It's Never Too Late (for new adventure)

Burning Man (BM): Top 10 things to know going in, OK so 12

2010-02-13T08:04:00.000-08:00

1. Have an open mind. This is the most creative place I’ve ever been; good, bad and ugly. Black Rock City is also the most diverse place you will visit you will encounter all walks of life.

2. It’s hot, windy and dusty every day. If you don’t like extreme weather or you don’t like to get dirty then don’t go. One of the gals in our group was just miserable with the dust, and she went home early.

3. Sun Screen: The sports sun screens work well because they don’t sweat off.

4. Food and Water: It’s good to have water & food with you always.

The fitness waters are good with electrolytes for hydration.
Cliff bars, Power bars, etc are good for quick snacks.
Plan easy camp meals. Don’t get to fancy because you may have to cook in the wind and/or dust.

5. Dust Gear: Dust goggles, dust masks, hankies and a Compass.

Dust Goggles: Get clear and smoked lenses. The goggles with exchangeable lenses are a good way to go.
Dust Mask: Be sure to get one with a valve because you will breathe easier.
Hankies: I made hankies out of Batik material (no sew; just cut them out with pinking shears). It is heavy cotton and works well to keep the dust at bay for lighter storms.
Compass: Just in case you need to get your bearings in a dust storm to get to the closest shelter.

6. Comfortable clothes & shoes:

Be prepared for hot days and cold nights. Layering works well.
Walking shorts for the day and pants for the colder nights.
Short and long sleeve tee shirts and a sweat shirt (or fleece pullover) two fit the layering plan.
Hiking boots are a must for comfy feet (read about Playa feet).
Bike shorts if your going to spend any time on a burner bike

7. Ear plugs: Burning Man goes 24-7 so ear plugs are a must.

8. Mountain Bike: Bring a mountain bike (the knobbier the tires the better). It’s a great way to get around. If you plan to use a bike as your main transport you might want to consider mountain bike shorts. They look like baggy shorts and they will save your bum.

9. Epsom salts: Bring Epsom salts and your feet will love you. We evolved into this great afternoon ritual. We talked about things we’d seen during our day and we soaked our tired feet.

10. Bring nothing that you care about to Burning Man. It may not live to tell about the trip. I was very worried about my camera equipment but not so much that I didn’t take it all. I have to replace some lens filters and I have a lot of cleaning to do now, but I’m glad I had everything with me.

11. Volunteer as much as you can. You will see a different side of the event and you will have a better understanding of some of the Burning Man thinking by gifting your time.

12. Read all you can on the Burning Man site before you go. There is a lot going on every day and night so be sure to check out the daily schedules on the website.

Burning Man - The way home

2009-11-21T19:17:00.000-08:00

I was up early for a walk in the morning

When I got back to our camp the other two survivors were up and started taking down what was left of our camp.

Luckily we managed to get everything in the trailer and the truck and we were on our way.

We thought we were out early, beat the rush, but not so much...

It took a bit of time to get out of Burning Man

Burning Man 2009 The End

Burning Man - The Burn!

2009-11-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

So it was finally here, and Wayne, Micheal, & I headed to the Playa for the burn. We wander around a bit to find a place to watch.

The fire dancers started the burn...

It was so amazing to watch them perform.

As they danced the fireworks started

For the first time I noticed that the Man's arms were up!

The fireworks went on and on and then the Man began to burn at the chest...

The fireworks came to an end and the burn took over, it was truly amazing.

The Man burned and then the structure below started to burn.

The Burn was the most amazing thing I've every experienced.

I decided to see if I could get closer and wormed my way forward. I was standing behind to very tall men and so I complained about being short. The next thing I knew I was hoisted on to one of guys shoulders for my last few pictures...

Burning Man was an unexpected adventure.

Burning Man - Me, Linda & Captain Underpants

2009-11-14T06:42:00.000-08:00

So after some napping, I went out for an adventure with Linda and Captain Underpants. We decided to spend our afternoon gifting an bar hopping.

With wagon in tow, we started at our neighborhood bar, gifting some margarita mix.

