Flying Under Radar / Roots on the Rails

Projected dates: 9/13/12-9/30/12

FRED EAGLESMITH BAND • ROGER MARIN • GORDIE TENTREES • BILL POSS • THE FABULOUS GINN SISTERS

with guests ROBBIE FULKS • AUDREY AULD • JON DEE GRAHAM • MARY GAUTHIER

You’ve heard about the legendary Fred Eaglesmith journeys... Across Canada by train in the dead of winter with Willie P. Bennett leaning out the baggage car door; up the Pacific Coast to Prince Rupert on the Rocket through the Rockies; North to Churchill, Manitoba to witness the Polar Bear migration; deep into the heart of the Silver San Juans on Roots on the Narrow Gauge; and on our own boat to Newfoundland during Hurricane Season, where we ended up on Zodiacs in the midst of the wrong bay. These are adventures outside the usual routine of life!

Now it’s Fred’s Ultimate Road Trip.... down the entire length of Route 66.

This fall, for once and all, get your kicks on Route 66...The TIN CAN CARAVAN is an eighteen-day voyage down the the Mother Road from Chicago to LA, led by the ultimate road dog and his entourage... A wi-fi equipped motorcoach for long-distance riders and a motley crew of vans, campers, bikes and cars following, over the twists, turns, bumps and bends of America’s most legendary highway.

We’ll visit grain elevators and Indian Mounds, vast underground caverns and giant ketchup bottles, Mother Jones’ grave and the Grand Canyon. We’ll hang out at biker bars and hotel ballrooms, restored brothels and famous roadhouses. We’ll eat barbeque and swap road tales around late night campfires, all in the company of some of America's most celebrated songwriters... Come for the whole tour, a week-long stretch, or just a day or two. It’s all up to you.

RIDE THE MOTORCOACH

You get air-conditioned, wi-fi equipped motorcoach transport, with nature and cultural programs, incorrect historical facts and spurious social history dispensed freely. Lodging nightly (double occupancy; single supplements available*), at least one meal at famous (or infamous) eateries every day. Admission to all attractions, National Parks, Pueblos, etc. at which we stop. Live Music with Fred & friends daily.

FULL TRIP

• Chicago to Santa Monica $4289.00.
  (Start afternoon 9/13, end morning 10/1).

SEGMENTS

• Chicago to St. Louis: $989.00
  (Start afternoon 9/13, end morning 9/17)
• St. Louis to Oklahoma City: $1,289.00
  (Start morning 9/17, end morning 9/21)
• Oklahoma City to Albuquerque: $1,289.00
  (Start morning 9/21, end morning 9/25)
• Albuquerque to Santa Monica: $1,489.00
  (Start morning 9/25, end morning 10/1)

*Single supplement for those desiring their own hotel room each night is $900 additional for the full trip. By segment: CHI-STL $225; STL-OKC $190; OKC-ABQ $190; ABQ-LA $325.

Questions? Drop Sarah a line at trains@sover.net or call toll free 866-484-3669.

BE A TIN CANNER

If you choose to drive your own vehicle -anything from a motorcycle to an RV- we supply a complete itinerary of the day’s journey, admission to the show that night, advice about where to camp and an entree to any late-night hang out at the campsite. Food and admission to roadside attractions is not provided unless specified. Bill Poss is doing the research to find out a sweet spot for Caravaners, the Fred bus and the Ginns' RV to spend each night. We'll get that data to you as Bill gets it to us. Fees charged by the campground or RV park are not included (what if you want to stay in a motel that night? it's all about personal choice, here).

Roger Marin and Gordie Tentrees will be serving as the Tin Canner's "sweep" most days - bringing up the rear in case Roger's auto mechanic skills are required. Tin Canner Tickets are available by going to our "TIN CAN CARAVAN DAY TICKETS" page. The price listed is $59 per day, but you save $10 each day - just $49 per person - if you enter the discount code “CARAVAN” when purchasing tickets.

We would strongly advise Tin Canners (those traveling in their own vehicles) to purchase Jerry McClanahan’s EZ66 Guide, and we think everyone would enjoy the map series and the handbook. You can use the links below (we get a small cut of the action) to order them from Amazon, or you can check with your local bookstore.

The Itinerary So Far (subject to change)....

SEGMENT I: special guest ROBBIE FULKS (maybe just some, maybe all of the shows - we'll know closer in...)

