So it's officially on. In 90 days from today, I will be leaving the armpit of America (aka Ohio) and heading to my first visit to the playa. Let me just say, yee-fricken'-ha! I'm beyond excited!!! My goggles just showed up in the mail yesterday and picked up a few extras for the GoPro. Is it nerdy t...

Ah! One other thing regarding these shade structures - I read everywhere about the best way to secure the guy lines. Rebar or long lag screws driven into the playa? I'm obviously having a hard time trying to wrap my brain around how hard this surface actually is. You need a drill to drive these lag ...

@BBadger - I like the idea of the running rigging - appreciate that info. Seems to make sense that it would allow for "secure movement" in the wind. I'll be camping at a music festival at the beginning of June and I just might make a sample sun shade using bungees on one side and running rigging on ...

Sounds like EMT is the way to go. I use bungee balls for structures when we camp (though obviously not in the expected gale force winds), so I've got loads already on hand. I guess I was thinking that taught and tight was better than flexible - seems to not be the case here though. I really apprecia...

Since this year will be my first burn, I've been working on some different shade structures. Initially we were going to do a large monkey hut covering tents (thanks to designs I've seen on/through eplaya), but looks as though we now have access to a used school bus. Obviously that provides us with a...

Ha! Thanks for the suggestion Savannah. I was bumbling around eplaya yesterday afternoon (instead of doing my work) and happened to come across that same post. It had some great suggestions!

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I have heard talk that there is/are Grateful Dead camps/theme camps/groups at Burning Man. Can this really be true? 2016 will be my first burn and I'd love to hook up with some kind heads. I've seen where there is occasionally a loose camp called...

I appreciate it all. Sounds like the whole "family" atmosphere is true! I'm hoping to use this experience to help come out of my shell a bit. Not a fan of being in the spotlight and typically more comfortable in the background, this whole experience is going to force me out of my comfort zone. I've ...

Well, it finally happened. After trying to get tickets for 2014 and 2015, I was able to score tickets for 2016 (plus a parking pass!). To say the least, I'm completely thrilled about going (well, minus the drive from Ohio). I feel like I've been planning and prepping for this thing for over two year...