We came on a volunteer parade and we gifted hard lemonade, beer and more...

We stumbled upon Black Rock Brewing... Gifted some cups and enjoyed the craft beer, today they were pouring a hoppy Belgian that was really good.

A theme camp for beer lovers to come and belly up to the bar or relax on the couches enjoying the pour of the day.

Then we were off to the Petting Zoo to gift the rest of our wagon
v

After some time at the Zoo we head back to camp for dinner and the worst dust storm we had all week.
No need to fret, just make the best of it...

Back at came Wayne (Captain Underpants) & Linda had to cook our dinner in the trailer. Our Neighbor Michel & I weathered the dust storm outside...

The dust storm was bad enough that they were talking about aborting the burn. We listened to Burning Man radio for the weather report and finally after 10 the decision was made and the burn was on!

Burning Man - And then there were three...

2009-11-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

I get back to camp from my morning Playa visit and I find out that two more were leaving and the van was leaving with them.

We had to make a lot of decisions quickly.

Identify stuff we would need
Pack up what we wouldn't need
Consolidate coolers
Be very sure that we could haul out everything we had left

Oh yeah and I had to move my tent. I put my tent in front of the trailer for shelter, which seem like a good idea at the time but now I had to move it so they could leave. To move the tent we had to pull out nine 18" stakes!

All this before we caffeine and breakfast.

Our neighbors, Micheal & Earl, join us for some Mimosa's...
After breakfast it was a nap for me in my new accommodations in the back of Wayne's truck. No way was I gonna pound those takes back into the ground.

Now we were three, me, Linda, & Captain Underpants.

Burning Man - Saturday Morning

2009-11-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

So the day started the same as most of the days at Burning Man. I was up early headed for the Playa.

I found the Never Was parked on the Playa...
I watched the sun come up with the Man...
Party goers having one last Burning Man adventure...
Like my other mornings, it was the start of my day and the end of the previous day for others.

Bruning Man - Friday Night

2009-11-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

We headed out to the Playa to see the blast off of the Rocket ship and saw a couple of cool things on the way...

So we found a place to view the blast off and waited and waited and waited.... and waited... and waited some more.
So I must admit we got really impatient and we couldn't wait for the blast off... Which was wasn't really a blast off but a burn and we missed it... We went back to our camp for a night cap and called it a night.

Burning Man - Roaming The Neighborhood

2009-11-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I spent my time roaming around the campsites. I talked to a lot of people, took pictures for a lot of people and came across an amazing mutant vehicle...

Hubby Rob restored a 56 Chevy and I understand what goes into getting these vehicles back on the road. Trying to integrate the new with the old, finding replacement parts, just getting everything back together...
The amount of work that goes into mutant vehicles is just incredible. Everything is custom, no surfing on the internet for a plug and play part. The body of the this vehicle was covered with muffin tins, pizza trays, pie tins, car grills, pipes, pretty much anything else you could think of. This vehicle was truly amazing.

Burning Man - Back out to the Playa... again...

2009-10-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

So after we saw Dennis & Jeanie off I headed back out to the Playa with our neighbor Clay. We both had something we wanted to see, Clay wanted to see a Victorian house on wheels and I wanted to see a horse I had seen the previous morning on my first run.

We were riding on the Playa and we came upon a young man and I think he was ending the previous day. We asked him what to see on this side of the Playa and he responded with a lecture.
He said to Clay "Man why are you askin' me about what to see? You need to let this place just unfold man..." He continued to lecture us on finding our own way and then he asked Clay "Man you ever been to F@%kin' Around dot com?" Clay and I just looked at each other and shrugged. He continued on "Man it's right here" (he pointed to his head) "You just go to F@%kin' Around dot com and let life unfold"...

So after the lecture we got on our way letting Burning Man unfold. We spent the rest of our morning in "F@%kin ' Around dot com". We chased mutant vehicles for pictures and we then came across my horse,
well ok it was really a giraffe. My only excuse is that I saw it at 6:30 in the morning on a run at 3000 feet (I live 320 feet)... I had oxygen deprecation....

