Route 66
We are almost to the finish line. The last leg of our multiyear Route 66 exploration has plenty of kicks and the darkest skies and the most national park units along the Mother Road. Take your pedal off the metal, we are going to take it nice and slow so that we can experience all that California, Arizona and New Mexico have to offer. From bottle trees to Bagdad cafes in the badlands, we’ll wind our way by painted deserts, Joshua trees, dunes, historic train stations, volcanic craters, trading posts and plenty of neon. We’ll log over 1,000 miles from Santa Monica to Tucumcari as we fuel our photographs on this classic Americana road trip tour.
Tour Details
April 22-May 1, 2027 — Sold Out, Join Waitlist Below
This is a 10-night, 10-day tour. Your adventure begins with a sunset shoot at the Santa Monica Pier and ends with our night shoot at the Blue Swallow Hotel in Tucumcari.
$3,795 + applicable taxes.
Skill level
Intermediate+. Participants should have a firm grasp of the basic principles of photography and of their cameras, and have a comfortable understanding of night photography fundamentals.
Group size
14, with 2 instructors — 7:1 ratio
NPS website
Tour Leaders
Registration
Hoping to get a spot? Sign up below for our no-fee waitlist.
| • Deposit of $TK is required to reserve your spot at the workshop. |
| • Balance of $TK is due on TK. —> Pay balance here. |
| • You may choose the “Pay in Full” ticket if you desire to pay all at once. |
| • Last day for a cancellation request is TK (see cancellation and refund policy). |
| • You may choose the “Pay in Full” ticket if you desire to pay all at once. |
| • The workshop fee does not include lodging, food, airfare, entrance fees, or transportation to or during the workshop. |
The Route 66 Experience
The mother of all road trips awaits you! Fresh off our centennial celebration of Route 66’s middle section, we are ready to connect the next 1,000 miles with a twist. Instead of finishing the route at the classic end—the Santa Monica Pier—we will start at the westernmost section and make our way back into the heart of America. (To read why we’ve made this choice, read the personal story below.)
We’ve timed our 10-night adventure with a waning gibbous moon that will be rising later each night. The moon will aid us at the beginning while at the more urban locations, and will be out of the picture for perfectly dark skies once we reach Arizona and New Mexico.
Each day you’ll be given a full itinerary of kitschy, historic and photographic stops. We’ll guide you to historic markers, murals and museums that will cohesively entertain and educate you about Route 66. We’ll also push you to connect with local communities and to capture memorable images of these bygone stops.
Behind the wheel, we’ll cover just over 1,000 miles through three scenic states: California, Arizona and New Mexico. Our pace will be slow so that we can roll down the windows and take it all in. If you see something—say something and stop to take a picture!
Do you know that the National Park Service is partly responsible for the preservation of Route 66? There are more than 250 buildings, bridges and roadside attractions along the route that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Our itinerary will also include group meals at specific destinations and plenty of dedicated night photo shoots. Here’s a look at some of the kicks we have in store for you:
day and night shoots at classic train stations, as well as at several small towns with historic buildings, cars and ruins
lots of nostalgic neon signs, including the iconic Roy’s Cafe in Amboy, California
night photography opportunities at several national park units, including Mojave Desert, El Malpais, Petrified Forest National Park, Sunset Crater and maybe even Grand Canyon.
access to a historic trading post at night
getting our Route 66 passports stamped at locations along the way
authentic road food at iconic diners, cafes and restaurants
For our last night we’ll return to one of the most celebrated motels on Route 66: the beautifully restored and neon-lit Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. This dusty little town is an oasis of neon and we’ll capture it all before returning to our 100 percent retro and “refrigerated air” rooms. This motel has to be seen to be believed!
So fill up your gas tank, charge up your batteries and get ready for one Mother of a road trip, filled with nostalgic sights, urban delights, and 10 fun-filled nights along the western section of Route 66.
What You Should Know
This tour caters to knowledgeable night photographers with an intermediate or higher skill set. Participants should have a firm grasp of the basic principles of photography and of their cameras, and have a comfortable understanding of night photography fundamentals. We will be happy to offer advice and answer questions about both day and night photography, but the focus of the tour will be shooting Route 66 Americana.
If you would like to join us on this trip but are unsure whether you have adequate night photography skills, we can offer pre-event tutoring to get you ready for your adventure with us. Additionally, a few of us have written books that may be productive pre-trip reads.
What You Will Learn
This tour will not have any classroom time. This is a road trip adventure, and we will be creating photos day and night. While in the field, Gabe and Chris will demonstrate their own techniques and will work with participants one-on-one to make sure everyone gets the most out of the experience.
