiting the day when it once again is brimming with life and activity. There are traces of two pueblos in the area dating back to 1300. The San Francisco Catholic Church, built in 1830, is one of the most photographed buildings along the Turquoise Trail. The ruins of the town's stone schoolhouse lie to the west of the church.

Waldo

Where's Waldo? Waldo is a ghost town that can be accessed off the Turquoise Trail by taking County Road 57 over Devil's Throne. Waldo was founded when the Santa Fe Railroad formed a route to Madrid.

Madrid

In 1954 the entire town of Madrid was listed for sale in the Wall Street Journal for $250,000. Once a bustling mining town that supplied coal to the US Government, Madrid first became famous for its Christmas Light Displays. Electricity was provided to the town for free, so residents lit up the town at Christmas. This light display is rumored to have been the inspiration for Disneyland. TWA is said to have diverted nighttime flights over Madrid to allow passengers to see the spectacle.

The abundant electricity also led to the first illuminated baseball park west of the Mississippi.

Then the coal industry died and so did the town. This ghost town began to revive in the 1960s and 1970s when artists began to buy up the Victorian and clapboard housing. The old company housing is now brightly painted and festive. Shops and galleries abound. There has even been a revival of the Christmas lighting display.

The Mineshaft Tavern is a favorite stop here. Fascinating photos of old time Madrid grace the walls of the village pub. The pine and oak bar is said to be the longest bar in the state of New Mexico.

Summer affords the opportunity to view "The Great American Melodrama". The town's old engine house has been converted into a live theater which offers old-fashioned "hiss the villain" melodrama.

Cerrillos

Cerrillos is an old turquoise mining town that once had 4 hotels and 21 saloons. It was even in the running to be the capital of New Mexico. Turquoise mined in the Cerrillos area has been found in archeological sites as far away as Central America and Canada.

Wildlife West Nature Park

Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood is a wildlife refuge and enhanced zoo. It features native New Mexico plants and animals. All the animals and birds in the enhanced zoo are non-releasable. The park is the premier educational project of the New Mexico Wildlife Association, a 501 c-3 not for profit corporation. It is staffed by volunteers and members of the New Mexico Youth Conservation Corps.

http://www.wildlifewest.org/

Paa-Ko Ridge Golf Club

1 Club House Drive

Sandia Park, NM 87047

(505)281-6000

Golf Digest places Paa-Ko among the 20 Greatest Public Courses in America, and the #1 Golf Course in New Mexico. Paa-Ko Ridge in Sandia Park is an 18 hole privately owned public golf course designed by award-winning architect, Ken Dye, with an additional 9 holes currently under construction. The course is situated on the east side of the Sandia Mountains, at elevations ranging from 6,500 to 7,000 feet. Surrounded by the mountainous terrain and vegetation of the New Mexican high desert, the layout of the course features landing areas and greens separated by arroyos, native vegetation, and rock outcroppings. Each hole in the upscale course has five sets of tees allowing play from 5,702 to 7,562 yards, and many of the holes play downhill through ponderosa, pinon and juniper.

http://www.paakoridge.com/

Single Action Shooting Society

Get out your dungarees, boots and cowboy hats! The East Mountains is home to Founders Ranch, a 480 acre paradise operated by SASS, the Single Action Shooting Society. SASS is an international organization created to preserve and promote the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting™. Touted as "The closest you'll get to the Old West short of a time machine", SASS events provide great family fun. In addition to various shooting events held throughout the year at Founders Ranch, End of Trail, the World Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting is held annually at the Ranch. This event attracts competitors and visitors from around the globe. Great food, live music, stage coach rides, cowboy cooking contests, and over 100 booths with merchandise and collectibles make this a bang-up good time. Competitors are required to dress in Old West costumes and have adopted suitable monikers. So come on down and say hello to Wyatt Earp, Happy Jack, and Scar Legs Ray. You're guaranteed a fine time in the Old West.

http://www.sassnet.com/

East Mountain Farmers Market
This local farmers market is held all summer long in Cedar Crest next to Bank of the West on the Turquoise Trail from 3 to 7 pm on Wednesdays, and Edgewood on the east side of the Dairy Queen from 3 to 7 pm on Mondays.