Next on the journey at 'F@%kin' Around dot com' was the “NeverWas Haul” by NeverWas Crew

This was mutant vehicle was inspired by Jules Verne, H.G.Wells, and other Victorian-era writers who wrote about a time where steam technology was considered cutting edge and brave explorers.

This pre-turn of the century, steam powered, mobile Victorian house was built for Burning Man 2006. It stands 3 stories in height, and is decorated with the relics and artifacts collected in its journey around the globe.

It has had some additional treasures collected during it’s journey through Black Rock City. Visitors can tour the Haul and see the advanced steam technology.

The detail on the 'Never Was' was truly amazing...
learn more @ http://www.neverwashaul.com/

Next on the journey was again chasing mutant vehicles and this vehicle was right next door, so not much chasing...

The Starter

The steering wheel

Next was a mutant vehicle I had seen before a cabin on a trailer, pulled by a really cool old tractor... Had a little more time around the mutant this time

We came across a bird nest
So now it was time to head back to camp. Just head past the Man, wait where the Man?

Past the Man and on the way back to camp....

So what did I took away from this day was that I should go to F@%kin' Around dot com as much as I can...

Burning Man - So life changes

2009-10-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

We started with seven people in our group, but one member said from the start that he didn't know when he would arrive at Burning Man or when he would leave. He set an expectation from the very beginning. When you do something like Burning Man you need to understand everyone's commitment in your group.

When I arrived back at camp from my morning trek and found out that Dennis and Jeanie were getting ready to leave. They were very concerned about what that meant to the group. They went out of their way to make sure that leaving would not impact the rest us. They asked if they could take things we didn't need or could they leave things that we might need. For me I didn't have a good pad to sleep on so they left their sleeping bags so I could have a more comfortable sleeping arrangement. They took some big items that would help with our exit.

So today we were seven and now we are 5. We were are 5 in a good and sad way.
So when you go to Burning Man you need to understand the commitment from each person in your group. Dennis set expectations early, and once gone they were missed but we had all that we needed.

What was our group commitment? Our group commitment was that the van would be there for us to house the refrigerator, provide power and shelter for dust storms and heat. The other expectation was that we would be able to take out of Burning Man everything we brought with in.

Burning Man - Sunrise on the Playa

2009-10-18T17:19:00.000-07:00

I wouldn’t say it was quiet because Burning Man was never quiet, but it was peaceful on the Playa at sunrise. There was still activity, the end of the previous day for some and the beginning of a new day for others. It was nice time to be out for a run, ride, a photo hunt or just to be out.

The morning on the Playa was really a wonder experience...

Burning Man - Thursday Night on the Playa

2009-10-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

Towers of Shivaby Dave King & Controlled Burn, - Reno, NV

The Towers of Shiva is the third and final evolution of the Shive Vista Project. It is a place where humans and fire breathing hardware dance together in the heat of the night. An elevated fire performance platform is lit by fire breathing towers and a row of mechanized flame effects. Drummers, Fire dancers and synchronized flames blend together in a powerful expression of the Art of Fire.

Soma by Flaming Lotus Girls

Who Gave Birth? by Laura Kimpton - Nicasio, CA

This art is a celebration of all MOM's, and the original MOM Mother Earth.

Groovik's Cube (http://www.groovik.com/)
A large scale (15'x15'x15'), functional Rubik's Cube. The motion is simulated by 648 superbright LEDs which light the cube from the inside. The motion of the lights is accompanied by the sound of gears and mechanical clicking. The entire process is controlled by 3 separate controllers, each with 6 buttons. The three participants must work together to solve the cube.

Or you can find just the right shutter speed...

Burning Man - Captain Underpants!

2009-10-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

Back at camp we discovered Captain Underpants was a member of our marry band, who knew...

Turns out our Wayne came out of hiding to go to the Super Hero Pub Crawl

All of the Super Hero's at Burning Man gather at the first pub

Even the super hero's can escape the dust storms...

It's a good thing the Super Hero's are equip with all the right equipment so the party goes on.

