Hello, hello!

[Maizie]

Greetings to everyone!

My name is Maizie, and this will be my first Burn. I've been reading the forums for a while trying to pick up as much information as I can -- between that, and involvement in my regional group (including our Saskatchewan regional effigy for the C.O.R.E. project!) I think I'm sort of prepped for this year in that I'm pretty sure I'll be fine, but I'm also pretty sure I'll get there and realize I didn't pack enough costumes/packed too many hats/over-estimated the amount of food I will eat/something else . . . okay, I don't want to think about what's going to go wrong, haha.

I'll be driving down with my husband and two friends -- it's going to be a huge adventure for all of us, but particularly for me, as the furthest I have ever been away from home is a six hour drive by car. I've only left the province three times, and I've never left the country. So I'm looking forward for the opportunity to get out there and see things. I've wanted to go to Burning Man for a few years now, but it wasn't until this year that my husband and I realized that we both wanted to go, so we made plans, and this year is the year!

Anyways, I am looking forward to meeting people on ePlaya as well as meeting people on the Playa at the end of this month!

Maizie.

[trilobyte]

Sounds awesome, welcome to ePlaya! And fear not, you all have a reasonably good chance of survival.

Do take a look around, check out the Q&A and Share Resources boards with any questions you may have, and check out the theme camp list on the main site or the theme camp boards for all things camp-tastic. Don't even worry about if you have too few or too many costumes, it's your first year just get there and have a good time. There are a couple camps you may want to keep an eye out for, though - Black Rock Boutique and Kostume Kult. Both spend their time throughout the year gathering/collecting playa-tastic bits and pieces. If you get out there and feel the need to change your look, head over there and see if there's anything you'd be interested in swapping out. Think of it as a 'take a penny/leave a penny' for playawear

[Elderberry]

Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

Have questions? Read this first: http://www.burningman.com/first_timers/
Everybody on eplaya is always excited to help first timers; but in sympathy for some of us old timers, please get your required reading out of the way before posting. As hard as it is to rein in the the excitement and enthusiasm, and as unbelievable as it might seem, most of your questions have already been asked and answered, if you just take a moment to read.

Now, let the adventure begin!

[theCryptofishist]

..but it wasn't until this year that my husband and I realized that we both wanted to go...

I find this both very funny and poignant.

[NellieX]

Hi Maizie!

[illy dilly]

Hello Maizie! Welcome to Eplaya!

How long of a drive is that?

With being prepared, I figure there is never too much _____. But it is very easy to not have enough ____.
Bring extra what ever it is, and if you don't use it all share it or take it home.

[Dr. Pyro]

Don't forget your passport and be sure to stop by the Meet & Greet Thursday at 6 p.m. at Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro, on the corner of 3:30 and Engagement.

[Ugly Dougly]

I've only left the province three times, and I've never left the country....

I reckon you ain't from around these here parts?

[Savannah]

Greetings to everyone!

My name is Maizie, and this will be my first Burn. I've been reading the forums for a while trying to pick up as much information as I can -- between that, and involvement in my regional group (including our Saskatchewan regional effigy for the C.O.R.E. project!) I think I'm sort of prepped for this year in that I'm pretty sure I'll be fine, but I'm also pretty sure I'll get there and realize I didn't pack enough costumes/packed too many hats/over-estimated the amount of food I will eat/something else . . . okay, I don't want to think about what's going to go wrong, haha.

I'll be driving down with my husband and two friends -- it's going to be a huge adventure for all of us, but particularly for me, as the furthest I have ever been away from home is a six hour drive by car. I've only left the province three times, and I've never left the country. So I'm looking forward for the opportunity to get out there and see things. I've wanted to go to Burning Man for a few years now, but it wasn't until this year that my husband and I realized that we both wanted to go, so we made plans, and this year is the year!

Anyways, I am looking forward to meeting people on ePlaya as well as meeting people on the Playa at the end of this month!

Maizie.

I'm so excited for you, Maizie! Looks like it'll take you guys at 4 or 5 times the distance of your longest trip--so you won't even yet be in Black Rock City when things start getting unreal. That's the way I felt the first time I went more than an 8 hour drive (it was a 24 hour train ride; I couldn't believe how big California was, in particular . . . I felt like I was hallucinating). I hope you come back to your thread when it's over, and tell us how it went.

There's a thread in which some handy advice about Canadian border crossings emerged (it was for someone from Calgary, but there will surely be some relevant stuff):
http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=42509

Beware of state route 49 (also called Jungo Road) if you're coming down through Winnemuca. It will look like a shortcut over over to Gerlach NV, but it's unpaved, unlit and riddled with sharp rocks, and there's nothing there but suicidal bunnies, sentient sagebrush, and flat tires waiting to happen. The bigger roads are better!

[Maizie]

trilobyte -- thanks! I will do my best (haha) to make it to both Black Rock Boutique and Kostume Kult, and I'll bring some of my 'extra' costumes (ie, stuff I've bought and haven't worn) in the hopes that other people will use it!

jkisha -- For sure! It always drove me nuts on previous boards to have people coming in with common questions or questions right off the FAQ. Hooray, adventure!

theCryptofishist -- Yeah, 'funny and poignant' is how we feel about it too. So strange that something we both wanted to go to for years never came up until this year -- but I guess this is the year!

NellieX -- Hi!

illy dilly -- 1540ish miles, so just over 24 hours, give or take. We're planning to leave Wednesday afternoon, be in Reno by Friday, and then in the gates on Saturday (early-in passes, how I love you). There's three or four of us driving (some of us don't like driving in mountains because it's very flat in Saskatchewan and mountains are scary), so we should be able to make good time. I'll try to make sure to pack extra _________, but not worry about the ________.

Dr. Pyro -- The passports are in our very special Burning Man bag with the tickets, so no worries! Unfortunately, no dice on the meet and greet this year -- we'll be assembling around our C.O.R.E. project that night to prepare for the burn.

Ugly Dougly -- Nope, from Saskatchewan, so it's a big (geographical) adventure!

Savannah -- I will definitely come back and let everybody know how it went. (And who knows, maybe I'll see some of you there!) Thanks so much for the link with the border crossing information -- definitely helpful. I'm sure there's not much difference between Alberta and Saskatchewan border crossings, but hey, what do I know. And yes, thanks for the warning about Jungo Road -- our last C.O.R.E. meeting there were some hilarious yet frightening stories told about Jungo Road, so we'll just go around the long way. =)


Thanks everybody for your responses . . . I didn't expect to hear back from so many people. =)!

[illy dilly]

illy dilly -- 1540ish miles, so just over 24 hours, give or take. We're planning to leave Wednesday afternoon, be in Reno by Friday, and then in the gates on Saturday (early-in passes, how I love you). There's three or four of us driving (some of us don't like driving in mountains because it's very flat in Saskatchewan and mountains are scary), so we should be able to make good time. I'll try to make sure to pack extra _________, but not worry about the ________.

Thats nuts, our trip is about 1200 miles and it typically takes us 24 hours from home to home. This year, we're stopping in West Wendover and sleeping a night. So it will take us more like 36 hours. In years past, we've just "balls to the wall" shift driven it. But since we're taking more vehicles we have less drivers that feel comfortable driving box trucks and RVs.
We only have two EA passes for our camp, so the dudes driving the box truck are going to go ahead and get in first.

[Rabbette]

Greetings Maizie,

I wish you safe travels!