Hi, I am planning a trip to NM to specifically drive your Trail and to find a couple of places I saw in that great movie, Wild Hogs.  Of course, I plan on stopping at Madrid, but I am wondering if anyone can advise me:

1. Where exactly did they shoot the guys walking up the hill when they ran out of gas?  This had a beautiful backdrop of mountains.  I assumed it was your trail.  If so, do you know exactly where that hill is?

2. The location of the barn that caught fire in the movie.  Perhaps this was a movie set that they put up and took down, but it would be great to check out the location while I am visiting.

Thanks so much, and I think you have a great website.

Marc,
Orlando, FL

Thanks for the website compliment Marc!

I’m not exactly sure which hill the running out of gas scene was filmed on, but I’m pretty sure it was on the Trail either just north or south of Madrid in the Ortiz Mountains.  And, yes, the bar was built on the Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch on County Rd. 45 about 11 miles north of Madrid and a few miles off the Turquoise Trail. It was just a movie set, but was a one take explosion.  Trivia:  On the day of filming that blow up scene, they used a little bit too much explosives.  If you watch closely, you can see the guys really are running and looking scared with that fireball behind them.  A couple of the personal bikes of the local guys playing Del Fuegos got damaged in the explosion and Disney had to pay for their repair.
Maggie’s Diner is now open as a retail store selling “Wild Hogs” merchandise.

Marc,

In answer to your questions:

1. Where exactly did they shoot the guys walking up the hill when they ran out of gas?  This had a beautiful backdrop of mountains.  I assumed it was your trail.  If so, do you know exactly where that hill is?
This was on the Bonanza Creek Ranch Road (County Road 45 running from Highway 14 to Interstate 25) where a bar set was constructed and demolished.  The only thing remains is an empty spot of grass.  Google GPS coordinates 35.523933, -106.113461.  The mountains behind it to the southwest are called the Cerrillos or “Little Hills.”  These have an awesome history of prehistoric turquoise mining by native people’s.  This turquoise has been traced to the turquoise eyes in golden statues carved by the Aztecs.

2. The location of the barn that caught fire in the movie.  Perhaps this was a movie set that they put up and took down, but it would be great to check out the location while I am visiting.
This seemed to be up by Madrid given the footage before and after.