USPS (Postal) Mail to Black Rock City

[Zhust]

I recall rumors that the Black Rock City Post Office (BRCPO) is an official U.S. Post Office, although I'm still skeptical of that designation. I also heard (and recently read) that 89412 is a ZIP code created just for Burning Man, although the USPS says it's Gerlach.

Regardless, it is possible to send mail to people at Burning Man. I did a bunch of searching and found no definitive answer so I'm combining information from this post as the basic format, and this one for some additional nuance:

Recipient name (Playa name and/or default-world name)
c/o Camp Name
h:mm & Street Letter, Descriptive Hints
BLACK ROCK CITY, NV 89412

If the camp is big and well-labeled (e.g. there is a sign out front that matches the words you write) that will help. Otherwise, include some descriptive element.

Examples:

Zhust
c/o It Still Stings Camp at Mama Kabuke's Big Tent
7:45 & Holy
BLACK ROCK CITY, NV 89412

is where I'll be in 2013. In 2007, I recall it would have been:

Jason Olshefsky
c/o Camp CampCampCamp at the army-green tent by the Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon
7:00 & Freshwater
BLACK ROCK CITY, NV 89412

Remember that the people delivering mail are volunteers and don't have psychic abilities. If you've been there, "3:00 & D" covers about 100 camps, so you simply need to be more specific.

On the other side, when you have a camp, consider getting a mailbox with the name of your camp on it if you're expecting mail, or if you're just part of a large camp. If you are part of a large camp, a roster would be helpful: it seems there's at least one person a day who is looking for somebody. You know the drill: they ask the 6 people lounging in the couches, and not one person knows who it is.

[AntiM]

I frequently receive mail on the playa. A mailbox helps.

[9ah]

mail on the playa is great! yay for the BRC PO!

[trilobyte]

Yes, it's a thing! From the USPS perspective the ZIP designation is a Gerlach extension, because Black Rock City doesn't exist most of the time.

When mail with that ZIP hits the Gerlach PO, it gets routed out to the playa and is delivered to the BRCPO.

Exactly as you've summed up, have the camp name, approximate address, and additional descriptives may help. On the BRC-side, if you're planning on (or just hoping to) receive mail, make sure your camp is easy to spot. Signs with a name on them and all that.

Additionally, you can send mail FROM the playa, either to other camps or back out to Defaultia. Postcards and letters and stuff WITH THE PROPER POSTAGE FOR DEFAULT WORLD DELIVERY can be taken to the BRCPO stations (they've got 'em in 3 and 9 plazas now too), and off it'll go. If I remember correctly, it'll even get a Black Rock City postmark.

Don't forget to bribe gift your postal workers. Not only are they working for bribesfree, they go to a lot of trouble (and expense) to build and bring the post office to the playa each year.

The BRCPO is also a great walk-up volunteer opportunity. You don't need to sign up for shifts in advance, if you're on the playa and want to both be helpful and have fun, just head on over. We've gotten a few deliveries over the years, the postal workers have always been awesome and tell us they're having a blast delivering stuff.

[lemur]

dont put dust in your envelope with the letter youre sending from the playa.

[jaybatson]

So BRCPO is definitely a place I'll walk up to & volunteer for this year. I'm a virgin, so this seems like an excellent way to experience my first Burn!

Question: I'm coming from BOS, and will have a bunch of stuff coming out in a container truck our Boston Burners send out there. BUT, on the remote chance I forget to get something on the truck, can one send a package to themselves pre-departure, pre-burn, via BRCPO? If so, what's to know about this? Is there an FAQ somewhere (that I haven't found yet) that shows things like:

- Specifics for addressing; I've seen references to a FB app for this, but I don't see it when I visit the BRCPO page on FB;
- Practical limits on size / weight;
- Realistic comments about delivery; e.g. if it's something I need for camping for the week, will I get it before the end of camp?

Note that I'm camping with Playa Bike Repair, which I think might be pretty darn close to the BRCPO.

Comments - including links to web pages I've apparently not yet found - invited, and thanks in advance.
-jb

[trilobyte]

First - read the information above. It's got all the information you need.

Second - don't do that expecting it to actually work. There is no express service, and delays are likelier than you think. Even if it did, you wouldn't have a way to pack it back out, since BRCPO doesn't really handle outgoing parcel shipments that I'm aware of.

If you forget something and aren't able to pick it up on your way in, try and coordinate something with one of your campmates.