Obi-J

:::: note – this is mostly stream-of-memory with little editing, so expect typos and bad grammar, and a little, no a lot, of run-on ::::

It’s taken the day and a half that I’ve been back home to even begin to figure out how Burning Man was for me. In short, it was fantastic. So much so that I’m already planning on going next year and even trying to convince everyone I know to go. While I don’t think everyone would have an amazing time, I do think anyone can. It’s all about bringing a positive and open attitude and being able to improvise and adapt to situations. An art car, colorful costumes, and fresh pineapple don’t hurt either.

For the past five years that I’ve contemplated going to Burning Man (I should probably say we cuz Amy has wanted to go way more than I, and I’m glad she took the lead :). In the back of my head I wondered whether I would even like it. I’d heard stories about how difficult it can be getting along in the desert with dust storms looming, the hot sun hanging over the playa, feet ravaged by the alkaline playa dust, to getting dehydrated. On top of that, you have to bring all things necessary for living. There had also been warnings about going as a couple, and that it can make or break a relationship. Amy and I had been going through some rough spots earlier in the summer and it was a bit scary to think an event like this could affect if for the worse.

Most people say it’s rather difficult to put into words what Burning Man is or means. In some ways I agree, but that’s if you’re trying to define what it means to everyone. The reality is you can’t, just like you can’t define what life means to all 6 billion of us on this planet we call earth. I think there’s also this sense that once you put a definition on Burning Man, that you’ve suddenly set in stone what it is and what it will alway be. So you really can’t define Burning Man, because it’s an ever-evolving organism due to the elements of people, sights, sounds and nature. Pretty much the only definite in Black Rock City are the surrounding mountains, the dusty playa, and the cycles of the sun and moon. All else is open to the citizen’s imaginations.

Originally, our camp was supposed to be a loose conglomerate of 10 people give or take. We were even able to convince our friend Kristen to fly out from Indiana to join the desert fun. But as time went on, one-by-one friends who said they were going began to drop out due to various circumstances. But I think it was mostly due to the fact that they hadn’t bought tickets, and so mentally weren’t focused on going. So if you wanna go, buy your tickets and buy them early. What started out as a group, ended up being a trio of myself, Amy and Kristin. Or J, A, and K, our aliases for the weekend.

On our way out on Wednesday we stopped in Reno for the night to break up the drive. While it isn’t necessary, it turned out to be a good decision because I was completely exhausted from last minute preparations and packing the rental car. I got a bit of rest that night, and the alarm was set for 6:30am Thursday morning when we’d buy our water, stuff it in the car, and head out for the final 2 hour drive to Black Rock City.

We arrived to the playa just after noon, and it seemed like everyone was already there. Only a few cars joined us for the drive off the paved highway and onto the dust. We had to stop at will call to pick up Kristin’s ticket and also a quick stop at the port-a-potties. Kristin came back with her ticket and made a pit stop as well, but when she got back into the car she couldn’t find the ticket she just got. “Fuck, where the hell is it!!” is all we could say. After digging around the back seat, Amy looked under the car and there it was lying in the dust. I hoped this wouldn’t be an omen for the rest of our adventure.

We got back in the car and headed to the gate. A rather busty, dusty, and leather-clad woman took our tickets, checked our car for contraband, and told us to get the fuck outta here. So we got the fuck outta there and headed in.

The drive in was slow due to the fact that you need to go less than 10 to avoid kicking up dust. It’s just considerate to chill out on the pedal. They set up signs along the road in with lessons on intergalactic philosophy and hints to keep the city and yourself safe and clean.

We were greeted by a british gentleman in a kilt and vest who handed us some information and welcomed us into the city. He asked Amy where we were going, meaning where we were going to camp, and she replied, “I have no idea where I’m going, what I’m doing. I’m new here.” The gentleman didn’t have much to say other than, “welcome home, it’s a bit crowded in there, but I’m sure you’ll find somewhere to be.” And he sent us on our way.

We were all pretty suprised by how cool and breezy it was for 1:00 in the afternoon. I fully expected it to be hella hot. But the gods were gracious and we had great weather to set up camp. Later we learned the previous days had been excrutiatingly hot and the dust storms relentless.

We got our camp set up in a couple ours. The shade structure went up first, then the tent inside half of the canopy, and then on the other half we threw down a tarp on the floor with a couple rugs. Chairs came out, table unfolded, and beers were cracked. We rested for a while and some of the neighbors came by and introduced themselves.

