The ‘Little Hills’

Cerrillos means little hills and the small town along the turquoise trail lived up to its namesake. The town was a ghost down compared to the well known mining town of Madrid a little further south. Madrid was a bit touristy and gimmicky for my taste due to the recent obsession from the ‘Wild Hogs’ movie that was filmed there. It was overwhelming and busy, so I decided to pass. I did however feel a fondness for Cerrillos and Golden. 

Our first stop in Cerrillos was the quaint Catholic Church. We strolled through the shrine garden and took in some local art and interpretation of the typical saints that are usually in casted concrete. Between that and the soft white petals from trees in bloom whirring around us, it feel magical. 

The prayer candles were omitted from a lot of the statues and votives due to the high risk of wild fires in the area. 

Further down the road was a small, but unique general store and turquoise mining museum. 

Complete with a petting zoo of course. The chickens were very angry at us for not bringing food. 

We continued our adventure down the turquoise trails watching the mountains and views change until we made it into the pine covered Sandia mountain.