And when we want to take a trip to Madrid or Golden, we prefer driving the back way:
Believe it or not, soon this wondrous unpaved pathway may be history if Tecton Energy drills for oil in the Galisteo Basin.
We feel very fortunate that this byway exists, and know you'd feel the same if you could see it too.
The Photo-Eye gallery in downtown Santa Fe recently presented an exhibit documenting how Galisteo looks now. You can see many of the photos online at the Galisteo Basin Photography Project. The project is intended to raise public awareness of what may be irretrievably lost if the Galisteo Basin—a unique area defined by the meandering 55-mile long Galisteo River, born in the Pecos Wilderness and completing its westward journey as it merges into the Rio Grande River on the tribal lands of Santo Domingo Pueblo—is allowed to become an oil and gas production field.
This photograph by Douglas Magnus is called "Impending Storm at Turquoise Hill."
This is "Galisteo Storm, Highway 41" by Greg MacGregor.
And "Joyeria, Galisteo Basin" is by Tony Bonanno. Sometimes you don't realize how beautiful something is until it's gone. We hope it won't be gone, but please don't say we didn't warn you. 