To one side was a couple rented RVs with older folks (late 30’s and 40’s) who rather than going all out with the art and camp, decided to chill and take it all in. Next to them was a couple who called themselve Lucky and Buddy. They were in rough shape due to the fact that they were up the night before tripping out on mescaline. Though we learned pretty quick that they were tripping out on anything they could get their hands on. They were sweet, but a little fried. On the other side of our car was a group of five guys who all seemed generally confused as to what to do with themselves. One in particular would come over to us asking for things or just wanting to hang out, but he had a hard time making complete sentences or really knowing what was going on. Later he told me he was on a really strong dose of acid, and while he also said he didn’t do drugs, I have a feeling that’s not exactly true. I mean, how many people do you know come running out throwing cans of soup, screaming, and blowing a megahorn? He was also quite torn and tattered like this has gone on for quite some time and so if he were actually sober he’d think he’s tripping cuz it’s so different from his usual chemically induced realities.

Anyway, those were the people around us for the most part, but we didn’t hang with them too much. We spent part of the days hanging out at camp eating, hydrating and keeping cool. We’d get antsy and go for walks to look at the camps, check out the beautiful people, and just get a sense of what’s going on. Then again, a lot of the trips were spawned by the need to go to the bathroom.

On on particular trip we came across a beautiful, tan blond in a fuzzy, yellow bikini. In her hand was a wooden tray with pieces of fresh pineapple offering it to passersby. Mmmmm, that was one yummy piece of pineapple, and she wasn’t bad either. This gifting was quite common. Cold drinks, food, necklaces, pretty much anything you can think of was given or traded away. I was even handed a salad of jicama, cactus, apple, grapes, carrots, and some mango-type fruit.

Burning Man is very much about bringing something to share. It can be an item, art, light, shade, or just positive energy. I don’t think I did a very good job of bringing something to the party, but next year I promise I will. Another of our neighbors, Jack, was a trick roper. He was a really cool and down to earth cowboy out to share his talent with the rope. Unfortunately I never did get to see him perform, but I did sit down and talk for a while about being new burners and the experience so far. He was a great guy and a positive influence on the impact you can have with so little.

Once we were settled we wandered out to the check the scene. Once we got to the esplanade a never ending series of dust storms hit. At first I was totally freaked out because everything turns white and you can only see silouettes of people and camps 5 -10 feet away people and bikes continued to move about and it seemed a collision was imminent. Luckily we didn’t get hit. After five minutes I started to relax in the storm and just began to laugh through my mask and goggles at the ridiculousness of the situation. It was like being in a warm snow storm where you just want to stick out your arms and let it hit you. Every few minutes the storm would subside, but then I’d turn around to see another coming across the playa. I learned to turn my back on the storm and just be patient until it passed. I was now plenty dirty, but refreshed because now there wasn’t any point of hoping to stay clean. Much like just jumping in the pool rather than easing in to get over the initial shock quickly.

We headed over to center camp and amazingly ran into Vera among the thousands of people. She had a huge smile on her face from the few days she’d already been on the playa. We exchanged hugs and smiles, but were both just passing by, so we said our “see ya laters”, and off we went.

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The dust storms were beginning to settle, but were now coming in 20 second waves. We headed out onto the playa to check out some of the art installations and to see the Man. We came across a moon man installation, and when the dust storm would roll through it appeared as though he was literally floating on the moon. We continued to walk toward the center, avoiding the criss-crossing traffic of bikes and art cars, as well as those stupid gas-powered scooters that a number of people brought as their transportation. I believe that these are illegal on the playa as the organizers don’t want people using motorized vehicles simply as a mode of personal transportation. I just hate how fucking loud the things are, and lazy people suck. We circled the Man a few times and decided it was time to head back to our camp and rest and maybe clean off our dust covered faces.

The night came quickly and the music picked up volume. It’s interesting how you can just feel the energy grow after the sun goes down. People finalize their costume for the evening and head out to the esplanade to check out the scene along the inner circle. We did the same, but it was fairly well understood that it was going to be an early evening for us. I certainly wasn’t ready to rage, but there’s so much activity and eye candy that you want to run around and see everything. After riding our bikes around for a few hours, criss-crossing the playa between art installations, we headed home around midnight to get some well needed sleep.

Friday morning we awoke to sunny, yet still cool, weather. Our Sears bought shade structure was holding up fine, and it served as a nice place to relax. Though, I will say that when you have your own place to chill it sometimes gets difficult to get up and roam around. I can imagine that if you’re one of those with just a tent and minimal provisions that you’re more likely to get off your ass and find a place to chill at someone else’s camp. We ate some brunch and got ready to go for an early afternoon walk. Amy’s coworker was part of the giraffe art car camp, and conveniently located only a block away. That was our first stop, and what a good one it was. They were still parked at their camp, and readying for a journey. Or maybe just the fact that we showed up was enough for them to want to take a drive out onto the playa. So we hopped onto Girty with her comfy mattresses and bamboo shade and went for a ride.