TOPICS COVERED WILL INCLUDE:
urban night photography, including light painting and star trails
rural and dark sky night photography under the stars along Route 66
how to take advantage of twilight to balance neon lights in an exposure
HDR considerations for capture and processing
how to create car trails and emphasize other movement
how to use neutral density filters during the day and night for creative effect
and more …
Night Conditions
Logistics & General Info
Travel
This is a road trip. We’ll be driving almost 1,000 miles and staying in 10 different hotels.
Nearby Airports:
Most attendees will probably want to fly into Los Angeles (LAX) and out of Albuquerque (ABQ) or Santa Fe (SAF).
Rental Car
A road trip is more fun when you share it. We recommend renting a car with other attendees, or at least putting your name on the list for ride-sharing.
You will need a one-way car rental, or you will need to drive a long way before or after the tour.
There is no need for four-wheel-drive.
If you are interested in carpooling or sharing a rental car, we can try to connect you with another attendee looking for the same.
You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own transportation.
Lodging & Food
We got ourselves a road trip—10 days, 10 hotels and 1,000 miles!
Due to the complexity and limited availability of lodging, we are booking and prepaying all the hotel rooms for our 10 nights during the workshop, from April 22 through check-out on May 2.
Rooms will be either two double or queen beds, or one single king bed. If you are a couple or rooming with another attendee, please let us know so we can book accordingly. The full listing of hotels and pricing will be sent to you in a separate email.
Our lodging will be a mix of established chains, iconic Route 66 hotels, and perhaps a Wigwam!
Food
Route 66 has so much incredible road food!
The tour fee includes a welcome and farewell dinner.
Other food is not included in the tour fee, but we will be having many of our meals together as a group.
Burgers, pies and classic American comfort food will sustain us. It’s probably going to be difficult to eat healthfully on this trip, but it’s gonna be fun. You may, of course, bring your own salad.
When on the night shoots, you may wish to bring snack food or a sandwich and plenty of water.
You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own meals and accommodations.
Weather
Expect daytime highs in the 60s to 80s F, lows in the 40s to 60s.
Recommended Attire
Route 66 T-shirt is a must!
Shorts or pants and short-sleeve shirts for daytime, pants and long-sleeve shirts for night.
A sweatshirt and medium-weight jacket might be useful.
Comfortable shoes are recommended for getting around.
Exertion Level
The exertion level of this tour is Easy. (See more about our classifications.)
No vigorous activity will be required during the tour, but please consider your physical abilities prior to registering. We may do some short hikes on unmaintained trails, and you should be comfortable carrying your own equipment over uneven ground in the dark.
Considerations
IMPORTANT: We encourage reading our FAQs page for more information about skill and gear requirements, and other information that pertains to all our workshops.
If you have questions, please contact us—we're happy to talk it over with you.
Finishing the Job …
“We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways, and suddenly I was alone on the road.”
We first started offering Route 66 workshops in 2024 when we traveled the least driven section, from Chicago to Springfield, Missouri. Two years later, many of the same attendees returned to pick up where we’d left off, and we explored the middle section of the Mother Road. It was epic. We bonded even more and talked endlessly at diners and near drive-ins about making it to the finish line—together.
We were driving separately, at our own pace, but meeting up and experiencing it together. We challenged the group not to just photograph the places but get to know the people of the places. We certainly left our mark on the middle section—plenty of memories and National Parks at Night stickers now adorn the Main Streets of middle America.
Everyone knew that I was going to be scouting the final section after our farewell dinner. We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways, and suddenly I was alone on the road. But I carried each and every one of them with me and I scouted like never before. I thought of our group constantly. When I met new people on the road, I kept referring to how much “we” looked forward to our return next year.
And when I got to the finish line, the Santa Monica Pier and the endless Pacific Ocean, I was so …unfulfilled. After all the experiences in small town America, the mob scene at the waterfront was unnerving. Construction obscured the iconic Santa Monica Pier and a photo of the Arch now adorned the scaffolding.
I made my way to the “end of Historic 66” kiosk on the pier. It sat lonely as throngs of tourists queued up instead at the TikTok-friendly Route 66 marker in the middle of the pier. Had all these people just driven 2,000 miles on Route 66? Had they even been on 1 mile of it?
I walked to the end of the pier and watched the Pacific chase people up the sand. The pastel colors of the cloudless sunset calmed me. I turned to photograph the ferris wheel as it kaleidoscoped with brilliant colors and as the waves broke against the pylons of the pier. I was surrounded by hundreds of people but I was creating a safe place.
And then the idea struck me. As romantic as it sounds, to finish Route 66 at the Pacific Ocean isn’t what Route 66 is about. The Mother Road is about the journey through Americana, and I didn’t want our journey to end.
So what if … we flipped it and started again?