Thu. 9/13 - CHICAGOLAND!
We check into our hotel, the Write Inn, in the Frank Lloyd Wright District of beautiful Oak Park – a Chicago suburb, 2 blocks from the Green Line that whisks you to downtown Chicago attractions in 15 minutes. Walking tours of Wright’s historic buildings in the neighborhood are available, as well as tours of Ernest Hemingway’s childhood home. That evening, we have our kickoff show at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn.

Fri. 9/14 - CHICAGO TO BLOOMINGTON, IL
In the morning, our motorcoach departs for Chess Studios. Here is where many of the great Chicago blues records were cut by Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Koko Taylor, Chuck Berry and Willie Dixon. After our tour, we head to downtown Chicago for a kickoff meal at The Berghoff - mere steps away from the start of The Mother Road. We travel through Joliet and stop in Wilmington to view the Gemini Giant - one of the legendary ‘muffler men’ that dot the route - this one decked out with a suspiciously welder-like spaceman’s helmet. Passing through the hamlets of Dwight and Odell, we see some classic Route 66 small towns, as well as lovingly restored vintage filling stations. We stop in Pontiac and visit the Route 66 Museum and the Pontiac Car Museum, then hop on the freeway for the short ride to Bloomington, our first night’s destination. An evening event rounds out the day.

Sat. 9/15 - BLOOMINGTON TO SPRINGFIELD, IL
Mid-morning we head out from Bloomington and make our first stop in Atlanta for lunch at the beautifully restored Palms Grill - a 1930’s luncheonette - tour the Hawes Grain Elevator - the only working turn-of-the-20th-century Illinois grain elevator open to the public, view the slightly menacing Bunyan Giant and stroll the town square, and climb the town clock tower where you can have a turn cranking the 1906 hand-wound Seth Thomas clock. From Atlanta, we’ll roll through Lawndale (site of the 1977 Lawndale Thunderbird Abduction) and proceed on to Staunton and Henry’s Rabbit Ranch, a totally oddball collection of actual bunnies and old VW’s. We’ll roll past Shea’s Petroliana and take a peek into the fetishistic world of vintage gas-related ephemera, then we’ll tour the Lincoln homestead - the only home Abraham Lincoln ever owned. After checking in to the State House Inn, right opposite the State Capitol in downtown Springfield, we have an opportunity to stroll, grab dinner, and enjoy an evening concert.

Sun. 9/16 - SPRINGFIELD, IL TO ST. LOUIS, MO
A late-morning departure gives you plenty of time to sleep in, visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum just six blocks from our hotel, or for a less-esoteric activity, you can hop a cab to the Cozy Dog Drive-In – birthplace of the corn dog. After hitting the road, we’ll stop in Litchfield at the Ariston Cafe, serving Route 66 travelers since 1924. As their neon sign says, “Remember where good food is served!” We will be passing through an area where mining once was king, and next up is Mt. Olive - and a visit to the grave of famed union leader Mother Jones (“Don’t mourn; organize!”), we’ll roll by Soulsby’s service station, and then it’s on to Collinsville, home of the giant ketchup bottle as well as the ancient native settlement now known as the Cahioka Mounds, the remains of the largest prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico. After a tour, it is but a short drive to St. Louis, where we’ll check in to the Hilton Downtown, within spitting distance of the Arch and scores of downtown restaurants and watering holes. An evening concert awaits.

SEGMENT II - special guest AUDREY AULD for shows 9/17, 18, 19, 20

Mon. 9/17 - ST. LOUIS TO LEBANON, MO
The morning is available to tour the famed Arch and the Museum of Westward Expansion, or for the rail fans among us, a visit to St. Louis’ beautifully restored Union Station. A midday departure launches us off to the famed (and famously tacky) Maramec Caverns, followed by a leisurely ramble through small towns like Cuba, Bourbon (where the water tower labeled “Bourbon” is sadly not filled with same), Fanning and its Giant Rocking Chair, stopping for a late afternoon barbeque and private show at the Elbow Inn of Devil’s Elbow, Missouri (so called for a treacherous curve in the river where many a logjam occurred). From there we head to The Munger Moss Motel - a Route 66 classic - for the night! A fire pit and impressive neon signage set the stage for a late night jam under the stars.

