Best time to arrive Monday

[Harpman]

My thinking is that I will try to arrive Monday before 11:00 AM. I'm thinking the backed up gate rush will be over by then, and there will be a lul before the afternoon arrivals. What do you folks think?

A few years ago, I remember arriving at about 3AM, and we went right in, but I really don't want to arrive in the dark again.

[phil]

I understand your thinking, but the best time to arrive is when you get there.

In addition, it depends. My preferred arrival time is between 3 and 4 in the afternoon. Sleep late on Monday, shower, breakfast, lunch, air conditioning as we pack up the van. Set up camp as the sun sets and the day cools off. Don't have the harshness of noon on my first day. The problem is, we're in a crowded theme camp, and getting there that late means we have a crowd around us as we try to park and get out stuff out to set up. Somebody's using our empty space to stage their own set up, so we can't get started till they clear out.

Getting there at 10 am means getting up at dark:thirty monday morning, shower, breakfast, pack up, then arriving around 10. (It's a 2.5 hour drive from motel in Reno to Camp site.) Set up begins relatively cool, then gets too hot as we hit noon. Lunch is a drag since we're already tired and hot, so we've packed a cold noodle salad we can eat out of the bag. Have to get used to the heat the first day as we finish setting up.

C'est la vie.

[AntiM]

We drive all night and hit at dawn, still cool enough to set up, light enough to see.

[dragonpilot]

We come down from the NW and hang around Cedarville 2-3 hours, head out about 8 PM arrive gates 10:30-11:00. What's wrong with waiting in line? That's a party in itself!

Go thru gates, find a spot and park it for the night...sleep.

[Dork]

I agree, don't worry too much about lines. They won't necessarily happen when you expect them anyway. Arrive whenever is convenient. Personally I like arriving in the middle of the night because it allows me to set up my tent and get some sleep. That way I'm well rested and it's still cool when I do the real camp setup first thing in the morning. If that's not your thing and you think 11am is the best time for you to be able to settle in, then go for it.

[mojo]

I am at a loss trying to imagine how we could ever really plan our arrival time. Once all the cats are herded getting our vehicles packed and on the road (containing us old farts and 5 college agers, all coming in from different places), then we get the inevetable mechanical glitches such as, "oh shit, one of the trailer lights stopped working", or the ever popular, "what's that wierd noise coming from the .....". Then there are the unknown number of times over the 600 or so miles that we must stop for food, toilets, tighten straps on the trailer, flapping tarp, etc.....

THEN there are the last shopping stops in Reno, filling the water tank and bottles, picking up one more burner at the airport, one last meal at a Reno buffet, and topping up with gas a couple of times.

There was even one year when we broke down in Nixon and had to be towed back to Fernley where everyone scratched their heads as to the nature of the problem that miraculously fixed itself until the trip home.

For us, we shoot for a specific time, with a 24 hour margin for error.

[AntiM]

I'm married to a trucker, he's factored in the load check and rest periods already. What he does.

[phil]

> I am at a loss trying to imagine how we could ever really plan
> our arrival time.

Louise and I get to Reno the day before we plan on going to the playa. We then find out what we left at home and restock at Walgreens or wherever. Fill our water containers in the motel room and put them back in the van. Get up a 5:30 or 6:00 Monday morning, shower, breakfast, reload our overnight stuff in the van. Go to the dry ice place and buy dry ice. Hit the road.

No kids, no cats, no toilet stops, no flapping tarp. Two and a half hour drive from the motel to the campsite in Hushville. We do stop in Empire and top up our gas tank just for safety. Hand out buttons to people we see. Take a leak. Still 2.5 hours, leisurely, staying within all posted limits, watching for cows on the road, CB'ing all truckers that pass us on our way to BRC.

I highly recommend not having kids. :->



(By the way, I also highly recommend volunteering for Exodus. Exodus sucks, and it goes better when they have fully staffed the exodus lines. You can volunteer at the event; go to Playa Info and ask where the volunteer table is. Stay till Tuesday and miss the crowd.)

[capjbadger]

We drive all night and hit at dawn, still cool enough to set up, light enough to see.

Same here. Did that the firsrt year just due to timing and it worked so well that I've do it ever since.

Badger

[Marscrumbs]

12:01am

Need you ask?

[**burn**]

We drive all night and hit at dawn, still cool enough to set up, light enough to see.

Same here. Did that the firsrt year just due to timing and it worked so well that I've do it ever since.Badger

Ditto. We seem to time it to find camp at sunrise, stake our claim, get set up. Sleep thru the hot hours, party til sunup.

[Marscrumbs]

T(b)= +/- i

Proof:

If there was one best time, everyone would get there at the same time and it would then become the worst time to get there.

So the only true theorectial best time is not to go at all. (Or to be born there already.)

[Harpman]

This is great, very good advise all. I'll be staying in Hushville by the USA Peace flag. Come by for a copy of my album and fun musical toys.

[drumtech]

If I try and arrive at 12:01 AM, will there be a huge line? and is it an hour backup, or similar to the sunday exodus 2-3 hours? or more?

[JezebelinHell]

I have never seen the line to get in even approach the horrors of the Exodus line, but there's no real way to predict it. Show up when you feel like it. If you have to wait in line, oh well. Have fun, crank up the CD player, and spend that time getting excited for the burn.

[Free2B]

What's it like heat/light vise at 5pm? Well, I'm picked up at the airport at 12am w/a 1/2 hour stop, so when ever that gets me to the playa, will it be light out?

[BitterDan]

5pm is still bright and hot. The sun goes down around 7:30 and it's not until then that the temperature starts to drop.

[Finnegan]

If I try and arrive at 12:01 AM, will there be a huge line?

In my (very) limited experience as a greeter, Yes. And we won't have time to spank your virgins, either.. Grr.

It slowed down a little by 4 am, though.