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10/01/2006: "Burning Man 2006"

So, it's been a while since I got back. I'm still glowing, believe it or not. I was burnt and tired but, man, it was so worth it. It was magical. The music was a powerful source of fuel. Techno overlapped techno from every camp and art car all day, all night, all week. I did not stop dancing the whole time! I would say that Burning Man is the artist’s Las Vegas for sure (minus the gambling). There is no economy, all my drinks were free. The only thing I could buy there was ice and coffee, that’s it. People put thousands of dollars into their theme camps just to throw a kick ass party, and there are literally hundreds of theme camps! For three days straight, I saw the sunset and the sunrise. Everyone rode decorated bikes! Holy shit, blah, blah, blah, I can’t put it into words! A religious experience, a spiritual re-awakening, love inspiring and healing all at the same time!!! I came away with a new found respect for generosity! Giving is magical! Burning Man is both!

That said, here are some highlights:



Sunday: After many days building, breaking, fixing, breaking, staring at batteries, alternators and various wires... we leave Eugene at dusk thinking everything is working fine. A few hours into the trip the triceratops' headlights begin to fade. Ends up the altinator is shot and it takes like 5 batteries to get us to Burning Man. At one point, a battery died and I had to hold a flashlight out the window until we found a safe place to pull over and put a fresh battery in. We arrived to Gilach Monday morning after driving all night.

Monday: With no sleep, Justin and I join our camp and spend the entire day unpacking, setting up carports, a tee-pee, tents and shade structures. I gave everyone at our camp a tube of chapstick. Later, if I forgot my chapstick I knew that one of my friends would have one. That night I hop on my bike to check out the scene. After getting to the other side of the city, a nasty dust storm hits us and I get lost. In the storm, I realize that my $1 goggles from goodwill suck big time. I'm not alone. I run into many lost bikers with no goggles or masks trying to find some shelter. It was pretty scary, but I make it back. At this point I'm thinking, "if it's like this all week, I'm going home!" HA! Was I wrong!

Tuesday: First, I ride out to visit "the Man". What a view! The horizon is a mix of domes, tents and motorhomes with huge beautiful mountains in the background. After riding my bike around, I head back to camp. We spend most of the day putting the triceratops together. It looks incredible when we finish! I end up spending a large amount of time riding around the city on top of the art-truck. I couldn't imagine a better view of black rock city! But it gets better...

Wednesday: The triceratops is still killing every battery we put in it, but today Justin's friend/mechanic arrives with... an altinator! As the mechanics install the altinator, I join my co-campers for a group bike ride. Riding bikes with a group of people brings out the kid in me. But it's even more fun when you ride in the desert. With no roads to follow, we flow through the desert in any old direction, passing, circling, racing and chasing. Hours later, I end up breaking away from the group to find my friend's camp. Later that night I hopped on the Tricera-truck to go to Earth Tribe. Earth Tribe is set up by many techno-heads from Eugene (Ghia Tribe). On the way, we pick up a friend of mine, Tonya. We end up exploring the playa, dancing and laughing uncontrollably until the early hours. Two kites are flying near the man, they are ghostly white with long, silky tails. Against the black sky, these kites captivate my attention for who knows how long. I'm overwhelmed with all the music and art, but it gets better...

Thursday: Today I bought 26 bags of ice for my camp. It took a long time to pull that trailer back, but I made it before too much of it melted. Good thing the desert is flat! After recovering, I spent the rest of Thursday flying my kite! The Kite Camp organizes a group kite flying event at 4:20. Of course, Thursday ends up the least windy day of the week and my stunt kite is grounded until sunset. Finally the wind picks up and I'm flying. Later, I head to Monsta Camp's party. These Eugene folks are all good friends of mine and I have a good time playing at their camp. Their trampoline, swing set, dance floor and the open bar make me feel like it's my birthday! To top it off, I meet a beautiful, talented message therapist. We end up dancing all night, then walk to the end of the city to watch the sun come up. Come on, I say to myself. It can't get better than this...

Friday: After running an errand, I return to my tent to find my friend Tonya. She's headed to Shady Grove, across the street from me, and stopped to see if I was game. For some reason I had not been to Shady Grove yet, but would end up spending some time there every day from this visit, on. It's a huge dark tent from the outside. Inside, it is an oasis. I walk in to find a lawn! Real grass in the desert! Boy it smelled good! It's like a small backyard, protected by the desert sun by a massive black tent. After we spend the afternoon lounging on the imported grass, we get ready to ride the triceratops. The party cars take us around the city, occasionally stopping so the riders can dance at a club. We choose to explore the playa on foot and come across a great art installation. Four sets of cube frames are suspended inside each other, each suspended by an axle. The cube frames are made of steel and are heavy to spin, but once moving, they all rotate inside of each other at different angles. I choose to slowly spin the inside first, working my way out. As we are appreciating the gracefulness of the gyro-cubes, three drunk men walk up. Trying to impress Tonya, one of the men begins spinning the largest (heaviest) cube. Then he reaches in to spin the next. I couldn't watch any longer. He is bent on spinning the inner cubes harder, but if his arm gets caught in between the two outer frames, his arm will snap like a stick. Avoiding a massive buzz-kill, we walk away before witnessing a nasty broken arm. We find some neon sunflowers that change colors and blink when touched. FUN! After the art walk, we notice the sun is coming up and begin walking east towards the hidden sun. On the horizon we see a giant three legged alien. After climbing up a long-ass ladder, we get comfy in the little rotating pod on the top. This is an amazing view!! It rotates very slowly, but enough so we can see the entire city as well as the rising sun over the mountains. I would have to say this is one of the most memorable sunrises I have ever seen in my life.

Saturday: Tonight the man burns! Wow. Let me just say that there is no possible way to explain the beautiful chaos that occurs this night. Our camp and friends hop onto the two art-vehicles and head to the playa. We join a parking lot full of other art-cars, circling the man. Techno beats are filling the playa, pumping from every car. Firedancers surround the man, filling the circle. Lights and fire. Yelling and cheering. Stars and playa. Fireworks then fire. Lots of fire. I end up dancing all night, meeting up with a friend that I had met on Thursday night. At sunrise, the dancefloors empty. Instinctively, everyone walks east towards the sun. The techno is still pumping as mass herds of burners move closer to the first rays of the sun. Wow. If chaos could be peaceful, it happens at this very moment.

Sunday: Today a small amount of burners are packing up and leaving. We are in it for the long haul. Sunday seems like a somber day. Resting and picking up here and there. That night we hop on the truck and head to the temple. On Sunday, the temple is open to the public. People have ceremonies, pray and leave an object at the temple. Many leave photos of lost loved ones, they leave items that have been holding them back from moving on. Hundreds of items are left at the temple and burned later that night. When I heard about the temple burn, I was grieving the end of my marriage. It was a large part of why I purchased my ticket. The emotional contrast between Saturday and Sunday night could not be any further apart. As the temple burned, many people sat in complete silence. This is the first time all week that techno was not blaring. Just silence. More than once, I could hear an excaped sniffle or sob. The light from the fire made tears shameless. What an amazing ceremony to experience. So necessary. Even though the waffle is burned hours later and the parties jump to life right after the temple burn, it definitely sets the mood for the night in my eyes. I go back to camp early and get a good night's rest.

Monday: It's over?!?! NOOOOOOOOO!!! We sit in traffic for three hours Monday evening before undertaking the 12 hour trip home. We make it back in one piece Tuesday morning, only using one battery.

PHOTOS -most of these were taken by my campmates