Eye candy day trips are abundent in New Mexico. We took off yesterday morning to find Riley, New Mexico, a ghost town. The sky was overcast with fabulous clouds. A slight chill was in the air.
Riley, New Mexico is in Socorro County, North of Magdalena (Socorro County has its share of ghost towns). There are two ways into Riley - from Magdalena or Bernardo. We chose the Bernardo option. Socorro County Road 12, a well maintained dirt road, took us around a mountain, past cows, ranches, wildlife areas and a shrine.Riley was nice to see; we have now officially been to a ghost town. The real photo story is of 12. What a great tour.
Socorro County Road 12. The clouds were nothing less than spectacular.
Mountains and clouds.
Wide open vistas with that uniquely New Mexican third dimension.
An unexpected shrine on a Juniper covered hill.
A juniper skeleton.
Riley schoolhouse framing a cross on the hill.
The other side of the schoolhouse.
Schoolhouse interior.
Cibola National Forest Road 354 towards Magdalena.
Both roads are easily navigated by most 2WD's with some ground clearance (Ferrari or Lamborghini not recommended). Crossing the Rio Salado on our way back to Magdalena was not a problem.
We would not recommend being on either road during rain storms, it could get dicey and extremely sticky.
Want to go? From Albuquerque take I-25 south. Exit at Bernardo and head west, past the RV park and the cell phone tower. Once you've crossed the old Rio Puerco bridge, the road will veer hard right. Follow the signs (there are some but not many).
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