| Time to drive back to Albuquerque for
the flight out the next morning, but along the way there were a
couple of towns I wanted to see. The first was Cerrillos where there
was some kind of art festival going on at the time. I just wanted to
look at the old buildings. This was once (and currently is) a saloon, but by 1902 the building on the left of it sold clothes and dry goods and the one on the right was a general store. |
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| By 1893, Charles Lyon operated a restaurant and the post office on this site, which later was used as a stationery & book store and an ice cream parlor. This current structure was built in 1918 as a general store. It became a bar in 1936. |
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| This building, built before 1893, was first a saloon, but later also the Cerrillos Mercantile Co., Monte Carlo Bar, Mitchell's Antiques and briefly the Cerrillos Rustler newspaper. It's the Black Bird Saloon now. They must do a lot of drinking in this tiny town of 1.4 square miles and just over 200 people. |
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| St. Joseph's Church, built 1922. After all of that hard drinking on Saturday night, I wonder how many hung-over parishioners ended up here the next morning. |
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| The Berardinelli House, circa 1886, served as a residence with an attached saloon. The many uses of the saloon section included as a dance hall, undertaker's parlor, grocery store and movie theatre. It is now a private residence. |
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| Not all of the buildings have been restored. This was Doc Richard's Drug Store, built in 1890 after the previous wooden structure burned down. During Prohibition it was used as (you guessed it) a saloon. |
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| It was still cloudy with some spotty light rain showers. |
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| Just down the road from Cerrillos is the town of Madrid. Both Cerrillos and Madrid are listed as ghost towns, but they aren't really. Madrid is an artists community with many of the old buildings lining the street now housing shops and galleries. |
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| Lots of people were parked along New Mexico SR 14 to visit the establishments. |
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| Not all of the buildings are restored. |
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| There were also a lot of bikers in town, particularly down at the Mine Shaft Tavern, which is next door to the Coal Mine Museum. |
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| It's starting to rain, so time to get back on the road. |
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| The last stop on the trip was obviously back in Albuquerque. I just wanted some place near the airport, so the Days Inn and Suites was an appropriate and well-reviewed option. |
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| I needed to find some place to eat dinner, so I ventured out. The hotel is a short drive away from the University of New Mexico. Just across the street from this university entrance is... |
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| ...Saggios. It is probably a popular location for students when school is in session. There was a sign that said they accept the LoboCard. |
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| It's an Italian restaurant that serves pizzas, calzones, sandwiches, etc. |
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| I opted for the lasagna. |
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| The next morning I returned my dinged
vehicle to the rental company and headed to the airport to wait for
the flight home. It was early and the Germany-Mexico World Cup match
started at 9:00. I found a small restaurant at one end of the
concourse that had the match on many televisions. At first I
just watched from outside, but there was a waiter called Christopher
who was letting people sit and watch. I didn't want to look like a
schmuck and sit there without ordering something so I got a coffee,
which I had refilled twice as I nursed it until the end of the
match. Then on a plane to Houston for a delayed layover and then back home. |
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