Just a little something to share...

[Dingo80]

Hey all. This is just a little something I wrote for my friends and though you would like to read it. Hope you enjoy.

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4,086 miles and 66 hours of total driving later and I am still recovering from reaching a place humans don't belong.

As Wikipedia describes the area:

Black Rock Desert

The Black Rock Desert is a dry lake bed and the surrounding endorheic basin in northwestern Nevada in the United States. The flat expanse of dry lake, or playa, is a remnant of the prehistoric Lake Lahontan, which existed between 18,000 and 7,000 BC during the last ice age. During the lake's peak around 12,700 years ago, the desert floor was under approximately 500 ft of water. The area was used in the mid-1800s by branches of the California Trail and Oregon Trail for settlement of the US West Coast. Since then, the area has been host to scattered mining activity. The Black Rock Desert also hosts various recreational, scientific, commercial and record-breaking activities which take advantage of the playa's enormous flat expanse. Most of the region is federal land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), including the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area and 10 federally-designated wilderness area which protect the areas that had been part of the historic trails. BLM also manages recreational activities in the area.



What this description fails to mention in the dust storms, the harsh temperature changes (100+ for the highs during the day and sometimes dropping below 45 degrees at night), and the lack of any resources (excluding small amounts ie:water, food, gas and shelter in Gerlach and Empire) for about a hundred miles. The physical planning, time, and money it takes to prepare for a trip here boggles the mind of most people.

The small contingency of people (8-12 depending) that travel from the Champaign area spend anywhere from 7-10 months planning and total costs range from the bare minimalist $800.00 (est) to the ubber-prepared $1500-2000 (est) per person. About half of the funds being spread out over the course of the year preparing. But, none the less, still quite a bit of money considering we are in the midst of a recession. Oh did I mention that its only for a week and for some of us a little less?

Why, you ask? Why do we make this trek by planes, trains, or automobiles just to endure sunburns, talc-like dust that infects everything we own and our bodies, playa foot or playa lung, hunger, thirst, and all other aches and pains; that by the end of the week we all feel like we have ridden the shakiest wooden roller coaster, been through navy seals training, suffering from dehydration, and heat exhaustion? Because we can. We enjoy it.

Everyone of us will give you a different answer. Maybe its spiritual or to party. Maybe its to experience a new view of the world though others eyes or see it from your own for the first time completely open. Maybe its for love or maybe its for pain. Whatever the reason anyone gives you Burning Man is whatever you want to make it.

Wikipedia at it again:


Burning Man

Burning Man is an annual event held in the Black Rock Desert, in Northern Nevada. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening. The event is described by many participants as an experiment in community, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance. The event is open to public for 8 days. It begins on the last Monday in August and ends on the day of the American Labor Day holiday (the first Monday in September). It opens on the Monday of the week before, at 12 AM (00:00). Some organized volunteers, however, arrive a few weeks in advance to prepare the infrastructure of Black Rock City, the temporary city created by Burning Man participants in what is flat high elevation desert before and after the event. The event is organized by Black Rock City, LLC. In 2008, 49,599 people participated in The Burning Man Project.


The first time I went in 2008, the best advice I was given was: Forget everything you think you know. You can prepare, read things about it, prepare, buy some supplies, prepare, watch some videos, prepare some more, and you still wont be ready. But then again, possibly you already are without doing anything. That is the beauty of the event. A person could show up there naked with only their ticket and the community would be more than willing to accommodate the needs of that person no questions asked. It has be called a "gifting" community by numerous writers and journalists. This is true.

The only things for sale are ice and coffee (How you look at either of those in order of necessity is strictly up to whomever is reading this). To call it anything else such as a "trading" or "bartering" community would be a total falsehood and frankly, a slap in the face to the people that attend. Nobody expects to receive anything in return for any type of items or services rendered. People bring or make things to give to others. One of the best experiences I've had is seeing the unique (albeit sometimes unusual) "gifts" people hand out. I use "gifts" loosely here because one of the "gifts" I encountered this year was a couple of guys on a corner with a sign saying "free complements". Every person that walked by them was given a very nice complement and that was their way of contributing to the city. See, the social society that we live in dissolves as soon as you enter the gate. All your worldly social statuses and interactions, possessions and clothing (nudity), worries and fears, everything...(besides your supplies) is left at a small orange plastic fence encompassing this magical area of dirt. Nothing is taboo and most behavior is acceptable.