And it's a good thing I did my homework, dust goggles and a good hankie go along way at Burning Man.

Burning Man - Thursday a mid morning walk with friends

2009-10-09T19:08:00.000-07:00

After a shower and some food it was back to the Playa yet again with Dennis & Jeanie. First off, on the way to the Playa, we encountered the Twistine ChapelNo matter where you are in the world the you can't escape the parking issues...

They call this the Burning Man shower.
This was a mutant vehicle we hear a lot about and I wish we had seen it move. They say the earth shakes with every step and every step leaves an amazing divot.
Dennis and Jeanie for scale
You can even make your own art at Burning Man
Or have your fortune told... Well maybe not.
You can have a ride on a majic carpet or take a trip to the Burning Man Costco.
Jeanie about to enjoy a Costco experience.
Which can be a little noisy and dusty.
So after browsing at Costco we headed back to camp.

Burning Man - Thrusday Morning

2009-10-04T17:58:00.001-07:00

So because I was helping a friend train for a marathon I decided to run on Thursday morning. I headed out on Jurassic towards 10:00 took a left and headed to the city center. Ran to 2:00 and back on Jurassic to camp. It was a really nice run, being out early is really peaceful. To my surprise on my return to camp our neighbor ask "you warming up for the 5k", I responded "5k?"... So I'd ran 6 miles only to find out that there was a 5k, and because of a past experience France, I couldn't say no. Clay and I headed off to run the Burning Man 5k.

The course was from the city center past Burning Man continue on past the Temple and turn around when you see the race director's girlfriend with a sign that said "Turn around here"... It was good fun.

Burning Man - Nighttime on the Playa

2009-09-30T17:46:00.001-07:00

I really had no idea what the Playa would be like at night. Friends had told me that the Playa came alive at night, but that could mean a lot of things.

Nighttime on the Playa was an absolute trip! It was the most amazing rush to be out on your bike weaving in and out of people, the art, other bicycles, and mutant vehicles. The music would come and go with the most all of the mutant vehicles. Several of the mutants had dance floors full of people, and all of the vehicles were bright and colorful.

Video by Dennis (Thanks for sharing)

Night photography not my best talent, but I did OK my first night out on the Playa
Ecstasy by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito was my favorite art at Burning Man. I had shot so many pictures during the day of her and never noticed that her fingers were black with soot. To my sunrise, the first time I saw her at night she had a fire in her hands. Ecstasy was first displayed at Burning Man in 2008

In'cu-nab"u·lum was a challenge, people in the way, the lighting, but after a lot of shots I got a good one.
In'cu-nab"u·lum by Iron Monkeys, Seattle, WA (from the Burning Man Website)
In`cu·nab"u·lum is the universe turned inside out, scaled down to a size we can relate to, and placed on our fingertips. Encountering In`cu·nab"u·lum, participants will be led to consider one of the primary dualities of our existence: Our rational minds tell us that we are an inconsequential part of a vast, uncaring universe; yet, we know, in another sense, that we are responsible for creating our own universe and that nothing exists outside our own experience. In`cu·nab"u·lum will allow participants to explore these two concepts and encourage them to consider how different they really are.

This piece of art is also unknown and I didn't know it burned until this first wonderful night on the Playa.
Not a lot of good shots for the night, but not bad given that they were hand held and I didn't know what I was doing...

I had a blast on my first night out on the Playa!

Burning Man - Wednesday afternoon, out with friends

2009-09-27T17:18:00.001-07:00

After a trip back to camp and a soak of my aching feet, I was out again. This time on foot with my camp-mates Linda and WayneWe walked out to the Playa and visited some more art. This art was from a previous year. I could find out anything about it so as Wayne would say "It is what it is"... And it was cool.
And apparently a good back-drop for parking the bikes and necking with the girlfriend.
Key Note by Michael Christian, Oakland, CA (Art description from the Burning Man website)A figurative piece made entirely of locks - padlocks, door locks, cabinet and chest locks, car locks, bike locks, locks, locks, locks. Locks we use to secure all we find of value or feel the need to protect. The world as we create and understand it. The figure will be dragging a very large key ring holding thousands of keys the while embodying the feeling of one in continual motion - a body in pursuit of another key, the right key, the one key. A paradox of life as we know it.

