Burning The Man

Sunday evening, I met up with Katie, yet another friend from St. Louis, who has recently migrated West, in Winnemucca, NV, where she is living. We had dinner and drinks and plenty of great conversation. Monday morning, Katie made me breakfast, and then I headed out for Black Rock City.

The most direct way to get there from Winnemucca was by taking a nearly 100 mile gravel road. The alternatively was nearly twice as long, but on good highway. I opted for the gravel road. A short ways in, I passed a van stopped that had had a flat tire. Their spare was low on air and they were contemplating turning around. I couldn't help them, so I went on. I was driving pretty fast at this point. The gravel was not rutted or washboarded, and it seemed pretty safe. I then passed a truck going the other direction, and the driver flagged me down. They, too, had had a flat and were turning back. Apparently, the road is littered with sharp rocks that are murder on tires. I was over a third of the way (maybe half way?) by this point, so I didn't want to turn around. I slowed it down, and drove very carefully the rest of the way. I passed a sign with the mileage to Gerlach (the closest permanent town to BRC), and started watching the odometer. I felt like I was in a video game, watching the timer tick down to the end of the level, trying to stay alive..... I made it without mishap, but passed another couple in a rented SUV, with a flat tire, probably only 3 or 4 miles from the end of the gravel....

My first view of Black Rock City, from the road on the drive in....

I made it through the entry line, got my ticket from Will Call, and and located my camp, Pandora's Lounge And Fix-It Shop. I got in touch with this group through my friend, Cheryl, from St. Louis. Somehow, though, I neglected to take any pictures of the camp or the people I camped with. In retrospect, this was rather silly of me. Oh well, I'll just have to keep in touch with people and remember them that way, I suppose. :-)

A great deal of my time at Burning Man was spent just wandering the city taking in as much as I could of all that there was to see. It's impossible, nay, even inconceivable to experience all that BRC has to offer, but I did my best. Here's a tiny taste....

The Raygun Gothic Rocketship

The Man

"Portal of Evolution" - The top spins, and you can climb up and sit in it...

I love this piece. It's hard for me to say exactly what it is about it that inspires me...something about the organic lines portrayed so effectively through the industrial medium.....

I just find it beautiful.....

One of the coolest "art cars" on the playa. I wish I had a better picture of it.

There were several "Flintstones" cars running around...

The man at night

Yeah, it's a giant, glowing rubber duck. The surreal is commonplace on the Playa.

Giant Rubik's Cube. The best part is that it really "worked". People were trying to solve it, and you could watch the patterns change.

The Temple at night

Beginning to burn The Man

The Temple burns....

All-in-all, Burning Man was a unique and special experience. I have yet to decide if it's something I will do again, but it's certainly something I'm glad to have done.

Oh, yeah, I did run into Joe. He came by Pandora's and hung out a couple of times. I suspect it's not the last I've seen of him.... :-)