Now, I have heard what people think about Burning Man who have never been there. Things like "Yeah, isn't it a big, drugged-up open sex and hippie fest?" "Did you participate in the 2,000 person orgy?" "Yeah I have been to Bonnaroo and other music festivals so I know what its like there." "What? You go there? You must be weird." My responses to them are the following: Yes and no. I have never come across it. No you don't. And, Yes I am but aren't we all?

Look, there are drugs there, yes. Does everyone do them? No. Drugs are just as illegal there as they are everywhere in the US. Some people might say "Well what about medical marijuana? Isn't it legal in Nevada now?" Yes it is, but the event is held on federal land and federal laws don't recognize state laws like that yet. Another issue with drugs there is that there is 5 different police agencies patrolling the entire city. Most of them are undercover and if one person in your camp gets caught possessing or trying to sell / give away any type of drug, the entire camp is subject to getting tossed out of the event. Trust me if you happen to come as far as we do, you do not want to be the one responsible for 50-100 others leaving early. As we like to say "If you french fried when you should have pizza'ed, your gonna have a bad time" (Thanks South Park). My advise is: if your going to do them be smart about it and be around people you trust. And, if you have never done something before and want to try it, be safe and do not wander by yourself.

Alcohol is usually in an abundance there, especially later in the week when about 20,000 people arrive around Wednesday or Thursday. Jump on a art car or stop at a random camp that looks inviting and have a drink. Drink at you own camp or alternatively get stopped by Dr. Feelgood carrying a 40 foot wooden pole while he gives you a handle of Jack and makes you do a shot before you can pass. Now, I'm not saying that you have to drink or do drugs to have a good time out there. Hell, there is a camp devoted strictly for AA meetings if you happen to be a recovering alcoholic or drug user. Quite the contrary. There are numerous art installations and many other things out there to occupy your time and there is not enough time there to see everything. The single biggest time vampire there, I believe, are the people themselves.

The people... You know, I don't know if I have the words to describe the nameless, faceless wanderers of the desert, better bet I'm gonna try though. The Burners are: Amazing, Giving, Generous, Caring, Strange, Eccentric, Complicated, Brilliant, Innovative, Crafty, Sexy, Alluring, Nurturing, Strong, Submissive, Frightening, Entrepreneurs, Leaders, Followers and so much more I could go on forever. But most of all they are kind. I used to live in the south and visit there often. I have witnessed southern hospitality and its not a lie when someone says that the people are genuinely nice in the south. But I have never been in another society that is as happy and kind to everyone as Burners are. The Burners I have met over the past two year will be in my memory for the rest of my life. To them I say thank you.



Art, art and more art. This is an arts and music festival so you would expect there to be loads of displays and eye candy. I assure you Burning Man does not disappoint. In fact, the Louvre, the Guggenheim or any other art gallery you may have visited or seen artwork from, doesn't hold a candle to the sheer scope, size and variety of imagery and interactivity that applies to the Burn. Sure, the artwork is different in the places forenamed and I respect that. But, in my opinion it is much more enjoyable to shoot flamethrowers at random items, climb into a giant metallic rocket ship, go to a roller disco, witness a shopping cart with a mannequin pushing it... driving around by itself, jump onto a bus that has been converted into a giant golden dragon with a couple hundred people, honor loved ones at a temple that is different every year, play putt-putt, jump on a trampoline, hit up a sauna, watch a man run on all fours faster than most people run on two, be serenaded by a passerby with a violin, eat some of the best food anywhere, have your entire body painted, sing kariokee behind a moving screen, watch a parade made up of entirely of hundreds of people dressed like bunnies, watch a beautiful sunrise from the back of a full size pirate ship, play tetris on a IMAX sized screen, cheer on or participate in Thunderdome (from the Mad Max movies), take a yoga class, participate in discussions ranging from spirit animals to advanced physics... Trust me, that hardly scratches the surface of everything out there.

So, your probably asking why I took the time to write this... Short answer: I don't know. I do know that I could write a whole lot more but this should be enough for now. I don't know though, why a lot of the things that have to do with the Burn keep coming up all year round. Why our group and everyone else who has been there talks about it constantly and brings it up almost everyday. I can tell you the place is magical and mysterious so maybe that is why. But who knows, I wanted to share this mainly with the people who have never been to give them a better understanding. For the people who have been its probably for a more nostalgic read. But I do want to say to my fellow (and future) Burners that I Love you all and I look forward to many more good times in desert!

Keep on Burning,

Ryan S. aka "Charlie"

[curiousgnate]

we love you too!

[OnceTheDustClears]

Nicely done.