We cruised the streets like we were in a one float parade. The people in the camps we passed would wave out of instinct, and those of us aboard were compelled to do the same. In fact, some people were quite perturbed when we didn’t wave. At one point it was suggested that I climb up onto the perch on the neck of Gurty, about 18 feet in the air. I climbed up a couple steps, but with the car moving along the uneven dirt street it was a little sketchy to get into the saddle. So they stopped the car and I saddled up. I was now sitting about 20 feet in the air. I could see above the camps and across the playa. It’s simple amazing the scale of the event and how massive the landscape is. But I couldn’t look around too much because the people below were expecting a wave. Stupid people ;) I stayed up there for a few minutes, but Amy warned that the seat was bending and wondered how long the neck would support my fat ass. So at the next stop I climbed down :(

We cruised the playa in style, and were constantly chased by people trying to take a picture of the 93 ford escort turned giraffe. In fact. some of them would scream “STOP, I’ve been chasing you for 3 days trying to get a picture!!” It was kinda scary how many people did that. A few even got pissed when our drivers Nick and Tom said they wouldn’t stop, but would say, “We’re headin’ over to the cube, meet us there”. But most were just happy to see the smiling giraffe. We circled the temple and then made a pit stop at the porta potties. It was there we learned from a guy who was some kind of Burning Man encyclopedia that a couple had been engaged in tantric sex for like 4 hours. Encyclopedia man had kept tabs on theme for a couple of the hours and saw only one position change. But that one change was awfully exciting. He kept rattling off all the things that were going on, including the guy in the little white house who’d been masturbating for hours. “Really?” we all asked. “Yeah, and he’s starting to attract quite a crowd,” encyclopedia guy replied. We headed back out as Tom and Nick decided they had to see the tantric sex for themselves. On our way we saw the little white house, and indeed there was a crowd of about 50 and bikes just outside the picket fence. A few brave souls opened the door to the little white house to peer inside, but then they’d immediately shut the door and walk away. The rumor of the masturbating man must’ve been true, but we didn’t verify it for ourselves. We never did find the tantric sex couple, and passengers on Gurty were getting hungry, so we headed back to camp.

Along the way back Kristin said we should stop by the Corrall to see if Marshall and KiKi were around. I thought I saw the high structure that was the Bar Car and directed the group toward it. Turns out I was totally wrong as we headed toward 4:00 and not 5:30. I’m pretty sure Kristin was rather perturbed at my inability to guide us. Since we were no closer to our original destination, and now much closer to our camp, Kristin decided to go back and get a bite to eat on her own and rest, while Amy and I went on a hunt for Jason and Philo’s camp.

Amy knew they’re camp was somewhere along Orion’s belt and they were were doing the full on bodypainting, so I figured it would be fairly easy to find, and it was. I mean, it’s really tough to miss a bunch of blue, orange, and green people standing naked around a bunch of kiddie pools used to catch the food-coloring spray. From a distance a saw deep green character with a familiar stance and hat that as we got closer turned out to be Jason. He was in the middle of spraying someone down at the green station, and had a huge smile on his face while working around the naked torso of a newly dyed subject. Once finished he took a moment to say “hey” and we exchanged our first impressions of our first burn. The conversation revolved mostly around awe and amazement of the people and setting. There really wasn’t much said because we it wasn’t necessary. It’s more like you look into each other’s eyes, raise your eyebrows with a smile and a nod and all is understood.

We asked where Philo was and Jason directed us to just look around. He might be in that dome, or that one, or maybe that one, but then we saw an orange individual in a sparkly skirt and navy adidas that was him. Jason got back to spraying people down and we went over to say hi. He was handing out baby carrots to his campmates, and we got in on the cool and crunchy goodness as well. Philo was in his usual good spirits and was enjoying the calm of the mid-day. He asked how things were going and what we were up to. “Fantastic and not much,” was our response, and he invited us to go check out the clothes over at the Boutique. Maybe we could find a donated outfit for later that evening.

We walked over to the Boutique enjoying a carrot or two, and then entered a dome with a few racks of donated clothes. Things were pretty well picked over, and I wasn’t expecting to find anything. I have a hard enough time when I’m at home that I never expect to find anything I like or that’ll fit. And that was the case. But Amy found a really cute yellow with orange trim sheer baby doll dress. She tried it on and was so adorable. It went perfectly with her dusty blonde hair and especially well with the flower pasties she’d put on that day. A few women in the room complimented how perfect it was. The woman who donated it was a few feet away and noticed Amy and was quite smitten by what a great match that was made. She had another pink, velour dress and told Amy she had to try it on. So off went the yellow babydoll, and on went the pink dress. It fit, but was a little tight in the hips. Fine for when you’re standing, but Amy wasn’t so sure she’d be able to sit down (later that night whild wearing it she did end up splitting it up the back!). Amy threw the yellow babydoll back on as it was better for the heat. We said goodbye to Philo and headed back to camp.