The chain was made out of keysAnd his body out of locks
And he had a great shadow...
You really had to look around all of the time... I turned just at the right moment to see a push-me-pull bicycle! Who Knew!!!!

Next up was was wire art... The artist was making the last few adjustments.
Very detailed twisted wire, kinda amazing.

As you wander around you come across the most amazing things. I call him Rasta-Man.
The white tree, again an unknown art...

Another trip to the Man...

This was the cutest mutant vehicle yet and later they would be serving Chinese food!

Hungry now, back to camp now for dinner...

Burning Man - Wednesday continues

2009-09-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

Back at camp I found most of the group relaxing, all but one...
Some one was using the camp outdoor shower... Thanks Dennis I needed an action shot.
And thanks Jeanie picture tip. And let me say the I NEVER sat on that chair when I was in the shower ;)

After that opportunity figured I better head back out to the Playa. So back on my bike headed out to the the Playa.

As usual there were several amazing mutant vehicles.Then I encountered the Burner Without Borders. These are people that take the principles of Burning Man home with them. These Burners actively engaged in community-based, civic volunteer projects throughout the year.

Next up was art from 2008 Avocamentum Galactica MkII by Douglas Ruuska
You cannot go to the Galaxies, so why not let one come to you? Be mesmerized by a stately spinning, double-armed spiral representation of our native stellar whirlpool, where a myriad of thousands of stars in constantly changing hues and patterns. This, coupled with orreric representations of the signs of the Zodiac is appearing nightly on a Playa near you.
I really liked the shadows it made...

The Flam Thrower Shooting Gallery by Matisse Enzer, San Francisco, CA
Modeled after "County Fair" style shooting galleries the Flamethrower Shooting Gallery provides a flaming twist on a long-standing American tradition and pokes gentle fun at the American fascination with firearms and personal power, along with the Burning Man fascination with fire and "radical self expression" by allowing and encouraging participants to literally play with fire.

Soma by Flaming Lotus Girls, San Francisco, CA Soma translates the anatomy of neurons into metal, fire and light; magnifying the microscopic world to an epic scale. You will see this later on one of my night time runs.

Gee-Gnome by Rosa Anna DeFilippis, Peter Youngmeister, Caroline Miller, John DeVenezia, San Francisco, CA Gee-Gnome! is a sculptural representation of a garden gnome, 5' tall and 2' wide, cast in aluminum to create a realistic depiction of General Gnomius the Great.

The Plastic Planet was created in 2008 and was a plea for people to embrace the environment.

UnKnown Sphinx, art from a previous year.

Chimera Sententia by Rebecca Anders & Jessica Hobbs, San Francisco, CA
As if pulling itself from primordial ooze the Chimera Sententia rises from the playa floor. A creature of indeterminate origin out of sync with time and place greets participants; a hybrid expressing a point where evolutionary paths cross.

Not sure what's going with the outdoor closet....

A view of the playa, ever changing and mutant's everywhere

The most wonderful thing about being out on the Playa was the people you came across. This gal was from Arizona and had the most tasty honey that came from her own bees. She had spoons hanging on her bike so you took a spoon and had a spoon full.

And you left with the spoon as a gift. Each hand engraved.
Fire Of Fires by David Umlas, Marrilee Ratcliffe, Community Art Makers
As human nature and perception have evolved, whether we feel with our heart, question with our mind, or attempt to explain our reality ... fire has been at our center. At the center of our structure is the fire. Encased in thirty-two vertical feet of clear polycarbonate sheeting, nine gas lamps come alive as a tornado of flame as participants interact with the Temple. From one flame, all lamps can be kindled: fire imparts infinitely without loss. From a single, human desire all branches swirl out and find form upon a tangled bank.
I couldn't find out anything about this art it was from a previous year. It was cool, lots of people tried to play it...
So I'd been out on the playa for a couple of hours, I was hot and tired. I decided to head back to camp. I was just going to head straight back to camp but I had to stop for Janis Joplin... This guy was great the music was blasting and Janis was singing her hart out...

