Cerrillos

By contrast with Madrid [1], Cerrillos, once the source of turquoise that has been traced to Chaco Canyon, Spain, and Chichén Itzá [2] in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, hasn’t been gallerified like its neighbor down the road.

A trading post sells cow skulls, antique bottles, taxidermied jackalopes, and turquoise nuggets; an adjacent petting zoo has a llama and a sheep.

And there’s one bar, Mary’s, whose proprietress is into her 10th decade of life and has been running the place since 1977. The bar doesn’t look particularly open from the outside, but do stop in and have a beer and a chat with Mary Mora, who can tell some fine tales of putting unruly drunks in their place (including the cast of Young Guns which was filmed here).

You can go horseback riding through the canyon (Broken Saddle Riding Co., 505/424-7774, www.brokensaddle.com [3], $75 for two hours) and in Cerrillos Hills Historic Park (head north across the railroad tracks; www.cerrilloshills.org [4]), more than 1,000 acres of rolling hills and narrow canyons that are also good for mountain biking.

After ascending from the canyons around Cerrillos onto a high plateau (look out for antelope), you’re on the home stretch to Santa Fe [5]—but you’ll pass one more dining option, the
San Marcos Café (3877 Hwy. 14, 505/471-9298, 8 a.m.–2 p.m. Tues.–Sun., $10), which shares space with a working feed store where vain peacocks have replaced the usual farm chickens. Breakfast in the country-style dining room (a potbellied stove lurks in one corner) is especially delicious, with flaky cinnamon rolls, homemade chicken sausage, and a variety of fresh-tasting egg dishes.

From here, Highway 14 continues to become Cerrillos Road, the very slow and unscenic way into Santa Fe [5]; the more direct route is via I-25 to Old Santa Fe Trail. Keep an eye out for the highway on-ramp—signs point to Las Vegas.