We strolled along Mercury with our rainbow umbrellas blocking out the hot sun. Somehow Amy broke hers and it was just flopping around in the wind. Turns out is was a catostophic failure and it was now useless. So I assumed the responsibility of providing a bit of shade for the both of us. Soon after, a man came out of a dome with a couple bowls of salad. He said they were extra and didn’t want them to go to waste. That would be bad, so I took one in hand, and said “thank you so much!” The salad had jicama, grapes, cactus, apple, carrots and some papaya-type fruit. It was wonderful to eat some fresh food after eating packaged and crap food for the last couple days.

Back at camp we ate some lunch (or was it dinner, I didn’t have much concept of time) and settled in for a nap. The nap turned into a half night’s sleep as we didn’t wake up until midnight to the chilly air and thumping beats. I think it took us all more than an hour to come out of our nap haze and gear up for the night. I mean, morning. We threw the glow sticks onto the bikes for a little night time decoration as well as an easier way of finding them in the dark, and headed out into the fray.

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Night time at Burning Man is magical. During the day you feel like you’re in some surreal shanty town. But at night it’s an even more surreal, neon, laser, LED, thumping, bumping circus. Everywhere you go there’s something or someone to look at or interact with. In my mind it felt like we rode around chasing lights. Actually, that’s pretty much what we did.

The three of us head out on our bikes toward the right or northeastern side of the playa. We made a brief stop at Lush, one of the large sound camps that had some really tight music and a fabulous set up with large parachutes as a backdrop for the dancefloor with surrounding palm trees and a giant pink flower that towerd 30 or 40 feet above us. We shook our groove thangs for a while, but wanted to get out onto the playa and see a some of the art that comes alive at night once lit up. We mostly did ride-bys, but with some we stopped to enjoy. One in particular was the green glowstick pyramid. It was a very simple structure with a 10 foot by 10 foot base with four piers that formed and 8 foot high peak. From the piers hung a bunch of glowsticks equally spaced from the peak down to the base. On the floor were a couple of carpets laid down. Basically it was a nice place to chill and the glowsticks provided a fair amount of ambient light. Just across the way there was a guy by himself firespinning and eating fire. It wasn’t terribly graceful, but was entertaining nonetheless. He stopped to come over and gather the stuff he had left in the pyramid, and we invited him to have a seat and enjoy a little session and conversation. I honestly can’t remember his name or really what we talked about, but I have to say that happens a lot as a lot of interactions are quick and conversation similar. No worries though. Usually an exchange of a smile or two is all that’s needed.

After ten minutes or so we all got up and we parted ways with fire-eating-guy letting him get back to trying to touch the stars. We hopped on our bike and rode over to the Temple. The Temple, designed and built by David Best, is the most impressive structure at Burning Man. Made out of wood and scraps of wood puzzle cutouts, it rivals many ancient temples around the world. The only difference is this Temple, like all others he’s built, is burned to the ground on the final Sunday.

We parked our bikes at the end of one of the long walkways and began our journey toward the Temple. The walkway must’ve been a hundred yards long and immediately you’re amazed at the intracacy and detail of the construction. As you approach, there is an arch that you have to cross over. The base of the arch was quite steep and required a little effort to get onto. So much so that Temple guardians keep post with a lantern and instruct people to watch their step. Once over the arches you head up a catwalk that leads to to main Temple structure that has a square walkway around the perimeter. This allowed one a nearly uninterupted view of the surrounding area, and in the darkness we could see the art and camps all lit up with green lasers shooting across the playa. I could spend quite a bit of time describing the Temple, but pictures do it better justice. Actually, seeing it with your own eyes is true justice.

After walking around and absorbing the Temple’s sheer impressiveness, we headed toward Sol System. Along the way we came across one of my favorite art installations. It involved a series of rotating, white, fluorescent light tubes attached to PVC tripods. The 12 light sticks moved in sequence and succession with robotic synchronization. I don’t know who, but one if us realized that at the end of the setup was a control station where you can hit various buttons to control the light sequence. All I can say is it was damn cool, and a fine example of interactive art. Something the organizers of Burning Man encourage, for good reason.

After that we headed in to Sol System’s Stone Henge for a little more boogyin’. Sol System was one of the other large sound camps, and you could hear their thump from pretty much anywhere on the playa. It was an impressive setup from sound to lighting. Most impressive were the sound actived chaser triangles that led out of the stonehenge dancefloor (this was really called the Supersonic Highway. Thanks Vera). I don’t remember staying there for too long. Actually, it’s quite easy to get distracted and wander away or want to go check other things out. So again we got back on the bikes and headed into roads where all the camps were on the west side. It was probably 5:00am at this point so activity was slowing. It was fairly dusty and gloomy with our white LED headlamps lighting up the dust in our path. We stopped at the Stardust Lounge for a cocktail and quick conversation. But we left almost as quickly as we arrived.