Janis wasn't the only puppet he had, there were several other but the only show I saw was Janis.

All art descriptions came from the Burning Man Website.

Burning Man: Wednesday was non stop - The morning outing

2009-09-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

I started my day with a ride around the perimeter of the Playa. From camp I took Jurassic to 10:00 am and headed out to the outer edge of Black Rock City.
I traveled along the fence not really sure what I would see and to my surprise my first encounter was a mutant vehicle. At this point I was still surprised when I came across something I didn't expect. Burning Man was all about what you didn't expect...
This Vehicle was actually a trailer pulled by a really cool old tractor (probably 50 vintage). Luckily I came across it again on Thursday with a closer look I missed half the detail.

Next I came across the carcass the of a dinosaur

It was constructed out of plastic

Me and Dino... Made me miss my beast.

I continued on and came up on a guy playing his drum. Fortunately he saw me coming so we chatted a bit and I ask if I could take a picture. I'm not sure I mentioned this before but at Burning Man you should always ask before you take a picture. It wasn't such a big deal with the mutant vehicles, 'no' was never the answer, but with people it was a different story.

Some of the art on the outer borders was kinda weird, OK so the dinosaur was kinda weird, but it was also kinda cool. The next art installation was also weird, and I really wasn't sure what the artist was going for....

So I guess it was all about bugs, bugs reaching for something or escaping from something, not really sure....

Some of the art on the Playa was there as art, but also to enjoy. This was the case with the next encounter. People just hanging, reading the paper or a magazine, just relaxing...
After the Playa living room there wasn't anymore more art for the rest of my ride. In the end there wasn't much out on the rim but I'm glad I went. I learned how to ride in sand again (can you say 'squirrelly'), had some quiet time, some great weather and I saw some art.

Burning Man: Time to explore

2009-09-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

The camp was finally set up and I was very anxious to get out and see the sites and most anxious to see The Man. So far I'd only seen his head pop up from behind the RV across from our camp.

When leaving your camp for the first time you really need to pay attention to the street signs so you can find your way back. We were on Jurassic between 5:00 & 5:30.

We headed toward the city center and encountered our first mutant vehicle.

Because the theme this year was evolution there were several Flinstone vehicles.

We got Burning Man tattoo stamps

They gave me my first gift because I was new to Burning Man and I wore it proudly all week.

Most camps had something of interest

Every where you turned you saw something worth a look

No one but the creator of this bike could ride it without help...

We passed Silicon Village

We went on to find the Playa and the first view of The Man

Burning Man consisted of irregular wooden triangles surrounding The Man, no two triangles are alike. Burning man is supported by a central tree, a beribboned with double helix. Lit at night the structure change unexpectedly during the week.
The triangles were made of 2 by 4's and at the base of the structure people added prayers and hopes to be released with the burning of The Man.

We went of to see other art on the Playa...

All of the art interesting and most of the art was lit or burned at night.

Some of the art was incomplete at the begining of the week

On my first visit to the Playa I found my #1 favorite art (well after The Man).

She stood about 50th tall with metal-dreaded hair, her arms reaching towards the sky. This art was amazing during the day and I didn't expect that she would be more impressive at night.

I have found out since my return that she was one of three huge sculptures of human form. The skin of the huge forms consist of metal chains and rings welded together. She was the tallest of the tree facing the Playa.

More to follow...

Burning Man: Setting up Camp

2009-09-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

The first view of the Black Rock City...

There are some assigned sites for theme camps but for most us you just drive into camp and head down the first or second populated street you come to and look for a spot to set up camp. Black Rock City is setup in circular grid with streets from A to K

Adapt
Biology
Chaos
DNA
Extinct
Fossil
Genome
Hominid
Inherit
Jurassic
Kinship

and spokes from the city center from 10:00 am to 2:00 am. We turned on Jurassic and found a place @5:15.

