THE 2009 COWBOY TRAIN: ROOTS ON THE NARROW GAUGE Albuquerque, NM - Durango, CO - Pagosa Springs - Chama, NM - Albuquerque September 18-24, 2009

Download a one-page flyer about the 2009 Cowboy Train!

Journey with Tom Russell, Wylie Gustafson, Paul Zarzyski, Gretchen Peters and Sourdough Slim as we travel into the magical San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado and Northern New Mexico.

We will ride the legendary narrow-gauge trains of this remote region - scenically spectacular examples of steam-era railroading at its finest. The Durango & Silverton, deep through Los Animas Canyon, then to the wild country of the Cumbres & Toltec, North America's longest, highest and most remote narrow gauge railroad.

We'll have concerts and jam sessions, Open Mics and picking parties. Naturalist Elsabe Kloppers will be there to keep us informed about the fascinating flora, fauna and topography of this remarkable region. Traveling solo or with friends, returning Roots on the Railer or newcomer... a warm welcome awaits you! We promise you, you won't find a better group of people to hang out or travel with anywhere!

We'll gather in Albuquerque on Friday, September 18, for a kickoff concert and a night at our comfortable hotel. Saturday, we board a chartered motor coach for the drive through the stark southwestern landscape of buttes and mesas to Durango, Colorado, the gateway city of the "Silver San Juans," at 6,600 feet above sea level. We have the afternoon free to explore this fascinating town, then a show that evening and overnight accommodations. On Sunday, we board the storied Durango and Silverton Railroad for the unforgettable trip to Silverton, twisting through the Canyon of the Rio de las Animas Perditas ("The River of Lost Souls") on rails three feet apart, in a land where no roads reach. Silverton is now a quiet hamlet of 500 year-round residents, but at one time it was the nexus of the booming mining industry. Nestled in a mountain valley at 9,300 feet, one steps into another era when one steps off the train. Once we check into the vintage Grand Imperial Hotel, the afternoon is free for exploring. Hiking, mine and jeep tours and other outdoors activities are available, with everyone back in town for a great buffet and evening show.

We depart Silverton Monday afternoon, retracing the rails back to Durango, where we board our motor coach for the easy trip to Pagosa Springs, our home for the next two nights. Native peoples have visited the springs on the banks of the San Juan River for thousands of years. Tuesday is a day to explore the remarkable sights and sensations of soaking in the springs, or to visit the ancient Ancestral Puebloan ruins of nearby Chimney Rock. Dinner and a show that night will cap off a full day!

Wednesday morning, we set out for Chama, New Mexico, where we board the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. The open-air platform car is a great place to take in the sights, sounds and smells of narrow-gauge mountain railroading at its most authentic. We climb from Chama, around breathtaking Windy Point to the summit of Cumbres Pass at 10,022 feet, then wind our way through wide valleys to the old railroad camp of Osier, Colorado, where lunch is served. We arrive back in Chama late in the afternoon. There's time to wash up at our hotel, then to the atmospheric High Country Restaurant for a buffet dinner and an outdoor show, complete with bonfire. On Thursday we ride by motor coach from Chama to Santa Fe, where we have several hours for lunch and exploring the historic Plaza area. Then it's a simple drive back to Albuquerque for a final night and fond farewells.

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

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THE PERFORMERS:

TOM RUSSELL

www.tomrussell.com

"Russell's work is among the most moving and literary of the past thirty years, an antidote to the recent trajectory of self-absorption in American singer-songwriting . . . his story-songs are unlike any others." - Andrew Marcus, East Bay Express. Tom Russell was born in Los Angeles and now makes his home on the border in El Paso, Texas. He has recorded eighteen albums of original material and has written such classics as "Navajo Rug," "Gallo del Cielo," "Blue Wing," "Walking on the Moon," "St. Olav's Gate," and "Outbound Plane." Russell's songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Doug Sahm, Dave Alvin, Joe Ely, Ian Tyson, Suzy Bogguss, Iris DeMent, Peter Case, k.d. lang, Bob Neuwirth, Sylvia Tyson, Katy Moffatt and many others. Russell's acclaimed tribute to Merle Haggard, "Tulare Dust," co-produced with Dave Alvin, was responsible for creating what came to be known as the "Americana" radio format. Rolling Stone stated: "Russell is one of America's greatest songwriters...as close to a Homeric treatment of American history as we're ever likely to see."