We made a beeline across the playa to our camp to regroup. Amy and I were deadset on seeing the sunrise, and thankfully our powernap earlier in the evening gave us the strength to stay up an extra hour. Kristin wasn’t so lucky. She pooped out, and so Amy and I were left to ride out to the barrier to watch the sun come up.

The air was getting really chilly and where there once was a flurry of activity across the playa, things were beginning to calm. Although, you could still feel the thump-thump-thump-thump and hear the occasional swirl of higher frequencies depending on the movement of the air. As the sun came closer and closer to the horizon the contrast between the sky and mountains got greater and great. The black of night was morphing to oranges and pinks across the western mountains and the landscape of the playa slowly illuminated. Just before the sunrise most of those blasting sound chilled out to mellower sounds to fit the situation. Our soundtrack was an indian-based ambient track provided by the pink doubledecker bus. At that moment I really wanted to hear some didgeridoo, but it didn’t happen. So I think that’s one thing I’d like to learn for next years burn. As the sun came up, the people began to hoot and holler for the new day. We enjoyed the sun’s rays streaming across the dusty earth creating everlong shadows toward the Temple. Both of us were quite tired by then, so we hopped on the bikes for the few mile ride back to camp.

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Saturday morning we awoke to the hottest day thus far. This being the day of the burn seemed fitting, but I had gotten used to the mild days we’d had thus far. I was quite content with just chillin around our camp as I don’t do very well in the heat. I tend to feel nauseaus and tired and this situation was no different. I busted out the spray bottles and began spraying myself to try and cool down. Amy and Kristin we’re feeling antsy so they took off on their own for a while and let me be by myself. I just laid on the air mattress and took a light nap. I felt like I needed to keep my save and restore my energy for the upcoming burn.

They were out for a few hours and toward the end I was feeling pretty lonely. Odd considering I was with over 35,000 people. We didn’t really get to know our neighbors. Mainly because most of them were crackheads who could barely hold a conversation. But I was pretty drained and didn’t have the energy to roam and meet new people. I did however have to go to the bathroom so I got on the bike and rode to the potties. Instead of just going back I headed into the esplanade for a leisurely ride.

There were far less people out and about, mostly due to the higher temperatures. But it was also noticeable that a lot of the weekend warriors had shown up. The lack of dust or any form of costuming gave ‘em away. I can’t say I was that much different than these folks, but there’s a feeling, a vibe that you get, or lack thereof. But I’m not going to rag on these types, cuz honestly, what’s the point?

I really don’t remember much of my ride. I really wasn’t paying attention and I almost got run over a few times and almost ran into a few things. The heat and exhaustion were catching up to me, but if felt good to be out riding at a good pace. It had been a while since I’d done any serious riding. I got back to camp and Kristin and Amy showed up shortly thereafter. We ate some tasty bites (the meal of choice for the weekend), and Kristin told me about the guy with the big wang that told her she had nice wings, but she failed to tell him he had a nice wang. Ahhh, another missed opportunity ;)

We chilled for a while and were soon greeted by a visitor. He was looking for one of our crackhead neighbors, Jeremiah. Jeremiah had blown into town the day before with just a tent, airmatress and a few other belongings after being kicked out of his camp for being lazy and staying out all night tripping his balls off. At the time I wasnt suprised cuz he sure seemed like a slacker who didn’t have his shit together.

It seemed a lot of people were looking for Jeremiah, including Zedicus, our visitor. I figured they were friends just checking in on him, but it turned out Jeremiah had the stash. Ahh well. Zedicus pulled up a seat and we shot-the-shit for a while. I was pleasantly suprised that he could hold a conversation, but then I don’t really remember what we talked about. Probably just about the week so far–our origins, the heat, the people, the sights and sounds–typical Burning conversation. We shared some water and food we had and he was nice enough to share some chocolate he figured was going to melt in his backpack. He then got up to check and see if Jeremiah had woken up, and since he had, that was the end of our visit.

By then it was around 7:00 that we decided to lay down for another early evening nap and figured to get up around 10:00 for the midnight burn. Little did we know the Man actually burns a little after sunset around 9:30. Amy and I had earplugs in, but we could hear and feel a whole lot of excitement building. We just figured people were getting amped, but when we looked out the mesh window of our tent and saw the fireworks we knew we were missing it, “FUCK!!!”

Kristin couldn’t get out of her tent, but Amy and I threw on some clothes, grabbed our bikes and rode as fast as we could toward the Man. As we were riding we could see the fireworks above the camps, and then the Man began to burn. “I can’t believe we missed it!!!,” Amy exclaimed over and over. As we rode up 3:00 I saw the Man fall into a fireball as the crowd screamed. We continued to ride into the ash and finally entered the fray as people began leaving. We stood there in disbelief for I don’t know how long. “how the hell did we miss it?”, we asked each other. Everyone around us was soaking up the energy the burn provided and set the party off. We on the other hand just want to dig a hole in the playa and bury our heads. Instead, we rode home to finish getting ready.

