Cowgirl Rouge

Because of the color red, this sign in Madrid, NM,  reminded me of two bloggers to whom I wish to dedicate this post today.  This may not be Paris, Vj and Genie, but I suspect you'd have a lot of fun in this former mining town!

Signs in Madrid, NM

Madrid, NM was once a thriving mining town. Arriving in town after traveling The Turquoise Trail on Hwy 14 from Santa Fe, you can see remnants of the past.  Many of the old buildings have been converted to galleries, restaurants and shops.  The atmosphere is relaxed and casual, as you can see from some the signs I photographed. The sign at the top has been hanging in the Mine Shaft Tavern for years and always makes me laugh, and the idea of  Madrid always makes me smile! (Pronounce Mad-rid)

Madrid on The Turquoise Trail

Because it's still the winter season, this is one of the few open shops in Madrid on the Turquoise Trail.  It's much busier in the summer when the  town is a draw for the tourists. Madrid (pronounced Mah-drid) and the neighboring village of Cerrillos, not far from Santa Fe,  were in a fabled turqoise-mining area dating back to prehistory. Gold and silver mines followed, and when they faltered, there was coal.  The Turquoise Trail towns supplied fuel for the locomotives of the Santa Fe railroad until the 1950's when the railroad converted to diesel fuel. Madrid used to produce 100,000 tons of coal a year but the mine closed in 1956.  Today this is a real funky town of craftspeople and artists, shops and import stores and ramshackle houses.  I've been told that it was a haven for hippies in the 60's, and by the looks of it, I wonder if any of them left?!