Tue. 9/18 - LEBANON TO BAXTER SPRINGS, KS TO MIAMI, OK
In the morning, we’ll drive through Marshfield, hometown of Edwin Hubbell, and home to a 1/4-size model of the Hubbell Telescope on the courthouse lawn. We’ll visit Red Oak II, a formerly decaying early 20th century village that has been completely re-located, piece by piece and preserved in a former cornfield, stop at a couple of vintage service station/museums (possibly including the one where the inspiration for ‘Mater, the tow truck in Pixar’s CARS movies resides!), and arrive late in the afternoon at the well-know “foodie” destination of Cafe on the Route in -as James McMurtry says - that “one hell-raising town” of Baxter Springs, Kansas. A private dinner and show are ours to enjoy there. That night, we’ll stay at an Indian-run motel and casino in nearby Miami ('my-AM-muh'), Oklahoma.

Wed. 9/19 - MIAMI TO TULSA, OK
A mid-morning tour of Miami, OK’s gorgeous 1920’s sixteen-hundred seat Coleman Theatre starts the day off, followed by a stop at Afton, Oklahoma’s Packard Automobile Museum and restored DX gas station, and a cruise by Ed Galloways’ Totem Pole Park, which boasts the world’s tallest concrete totem pole. We’ll enjoy lunch at Clanton’s in Vinita, OK, a roadside eatery about whose chicken-fried steak Michael Stern of Roadfood waxed rhapsodic: “beefy, crisp-crusted luxury that is ineffably amplified when it's pushed through mashed potatoes and peppery cream gravy“ before visiting the Will Rogers Memorial (“I never met a man I didn’t like”) in Claremore. Outside of Tulsa we’ll view the enigmatic Blue Whale of Catoosa, arriving in Tulsa proper in late afternoon. That evening there’ll be a concert.

Thur. 9/20 - TULSA TO OKLAHOMA CITY
The morning is free to explore Tulsa’s unique downtown - one of the largest concentrations of art deco buildings in the country, dating from Tulsa’s part in the oil boom in the 20’s. We’ll stop for lunch at either Russ’ Ribs or the Rock Cafe - both Route 66 legends - then head to Chandler and Arcadia, past the apparently-very-one-of-a-kind Round Barn. We’ll visit the Oklahoma City Memorial late in the afternoon, and that evening, enjoy a concert. Here, monster Texas songwriter Jon Dee Graham joins our merry band for the next few days to Albuquerque.

SEGMENT III - special guest JON DEE GRAHAM for shows 9/21, 22, 23, 24

Fri. 9/21 - OKLAHOMA CITY TO AMARILLO, TX
We depart Oklahoma City and drive over the Lake Overholser bridge, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and on to Elk City, OK for a stop at the National Route 66 Museum and the Old Town Museum Complex to wander through the life size dioramas of motels, gas stations and other Route 66 iconography. The afternoon routes us through McLean, TX for a brief visit to the Devil’s Rope Barbed Wire Museum, then on through Groom to see the Leaning Tower of Groom and The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ (reportedly the largest cross in the western hemisphere). We end our first day in Texas in Amarillo at the Big Texan Motel and Restaurant, a shrine to Texan excess (we dare you to try the Free 72 oz. Steak Dinner Challenge). An evening concert awaits.

Sat. 9/22 - AMARILLO, TX TO TUCUMCARI, NM
The morning begins with an exploration of downtown Amarillo to check out the Dynamite Museum, which is not really a museum, but the wacky public signage project of eccentric millionaire art patron Stanley Marsh 3, featuring such gems as “Road Does Not End” and “I Don’t Suppose Anyone Has A Tomato”. Then we’re off to the iconic Cadillac Ranch to make messy art on partially buried cars. Lunch time finds us at the Midpoint Café in Adrian TX, where we celebrate the halfway point of our epic journey with “Ugly Crust Pie”. We cross into New Mexico late in the day and bed down for the night in Tucumcari, a treasure trove of vintage motels and restored neon signage, TeePee curios and other delightfully kitschy attractions. If time permits, we’ll try to squeeze in a side visit to the Mesaland’s Community College Dinosaur Museum. Dinner and an evening concert follow, with a late night song circle under the beautiful neon sign of The Blue Swallow Motel.