This was the low point of our trip. Honestly, while I was disappointed, I didn’t really care. Burning Man isn’t about something going ablaze. It’s much more than any single moment. But Amy was really hurt and she couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t know what to do for her. I don’t think there really was anything I could do anyway. Kristin shared a similar sentiment. So I just pushed her to get up and get ready to go out. She resisted, but I persisted. Time was going by so slow due to the emotional rollercoaster we were on, but I think we made it out by 10:30.

Our first stop was Lush and they were bumpin some really phat tunes. We headed for the middle of the dancefloor and immediately started shakin’ our booties. The energy was swirling around us and it was hard to sit still. I did however take a few moments to slow down and admire my surroundings. The night sky was clear and dark and filled with stars. I was fascinated with the giant pink flower that was framed by the night sky and accented by the bright white moonlight. But then my attention turned back to the dancing and I kicked up some dust some more.

The music at Lush took a turn for the worse, or we just got bored, and ventured out onto the playa. It seemed to be filled with twice as many people and art cars than previous nights. Across the way was one art car with a bumpin system that we referred to as “Mike” since it resembled our friend who’s a rather large asian man. But then we noticed the Airstream that’s part of Marshall and KiKi’s camp and lo and behold their they were. What a fabulous crossing of paths!!! We followed them back to the Corrall where they were regrouping and then planning to head over to Sol System to get down. Unfortunately this turned into one long wait.

People tend to be rather slow and take their sweet time to get ready (I’m no different). It just one big pain in the ass to get everyone motivated, up and ready to venture. I swear we spent hours at the Corrall, but it was probably only an hour or more. It felt like forever. I was getting hella antsy and JUST WANTED TO GO!!! Finally, some order was restored, folks mounted bikes, and we rode off into the playa toward Sol System.

When we arrived most people moved toward the smaller sound system next to Stone Henge. I felt distracted and uncomfortable so I walked away into the dark for a few minutes of me time. I was just feeling really annoyed. Maybe a little tired. Maybe just not finding the vibe. It didn’t help that the music was a bore and the mixing was crap. I then got Amy and Kristen to venture a little ways over to Stone Henge, but the music wasn’t going off like I wanted it to. Plus, the mixing was crap again. I know that mixing can be tough sometimes, but the whole week there were far too many missed cues and trainwrecks. I’m sure people would tell me I couldn’t do better. Maybe not, but I am getting better ;)

Ok, back to the program…we went back over to Marshall and Kiki, and Marshall had returned from camp with a monster bottle of Jack. He and I were on the level so we began tagging that bad boy. Not going overboard, but enough to straighten things out. We danced a little more, but grew bored of the setting and headed out to see what else was up.

The next stop I remember was the Roller Disco. Amy just HAD TO SKATE, and I though it’d be fun too. There were pairs of skates lying on the ground everywhere. I picked up one skate after the other, but I felt like I was in some terrible Cinderella nightmare. My foot just wouldn’t fit into any of the skates. For a moment I had given up on skating leaving my toe half-stuck into one skate when I saw a guy sit down about to take off his skates. “Hey, what size are you?”, I asked. “I’m a 10,” he said. “Cool, I’m gonna steal your skates,” I replied. It took me a few minutes, but I got the skates on and hit the rink. The skates needed a whole lot of greasing as they weren’t rolling too well, but that was probably a bonus safety feature. If they were nice and smooth there probably would’ve been a whole lot more carnage on the rink. It was super fun to go round and round, and the four or five of us on the makeshift rink would smile and laugh at each other with the occasional push to avoid serious collision. I decided to go around the opposite direction just to confuse and scare the other skaters. But my skating anarchy failed to arouse anything but more laughter. The only unfortunate part was the music, or lack thereof. It was a serious buzzkill. Their system must’ve had problems because they were going back between one of the two radio station you can get. So over the PA you could hear them trying to tune in the station with a whole lot of fuzz and noise in between. That got old fast so we had to end our roller disco’ing ways.

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I’ve tried to keep everything chronological, but for some reason I totally left out going to see Particle earlier in the evening. Let’s take a step back a couple weeks. Prior to heading out to the playa Amy had found out that Particle would be playing at Burning Man the night of the burn. They’re one of her favorite jambands, and bring a whole lot of rock-infused techno energy (or is it techno-infused rock energy?) Anyway, neither of us bothered to write down the details of where or when they’d be playing, but we figured we’d be able to find them at some point since they have the tendency to play for many, many, many hours.

So after we missed most of the burn, and picked up Kristin at camp and got all our shit together we frist went looking for Particle. It’s around midnight on Saturday and knew they should be starting soon. Fortunately, we didn’t have a hard time finding them given most of the sound camps were DJ based so it was easy to zero in on the one and only camp that was set up for live sound. They played at a camp on the Esplanade around 4:00, only a few blocks from 3:00 where we entered the fray. They were still busy setting up so it was a bit brighter around the stage so easy to see the mics, drums, keyboards, etc. We went over to make sure it was them playing, and it sure was, but realized they probably weren’t going to go on for another hour or so.