WYLIE GUSTAFSON

www.wylieww.com

Audiences love this lanky cowboy with the big grin and the amazing yodel. Guitar in hand, Wylie Gustafson's energy is an imposing force. Yodeler, songwriter, rancher, horseman, and world famous "Yahooer," Wylie Gustafson has performed on stages including the Kennedy Center, the Grand Ole Opry (over 45 times), The National Folk Festival and the Lincoln Center. As one critic states, "Gustafson is the coolest cowpoke around. This guy is old school cool!" Wylie is truly one of the finest cowboy singers of his generation.

PAUL ZARZYSKI

www.paulzarzyski.com

Paul Zarzyski calls himself a Rodeo Poet, a title earned from the 35 years he's spent spurrin' the words wild across fenceless/open range of the blank page-15 of those years in which he rode bareback broncs on various rodeo circuits including the PRCA. Paul's been selected as a featured performer for every Elko Gathering since 1987. Three of his collections have become modern classics: WOLF TRACKS ON THE WELCOME MAT, which received the 2004 Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, ALL THIS WAY FOR THE SHORT RIDE (the rodeo poems), winner of The 1997 Western Heritage (Wrangler) Award from The National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, and BLUE-COLLAR LIGHT, a chapbook which speaks in both prose and poetry to his boyhood roots in northern Wisconsin. Paul has also co-written song lyrics with artists such as Ian Tyson, Tom Russell, Wylie Gustafson, Don Edwards and others. "Mr. Zarzyski alternates between bluster and lyricism. For the former, he uses lopingly metered stanzas and punch-drunk, self-mythologizing bravura. But he proves equally adept at meditative free verse." - The New York Times

GRETCHEN PETERS

www.gretchenpeters.com

"I think great songs are born. They are born with all the urgency of childbirth, born out of pain, anger, joy, wit, and delivered by instinct, skill and love." - Gretchen Peters

It is this passion for the song that fuels all facets of a career that has brought Gretchen Peters two Grammys, won the Country Music Association's "Song Of The Year" for the groundbreaking "Independence Day", taken her on repeated sold-out tours across the UK and Ireland, and seen the release of five acclaimed albums. Her latest, BURNT TOAST & OFFERINGS, was born out of the emotional remnants of what Peters calls a "mid-life epiphany" which culminated in the end of her 23 year marriage: it is a deeply personal coming-to-terms record that both reveals and transcends the specifics. The Associated Press states, "This is not jukebox music - the stuff that exists to fill in the pauses in conversation. This IS the conversation."

SOURDOUGH SLIM

www.sourdoughslim.com

"Audience members, impressed by his cascading yodels while two-steppin’ and fingering the accordion strapped to his chest were speechless when he did all those things and spun a flat lariat simultaneously." - Nevada Appeal.

Totally retro. Hilariously entertaining. From the moment this accordion squeezin’ Will Rogers swaggers on stage, it’s apparent to everyone that they’re in for a rollicking good time. Slim, aka Rick Crowder, has appeared at Carnegie Hall, The Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and ABC’s Good Morning America. The East Bay Express calls him "The most entertaining cowboy singer-yodeler-accordionist extant." Born in Hollywood, California, Rick Crowder spent much of his childhood on a family cattle ranch in the Sierra foothills. But as he explains, "my true calling as a cowboy was not on the range but, rather, on the stage." Nowadays Slim transports us to a whimsical world where vaudevillian camp intermingles with cowboy lore, producing grins galore. His fast-paced stage show combines cowboy singing, award winning yodeling and comedy, accompaniment on accordion, guitar, ukulele and harmonica and a keen knowledge of the traditional Western repertoire.

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PRICE:

Trip cost is $2089 USD per person (optional single supplement of $750 for solo travelers wishing additional privacy). Deluxe hotel option $250 additional (nights of 9/20, 21, 22). Driving option available at $1789 USD per person. $300 USD per person non-refundable deposit by credit card required to hold space. 2% discount on total price if you prepay in entirety or provide us with monthly postdated checks, sent at time of sign-up. Payments outside of deposit are refundable until 60 days prior to departure. Reservations are transferable. Trip is limited to 80 patrons. Itinerary above is subject to change. Liability release signature required.

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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, Via Rail Canada Inc., Tom Russell and Four Strong Winds, Ltd. 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. Lineup subject to change. 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.

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If you're interested in the Cowboy Train, you might want to know about these other organizations: BC Cowboy Heritage Society Cowboy Entertainer Magazine Canadian Cowboy Magazine www.WesternFolkLife.com