Sun. 9/23 - TUCUMCARI TO SANTA FE, NM
In the morning we head out on the older alignment of Route 66 to Las Vegas, NM for lunch at the Landmark Grill in the famed Plaza Hotel (reportedly haunted) and a chance to explore some of the 900 buildings in town listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp and Butch Cassidy all lived here at one point. Leaving Las Vegas, we’ll visit Pecos National Historic Park where 12,000 years of history has been preserved, including pueblo ruins, a Spanish mission and the westernmost Civil War site of the Battle of Glorieta. Then we’re off over the fabled Glorieta Pass - at 7,500 feet, the highest point on Route 66 - and into Santa Fe, where you’ll be free to wander the historic Plaza, visit the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, gorge yourselves on green chile cheeseburgers and stroll Canyon Road. There will be a late-afternoon reception at the gallery where Charlie shows his paintings. An evening concert in Santa Fe rounds out the day.

Mon. 9/24 - SANTA FE TO ALBUQUERQUE, NM
Those who wish to spend more time in the great city of Santa Fe are welcome to do so and rejoin the group later in the day by hopping on the convenient RailRunner shuttle or driving directly to Albuquerque. Our bus, however, will be heading off of 66 for a day of exploration in the Jemez range... with a trip out to Los Alamos, NM and a visit to the Bradbury Science Museum where we’ll learn all about The Los Alamos National Laboratory, The Manhattan Project, The Human Genome Project, particle accelerators and BOMBS! If enough of Bandelier National Monument has been re-opened following the disastrous wildfires of 2011, we’ll try to make a stop there as well. Then it’s off for a spectacular drive to the Valles Caldera National Preserve, where we’ll have a chance to take a short hike through this pristine wilderness before heading out through Jemez Springs and down into Albuquerque where our hotel for the night sits just at the edge of historic Old Town and its myriad shops and restaurants. An evening concert - our last with Jon Dee - ensues.

SEGMENT IV - special guest MARY GAUTHIER with Tanya Elizabeth for shows 9/25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

Tue. 9/25 - ALBUQUERQUE TO GALLUP, NM
We depart Albuquerque via Central Avenue and its many Route 66 landmarks, and head for a tour of Acoma Sky City, the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America, and now home to 4,800 tribal members of the Acoma Pueblo and 250 dwellings perched atop a sheer-walled 367 foot sandstone bluff. Following a tour of this remarkable historic and cultural site, we’ll have lunch, then head out to Grants, NM (briefly known as “The Carrot Capital Of The World” in the 1930s) and head to the world’s only underground uranium mining museum to learn about mining and the history of the regional railroad, logging and ranching industries. Late afternoon finds us pulling into the neon-bedazzled town of Gallup, NM. We figure an evening concert is a good way to round out the day.

Wed. 9/26 - GALLUP, NM TO WINSLOW, AZ
Departing Gallup, we’ll head past some of the most spectacularly classic southwestern tourist traps: trading posts, giant tee pees, fiberglass animals perched on the cliffs – it’s not to be believed. Then to cleanse our palates of all the tacky commerce, we’ll head to the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest National Park and see the spectacular vistas of multi-hued badlands and some of the world’s most colorful concentrations of petrified wood. We’ll stop at the Rainbow Forest Museum and a few of the more spectacular overlooks. Departing the National Park and re-joining Route 66, we’ll take a swing through Holbrook, AZ to see the impressive collection of dinosaur and petrified wood themed tourist traps, one of the very few remaining WigWam motels and end our day at the storied La Posada Hotel in Winslow, AZ, the last great Fred Harvey railroad hotel, designed by Mary Colter and rescued from ruin in the nineties by dedicated preservationists who are well on their way to restoring it to its former glory. At La Posada, we’ll enjoy a buffet dinner at the famed Turquoise Room, followed by a private concert in front of the fireplace in the La Posada Ballroom.

Thur. 9/27 - WINSLOW, AZ TO GRAND CANYON, THEN FLAGSTAFF
Those who wish to can stroll downtown to have their picture taken “standin’ on the corner in Winslow, AZ – a few blocks from the hotel. We’ll head west from Winslow to just past Flagstaff, the take a detour off of Route 66 to spend the day at the Grand Canyon – how could we not? You’ll have time to explore some of the hiking trails on the South Rim, visit the Kolb Studio, have a cocktail at the majestic El Tovar and gawk at the wonder of it before we head back to the ‘real world’ for our evening concert and hotel.