Since they weren’t going on anytime soon we ventured out to check the scene and ended up at Lush. So now if you go back to where I first said we went to Lush you’re back on track. But since I’ve twisted things up it’s probably a bit confusing. But that’s okay because Burning Man is a confusing place, both in space and time. I never wore a watch and tried not to pay too much attention to time, deferring to the sun as my guide to when things should happen. Nevermind, I just ate when I was hungry, slept when I was tired, and danced when the music was groovin’. I just didn’t want to be a slave to time.

So we cruised around a bit and then went back to check on the Particle action. They were tearing it up as we arrived and the crowd was growing. We figured Jason had to be around somewhere, and it wasn’t difficult to spot him as he brought along his EL-wire hoop. We said “HEY!!!”, with quick hugs, and headed toward the stage. Particle was playing their usual progressive jams and the crowd was getting more and more amped as the intensity of the music grew. Some rather beautiful women climbed onto the stage to dance and frolick which added a little more visual excitement to the performance. While I thought the music was quite fitting for the setting, I’ve personally grown a little tired of their sound after seeing them a handful of times over the past couple years. Maybe that, or that I was looking for something harder, darker and funkier. A sound that for the most part was lacking at this years Burning Man. But I did get my hands on Jason’s EL-wire hoop and went spinning away just outside the perimeter of the crowd. The glowing hoop was mesmerizing from the inside, and even more so in the hands of someone more proficient than myself. After of few minutes of hooping I handed it back to Jason so he could do it justice. And of course he did. While hooping he seemed to disappear within and all you could see was the blur of blue twisted like moving around, up and down. Many people walking along the Esplanade stopped to see the action, but like me, soon were distracted by other lights, fire, people, or what have you. This is about where we left Particle for the evening, continuing our journey and where we found Marshall and Kiki. Yada yada yada…dancing…drinking…browsing…riding…roller skating…and now were back on track. I think.

After we went roller skating Kristin was slowing down, and her head had a date with her pillow. We tried our hardest to convince her to stay up for the sunrise that she’d missed the night before, but our pleas were not enough. So we rode back with her to camp, dropped her off, and once again Amy and I rode out onto the playa toward the barrier. I’m not sure why we were so compelled to watch the sunrise from the barrier, but for us it seemed the logical place to go.

There were a few more people out with us than the previous night, but still only a handful. They say the only time you really get a sense of how many people there are is during the burn, but at sunrise it seems like there’s only a few hundred. You can still hear the booming soundsystems more than a mile away, but there’s an overwhelming sense of calm just before it peeks over the horizon. We didn’t say much to each other. We mostly hugged looking at the horizon and back toward the Temple and the surrounding mountains. Though, I will say I was quite excited to get the shadow picture that eluded us the morning before. Or I should say, we couldn’t take because Amy used all the remaining shots before the sun had even come up. A few people rode and walked by us just after the sun rose and it was nice to exchange a smile. It was almost like we were both saying, “we made it”, as if we just peaked Everest. But the excitement turned to chills and the 40 degree temp was too much to stick around. We put our tired butts back on our bikes and slowly headed back to camp.

We slept as long as we could, but the heat that Sunday was too much to stay in the tent. When I came out it was immediately noticeable the change that Black Rock City was undergoing. People began to pack up and some even took off. Before Sunday it seemed like Black Rock City was a permanent fixture, but it now was showing its temporary nature. I felt like I should be packing up too, but we still had a whole other night to go which included the burning of the Temple.

It was by far the hottest day so far, though nothing ridiculous. Just a bit more than the 60’s and 70’s were so used to in the Bay Area. I busted out the squirt bottles again and just relaxed and kept cool. I ventured out every once in a while, mostly just to go to the bathroom, but the area was beginning to resemble a ghost town with almost half the camps either packed up or left. Days prior people were out and about sharin’ the love, but now the energy was draining. I wondered if these people knew something I didn’t. Maybe we were suckers for sticking around, but I realized I just needed to block it out of my head. Enjoy the calm after the storm of Saturday nights burn.

I took my time, ate some more tasty bites, washed my feet, and even got some hooping in. I’m not a great hooper by any stretch, but I could tell the people camped around us appreciated the little extra energy the sparkly hoop provided. Amy even got into the action with her other hoop, and soon Kristin came over waving her streamers. We were a motley crew twirling and spinning where another camp once stood. It felt good to get the blood flowing and where I was once tired, I was now full of energy and ready for the night.

