Route 66 New Mexico (New Mexico Route 66 Centennial Speaker Series)

Come on a tour from Texas to Arizona with photographer Sondra Diepen as she exposes the remains of New Mexico’s Route 66 and reveals tales of snakes, rustlers and diners. Sondra will relate how an abandoned trading post covered with faded murals led to 10 years of work uncovering the Mother Road’s ghost towns and neon signs, resulting in a book of over 200 photos documenting former and present tourist attractions.

This event is part of the New Mexico Route 66 Centennial Speaker Series taking place throughout 2026 in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Presented as a collaborative community effort, the series is sponsored by the Albuquerque Historical Society, East Mountain Historical Society, Historic Albuquerque, Inc., and Los Ranchos Historical Society, with support from the City of Albuquerque, City of Rio Rancho, and Bernalillo County.

All lectures are free and open to the public, with presentations repeating at multiple locations to make the history of Route 66 accessible to as many people as possible. Follow the series on Facebook for upcoming dates, topics, and locations as Albuquerque and its neighboring communities mark 100 years of the Mother Road.