Fri. 9/28 - FLAGSTAFF, AZ TO NEEDLES, CA
We depart Flagstaff and head west for a day of travel on the longest contiguous stretch of original Route 66 still extant... On a fine segment of gravel 66 over Fortynine Hill (the highest point on Arizona 66), then onward to Seligman, home of the Snowcap Drive-In and Angel Delgadillo's barber shop (Angel was one of the founders of the Route 66 re-birth and spearheaded the loving preservation of this iconic Route 66 town that refused to die. Then we’ll head out to Peach Springs, AZ for lunch and a tour of the Grand Canyon Caverns, where an elevator has (thankfully) replaced the hand-cranked winch that used to lower visitors down into the largest dry cavern in the US. Re-surfacing, we’ll travel further along original 66, through Peach Springs, Truxton, Valentine and then a brief stop at the Hackberry General Store. We’ll continue on through Kingman and end our day in Needles, CA (home to Snoopy’s cousin Spike).

Sat. 9/29 - NEEDLES TO VICTORVILLE, CA
A morning drive-by the El Garces Hotel - a former Harvey House undergoing painstaking restoration by the same folks who undertook restoring La Posada - then we head out into the Mojave Desert. We’ll stop for a visit to the restored Goffs Schoolhouse for a brief tour and an overview of the cultural history of the region, then it’s back onto Route 66, along the “Public Art Corridor” and a collection of “shoe trees” before lunch in Barstow and its Mother Road and Railroad museums. We then take a swing through Oro Grande and make a stop at Elmer Long’s Bottle Tree Ranch - a shrine to ingenuity, recycling and oddly compelling art.

Sun. 9/30 - VICTORVILLE TO SANTA MONICA, CA
We rise and greet the day – our last on the Mother Road – and head over Cajon Pass to San Bernadino, then through Rialto, Rancho Cucamonga, with a final stop for a celebratory lunch before we head into Los Angeles and on to our final destination and the official end of Route 66 – The Santa Monica Pier! Our final night includes a concert, hotel and post-show hangout that promises to go well into the night as we relive our epic adventure.

$300 per person non-refundable deposit to hold space. Payment plans happily accommodated. 2% discount for full payment at time of signup or if series of postdated checks are received within ten dats of signup. Payments outside of deposit are refundable until 60 days prior to departure. Reservations are transferrable. Liability release signature at time of trip check-in is required.

Sign up today, by e-mailing Roots on the Rails at trains@sover.net or call 866-484-3669 (toll free in the US & Canada) or 802-258-1397.

The Fine Print: The payment of a deposit or any part or full payment for a reservation shall constitute consent to all the provisions contained herein. Flying Under Radar, LLC shall not be held responsible for property loss or damage and/or any damages resulting from illness, personal injuries or death which may be sustained by reason of, or while engaged on, any trip or tour whether due to the ownership, maintenance, use, operation or control of any vehicle, hotel, common carrier or any other conveyance used in carrying out these tours. We can assume no liability due to any cause whatsoever whether caused by failure or delay or other irregularity, acts or omissions occurring during a tour under which the means of transportation or other service thereby is offered or supplied by owners, operators or public carriers for whom Flying Under Radar, LLC acts only as agent. Flying Under Radar, LLC reserves the right (at its discretion) to alter or omit any part of the itinerary, or change any reservation, feature and/or means of conveyance without notice or for any reason whatsoever and without allowance or refund and with extra costs, if any, resulting therefrom paid by the passengers. Although all artists are contracted to appear, lineup is potentially subject to change due to illness or force majeure. We reserve the right to cancel any tour prior to departure, in which case payment will be refunded without further obligation on our part. Flying Under Radar, LLC shall not be responsible for any injury to person (whether or not resulting in death) or damage to property. Flying Under Radar, LLC strongly urges individual passengers to obtain appropriate insurance coverage. Baggage is at the owner's risk entirely. The transportation companies concerned are not to be held responsible for any act, omission or event during the time passengers are not aboard their carriers or conveyances. The passenger contract in use by the carriers concerned (when issued) shall constitute the sole contract between the transportation companies and the purchaser of these tours and/or passage. By accepting the ticket the passenger also agrees to its terms and conditions. By forwarding of deposit, the passenger certifies that he/she does not have any mental, physical or other condition or disability that would create a hazard for him/herself or other passengers. Flying Under Radar, LLC reserves the right to cancel or withdraw any person as a member of the tour at any time.