The sun was moving quickly toward the horizon, creating long shadows, and so an obligatory photo of our crew was taken. It was almost as if we were the only people there. Or, that we were the only people still hanging on to Burning Man, not bothering to tend to those things related to leaving the oasis we had enjoyed for the last few days. Even then I could tell that that evening would be much different than the last three. Much more calm. Much more reserved. A time for personal thought and introspection.

The sun set to the customary hoots and hollers from those folks who still remained. We then grabbed a quick bite to eat, got dressed, grabbed a few necessary items, and headed out toward the Temple for its burn.

I can’t say for certain what I was feeling at this point other than I knew it would be the finale of my first burn. I’ve read some moving pieces about the impact of the burning of the Temple. Many place articles, pictures and writings inside the Temple to honor loved ones, and so it becomes a very emotional experience when they burn up along with the Temple. While I understand it and empathize, I can’t say I shared this sentiment. I tend to internalize my emotions and it’s really only when I’m alone in a quiet setting that I can find opportunity to respect the loss of loved ones. Symbolic acts and ritual don’t bring forth these emotions. For me, this wasn’t the time or place. But I realize it is for others, and therefore I respected it by being as still and as quiet as possible while waiting.

Unfortunately, many of those didn’t have that kind of respect. For them, the party was on. They had to gab about nothing, scream for no reason, and try to get people to follow their lead. Almost all of the art cars surrounding the temple left their soundsystems off, so it was much quieter than I had expected, but then it made perfect sense. We waited for quite some time while responisble parties prepared for a safe burn. Once everything was safe and secure a few people with flares began lighting the piles of kindling underneath the structure that were once the walkways that extended outward. The wood was dry and extremely flammable and the large structure caught fire quickly. The heat caused all sorts of upward moving air currents and funnels. Suddenly, it got bright white and was difficult to even look at. I wished I had some sunglasses, but by the time I thought that through we were hit with a wave of heat that practically burned my eyes. I turned around for a couple seconds and kept trying to look back at the fire, but the heat was just too much. It was getting hotter and hotter and I didn’t know if it would get worse, so myself and a number of other retreated back 20 or 30 feet. I don’t know how the people around the inner ring stayed in place. The fire died down shortly so that we could return to our original spot. We were told that the perimeter would be dropped once the main structure fell. So we stayed and watched, and watched, and watched some more. Everything burned and fell, except for the four posts that made up the main structure. After 30 minutes or so with the fire ever smaller, the four post hadn’t fallen and the heat of the fire wasn’t what it once was and you could feel the cool of night. Between not dressing warmly enough and having to go to the bathroom we decided it was time to leave.

We stopped at the potties and pondered what to do for the rest of the evening. It seemed that none of the camps were really set to host a party and that the evening would be rather chill. The three of us were pretty tired even though we hadn’t done a whole lot that day, and so we went back to camp, relaxed for a minute, and went to bed early to get some rest for mondays trip out.

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We woke up fairly early, but it was already warm and looked to be a hot day. We hadn’t packed a thing so I was a bit concerned with how long it would take us considering how long it took others around us. We took our time, had some coffee, and soaked in a little bit more dust. We didn’t have much trouble save for one stubborn piece of rebar, and a little after noon the car was loaded and we were ready to leave. I looked around our site for any last pieces of garbage we may have missed, then hopped in the car, and headed out toward the gate.

Already I could tell this might take some time. There was a line of cars starting around 3:30 and Pluto, so I stayed on Neptune and bypassed a whole lot of cars. But then we had to cut in and entered the traffice heading out. It was a little after 1:00 now and it was really hot out. Fortunately, we had a good car and the air conditioning was flawless. Others weren’t so fortunate. We were a long ways to the road and already cars were stalling from the heat. Or maybe they didn’t have much gas left and wanted to conserve. Either way, there were a lot of people pushing their cars down the five lanes to the exit. Many realized they weren’t going anywhere fast so they just got out and mingled and walked along side their vehicles. Some gave out the last bits of food and drink they had, including one guy who somehow had frozen Snickers. At one point they decided to stop traffic for 30 minutes to let the cars in front clear out and let people stop their cars to keep them from overheating. I don’t know that it did much good, but it gave some time to walk over to the potties. After the break, traffic moved pretty good, and 2 1/2 hours after we started we were on the road home.

Kristin had been wanting cheese pizza for the last three days, so our next goal was to acquire some in Reno. I had phone service so I looked up a place to go, and the Brew Brothers Brewery was our next destination. Unfortunately it wasn’t as easy to find even though the address located it right downtown. We gave up and then tried finding somewhere else, but there wasn’t much. So we went into the El Dorado Casino since casinos always have a food court of some sort. After a couple minutes of wandering around we went up the escalator to the food court. Lo and behold there was the Brew Brothers. It must’ve been destiny. We had a great meal and once finished we got back in the car and headed home. Traffic was light most of the way, and we arrived shortly after 11:00 completing our Burning Man 2004.

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