Locally grown tomatoes, greens, goat cheese, fresh herbs, green beans, honey, summer squash and freshly baked bread are all regular fare at the market.

Triangle Grocery Wine Tasting and Sampling
Triangle Grocery on the Turquoise Trail holds a wine tasting and sampling every Thursday from 4 to 7 pm.

East Mountain Artists Series
Founded by renowned concert pianist Monique Le Duc, with the mission of bringing outstanding classical music to the East Mountain community, EMSA holds concerts Sundays at the Mountainside United Methodist church. Each season runs September through May.

Sandia Mountain

Activities on the mountain include sightseeing, picnics, hiking, skiing – downhill and cross country, mountain biking and sledding.

A National Scenic Byway travels13.6 miles up State Road 536 from the junction of Highway 14, the Turquoise Trail, to the 10,678–foot crest of Sandia Mountain.

You will notice a change in the flora and fauna as you ascend the mountain. Every 1,000-foot increase in elevation is similar to traveling 500 miles north. The vegetative zones you see on this short trip is the same as those you would see on a trip to Hudson Bay, Canada.

The temperature at the crest could be as much as 20 degrees cooler than in Albuquerque, so dress appropriately. Bring a coat or jacket, sunscreen, hat, appropriate footwear including hiking boots if you plan to hike. A camera and binoculars will also come in handy. There is a snack and gift shop at the Crest and food service at the ski area, however it would be prudent to bring bottled water and light snacks. You will be ascending to a much higher altitude, so you may find you are short of breath and physical activity will take more energy. Go easy, drink lots of water, and give your body a chance to become acclimated to this environment. The road is winding and slick when wet or icy. Travel trailers and recreational vehicles are not recommended past Doc Long Picnic Ground.

Picnic grounds and trails abound throughout the Cibola National Forest all the way up to the crest. You will notice dark reddish brown rocks and rock formations. These are sandstones and the red color is due to high iron oxide content. The dark gray layered rocks were formed 300 million years ago when most of New Mexico was under a vast sea. The limestone was formed in deep water and the shale in shallow water.

At the Dry Camp Picnic Grounds, if you look through the trees, you may see the entrance to an old abandoned mine. Just above this area is the Sandia Peak Ski Area. The length of the ski season will vary, but one of the chair lifts is operated in the summer to take mountain bicyclists and sightseers to the Peak. High Finance a restaurant and bar with a view of Albuquerque is located at the Peak.

The Capulin Spring Picnic Ground and Snow Play Area offers a safe sledding environment for sledding and family fun. There are plans for a concession service that would rent inner tubes, cross country skis, and sell hot drinks and snacks.

Nine Mile Picnic Ground is knows as "Raspberry Heaven". Home to a myriad of wild raspberry bushes that birds and people enjoy. Stellar jays, Clark's nutcracker, flickers, chickadees, nuthatches, and Audubon's warblers delight birdwatchers at the Nine Mile Picnic Ground.

The 10K Crossing is home to plant life that must survive in the wettest, windiest, coldest climates on earth. Fairy slipper and coral root orchids may be found here.

At 10,540 feet, you will find a large power line stretching across the highway. The poles that support this line were specially designed for the use of the majestic birds of prey that inhabit this area.

At 10,678 feet, you will have reached Sandia Crest. A short hike to the observation deck will afford you a 360-degree view of Albuquerque, the Rio Grande, Mt. Taylor in the distance, and the East Mountains and Estancia Valley. Looking off to the west, just past the city limits of Albuquerque, you will see several extinct volcanoes, known as the Five Sleeping Sisters.

You will have noticed that the west side of the mountain is very steep and rocky, whereas the east side of tree filled and has more of a gentle slope. This is because the mountain was creating by a large block of earth tipping up sideways, while the Rio Grande Valley sunk downward. This is part of the Rio Grande Rift Zone.

NEW MEXICO...VISIT FOR A LIFETIME