Setting up camp is a challenge. You need to setup your vehicles so that they give you protection from the elements. We set up our camp in a u-shape with the Mac Tool van as the main break for the wind.

Burning Man - Finally we arrive

2009-09-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning we all packed up by 8:30 and we were off to Burning Man. At Burning Man nothing is for sale except ice so you have to bring everything you need for the week. We had two generators, 3 air conditioners (2 in the large van and 1 backup), 5 large barrels of water, a refrigerator, 7 ice chests, 6 burner bikes, food, drink and more. Probably more than we needed.

One stop to fill up the vehicles, gas can and get ice and we were on our way.

Silver Springs is about 2 1/2 hours from Black Rock City and with the vehicles loaded to the max it took a bit longer than that.

The closest town to Burning Man is Gerlach Nv. The population is 499 people and town embraces the event. It is the last place to pick up things you may have forgotten. You can rent a bike, get the dust goggles you forgot, bandannas, and other Burning Man necessities. After the Burning man, on the way out, you can get a shower, a car wash, or get an Indian taco... You can also donate non parishable food items and bikes.

Just as you leave Gerlach you get your first view of Black Rock Desert.

And then your first glimpse the hundreds of vehicles approaching the gates of Black Rock City. This year Black Rock Cities population was just under 50,000 people.

Finally we are at Burning Man's entrance!

Ted, Vicky, Jeanie, Dennis, me, Linda & Wayne.

Our band of seven.

Once you get to the gate it can be a long wait. You need to have your tickets out for the greeter and every vehicle is searched for forbidden items, so you need to be patient.

Also at the gate they ask if anyone is new to Burning Man and if so you have to go through an initiations or maybe more like a transition to the experience you are about to have.

Jeanie and I were the Burning Man virgins so both of us had to participate in the retural. I won't tell what the we had to do, but it was all good fun...

We were finally at Burning Man!

Burning Man: Leave Saturday the 29th... Well maybe not.

2009-09-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

Our plan to leave on Saturday the 29th of August for Silver Springs where Ted and Vicky live but Friday while installing a new battery in the van a wire was crossed and some wires fried. So the boys tried to fix the problem which went well into Saturday so our departure slipped to Sunday.

Sunday afternoon we were finally on our way, Ted drove the Van, Dennis drove a rented van, and Wayne, Linda and I were with in Wayne's truck pulling a small trailer. We left at 2:00 and arrived in Silver Springs about 8:00 that evening.

We spent Monday taking care of the last minute items

Shop for perishable food and beverages
The final pack
Last minute checks on all of the vehicles

Good thing they did the final vehicle check, they found a problem with the truck that was already at Ted's place. The truck had two dead batteries so the late in the afternoon the quest was on to get new batteries.
Meanwhile we were doing work on the gifting items and Burning Man tee-shirts for the group

We finished necklaces, zipper pulls, we made small Burning Man iron-on's,

We purchased 'night on the town' gifting items which consists of plastic cups or a bottle of this or that. These items can take you through the evening. Monday was a productive day for gifting.

In hind site plastic reusable cups would be better, many of the bar's don't except moop (matter out of place).

By the end of the day on Monday we were ready to leave first thing in the morning.

Burning Man: The planning or lack of planning

2009-08-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

So planning for this trip was hap-hazard at best. We didn't set the departure until the our one and only Burning Man meeting two weeks before Burning Man was to start. The beer probably helped... We were going to leave Saturday the 29th.

Four of the seven. Wayne, Susan, Ted & Dennis.

Yesterday I finally got my ride nailed down, I'll be riding up with Wayne and Linda.

The escape vehicle is a Mac Tool truck that we gutted all but a couple of shelves.
It has a generator and two air conditioners. This is a place to go if there is extreme weather, which will likely happen.

There is room for a refrigerator in the truck so we are good for food and ice.

Personal planning was good, no one to get in the way but me.

My first list the follows:

Camera protection

My camera was a big concern but I found a plastic waterproof bag to protect it from the elements. The Water Proof Store had covers for my point & shoot and my slr http://www.thewaterproofstore.com/455.html.

