Hi Muttley!
Welcome to eplaya. Nice topic for a first post.
Burning Man is definitely a good place for Steampunk. Since you are in Sacramento, you may find it worth the time to make a trek down to the Bay Area and get to know some of the folks at Kinetic Steam Works. Year before last they brought out an old Case steam traction engine and did it up right.
I’ve also heard rumors that the Neverwas crew will be back with a camp, possibly even on Esplanade. If we were going this year, we’d likely be found there often, if not full-on camping there with them. Alas we will have to sit it out for 09. 2010 is in the planning stages, though.
There is a handful of Steampunkers here on eplaya and even more machine-heads and Contraptioneers who love to build stuff. Please do hang around and get to know the place and people. I for one would love to hear your ideas detailed out. Plus you can get lots of good feedback from others.
Cheers and glad you’re making it to the playa!
Here’s some links for inspiration and to keep you busy:
Kinetic Steam Works(best viewed with Firefox). There's some really wonderful photos on this website.
And the
Neverwas Haul Tribe
The New and Improved Black Cat... now with 25% more blather