Dust goggles

Because of the dust storms you need good eye protection. I found the goggles on line at Planet Optics www.OpticsPlanet.net

First Aid Kit

The Burning Man website had a great list for the first aid kit. Sun screen and feet protection were big on my list

Clothing

Tee shirts (I died and covered with personal evolution art)
short for the day and pants at night (it gets cold at night)
Hoodie or two

A place to stay

Tent (low profile)
Tent stakes (18 inch re-bar stakes)
Sleeping bag and pad (the pad turned out to be a lawn chair)

Burning Man Transportation

Burner Bikes (trashed bikes are good for burning man)

Gifting items

Bracelets, zipper pulls, mati-gras beads... Things to gift for morning yoga or for someone giving a helping hand.
Plastic cups, and other practical items... Plastic cups are good for the local bar

So it's really here, I can't wait to experience the event!

Burning Man: T-1

2009-08-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday morning and only a few things left to do. I really can and can't believe I'm going to Burning Man.

So why am I going? Some friends went last year and I couldn't go and after the planning for this year I wish I'd gone last year. Last year a fifth wheel trailer and an RV, this year a converted Mac tool van, a pop-up and a small trailer. I think it started about the idea of going, check the box, I could say “I’ve been to Burning Man”, but now after researching the event I’m going for the creativity of the event. When I tell someone I’m going the look on their face gives away what their thinking, drugs, naked people, orgies… I’m going to see all of the things you don’t hear about Burning Man. The art on the playa, mutant vehicles (more later), costumes, theme camps, and so more.

The Burning Man event is governed by 10 principles,

radical inclusion
gifting
decommodification
radical self-reliance
radical self-expression
communal effort
civic responsibility
leaving no trace
participation
immediacy

Burning Man: Art on the playa

2009-08-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

Burning Man is a city in the desert that is dedicated to self reliance, self-expression and art. Sculptures, installations, performance, theme camps, art cars and costumes spread across the temporary community. The Black Rock Art Foundation was established to promote interactive performance art.

Preview the art: http://www.burningman.com/installations/09_art_honor.html

The artwork is viewed as a gift the artist makes to the community, but there are grants available to the participants. The grants are to help artists produce work beyond their own means.

In 1996 Burning Man started adopting a theme. This year the theme is evolution. The theme prompts three questions:

What are we as human beings?
Where have we come from?
How will we adapt to meet the changing world?

This is some of the art I produced for our camp...

Burning Man - So it's never too late to go

2009-08-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

So what is Burning Man?

Burning Man started as a ritual bonfire on the summer solstice in 1986 on the Baker Beach in San Francisco. Larry Harvey, Jerry James and a few friends got together and they burned the Man (8ft tall) and a smaller wooden dog as a act of self-expression. In 1990 the city put the brakes on fires at the beach and the man created for that year was destroyed by park employee. They recreated the man from the remnants and took to the desert.

1990 – A separate event was being planned by Kevin Evans and John Law in the Black Rock Desert

Meanwhile, back in San Francisco the city put the brakes on fires at the beach and they agreed not to burn the man but the man created for that year was destroyed by park employee. They recreated the man from the remnants just in time to take it to the desert.

1997 the event moved to private property. Fly ranch, with the adjoining Hualapai mini dry lake-bed playa was chosen. With the move came some changes over the years. To comply with the new permit requirements and increased liability the organizers formed Black Rock City LLC. With the challenge of balance between law enforcement requirements and freedom of the participants a number of restrictions have been adopted.

An imposed curved grid street structure.
A speed limit of 5 mph (8 km/h).
ban on driving, except for approved "mutant vehicles" (more later on these) and service vehicles.
Restrictions and imposing of safety standards on mutant vehicles.
A ban on camp fires and Tiki torches.
Burning your own art must be done on an approved burn platform.
A ban on fireworks.
A ban on firearms.
A ban on dogs.

The Man has grown over the years from where it started in 1986 at 8 ft to 84 ft in 2008.