Burning Man: Day Two
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Black Rock City, NV
We woke up bright and early (6:45 AM) on Tuesday to ride out to the Black Rock City International Airport, which is about half a mile south of the city. Mike was scheduled to do some volunteer work at the airport so we left him there, then the kids and I headed back to Center Camp to get coffee.
After getting myself a latte ($4) and Mike a coffee ($2) in our travel mugs, we biked back out to the airport. While there, I took some pictures of the kids in front of the Black Rock Travel Agency (BRTA) tent and of the BRTA plane. I also took a picture of my shadow, which was amazingly long because of the angle of the sun. Being in nature reminded me of how amazing it is to, well, be in nature. Even though Burning Man is an artificial city that pulses and blinks at night with the light of a million LEDs, it also takes place in a beautiful, natural environment where mountain ranges and a big sky can be enjoyed and appreciated during daylight hours.
It turns out that Mike was scheduled to work on Wednesday and Thursday mornings so he was able to leave and go back to the RV with us. We hung out for a bit and did what people do when it's hot and dry: we drank water and napped. In the afternoon I took the kids on a really long bike ride around half of the city. At one point we stopped to watch a dance club camp being built and spoke with a woman who was a belly dancer/fire dancer/poi dancer "all at once." She mentioned she would be performing that night at 2:30 AM. I told her that I didn't think I would be awake and motioned to the kids.
[Aside: Yes, I definitely missed a lot of what goes on at night on the Playa, but I'm okay with that. The truth is that I don't have much interest in staying up until 2 or 3 or 4 in the morning now that I am clean and sober. I don't think I've ever missed out on my nightly 8 hours of sleep unless it was due to drugs of some variety. I didn't get to see the fire dancer or dance the night away in an ecstatic rage, but I did get to spend several mornings riding around on the Playa when the only people who are awake are those taking advantage of the morning light to snap photographs and the few people who are *still* awake. The nights might be hot, but the mornings are cool and truly, naturally magical.]
At some point on Tuesday I donned bunny ears and rode around by myself. Bunny ears attract a lot of attention at Burning Man from men and children. I understand why kids like them, but men? When you wear bunny ears does it mean you want to f*ck like a bunny? Are men turned on by the sight of a woman wearing bunny ears? Not sure. One guy--who looked pretty high, I must admit--said to me as I rode past, "I'm French and I eat bunnies." If his was an offer, I did not take him up on it.
Tuesday night we announced the grand opening of the Tsaobug Movie Theater by walking around KidsVille and inviting our neighbors to send their kids over once it was dark, around 8:15. I think we played Disney's Aladdin. The kids loved it and the parents loved having a place to stash their kids for a bit. The electronic babysitter made it to the desert! Some parents didn't allow their kids over because they don't allow their kids to watch any TV, but nobody got upset at us for bringing our corrupt values to Burning Man so that was good.
After the movie, we rode up and down the Esplanade, checking out the theme camps and dance club camps and other neat and interesting camps that were just coming to life as we were making our way back to our cozy RV home. Like they did every night, the kids fell asleep in the bike trailer so we just put them to bed wearing their dusty, dirty clothes. Before going to Burning Man I was worried that the kids would miss their normal nightly routine of a long, hot bath, but they never once complained or seemed to care about being dirty. Even when their hair got so sticky I started air kissing their heads because I no longer wanted to get my lips coated with dust in the process!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Burning Man 2007 Recap: Monday, August 27
Burning Man: Day One
Monday, August 27, 2007
San Mateo, CA
We woke up early, 4:30 AM, and made it out the door by 5:17. Our RV was packed and ready to go and we were excited to be hitting the road to Black Rock City, Nevada, home to the Burning Man festival.
Once we hit Highway 80, we started seeing other motorists on their way to the festival. We were in the slow lane, so lots of times we got a honk and wave out the window as others passed us on the left. We could tell others going to the festival by their jam-packed cars and their colorful bikes. Everybody was excited to be on the road.
We stopped in Reno to eat our last take-out meal at P.F.Chang's China Bistro and to stock up on water. We had to go to two grocery stores to get enough water. We also stopped in Target, and it became obvious from the stares and comments that the general mood in Reno is anti-Burning Man. That probably has something to do with the aftermath of the event, when thousands of dirty people dump their garbage in random Reno dumpsters on their way home. At least one checkout person warned us to "be careful" and that there would be "weird people" at the event. We were happy to be back on the road and on our way to Black Rock City with the rest of the weirdos!
We made it to the line of cars waiting to get into the event around 3:00 PM. It probably took about an hour to make it to the front, where two surly women checked out our RV to make sure we weren't hiding any "dirty hippies," people who were trying to sneak in without a ticket. We were harboring no dirty hippies and made it through the gates to the greeter station, where a naked man gave us four welcome packets and exclaimed, "Welcome home!"
We drove straight to our camp, KidsVille Village, and figured out where to park our RV and set up our home away from home, shade structure, and Tsaobug Movie Theater. We started setting up camp and had the whole thing ready by sunset.
As soon as the sun started setting, the moon started rising. That night was the full moon, and as was the custom at Burning Man, people started whooping and clapping when it made its appearance. In general, people at the festival clap and cheer for all natural events, such as the sun rising, the sun setting, the moon rising, and rainbows. Tee hee.
We were tired Monday night from our day of travel and only went out for a bit, riding around the Playa with the kids in the bike trailer, checking out the art that was already up and watching some of it in the process of being created. I remember seeing a woman wearing nothing but a bikini, a welder's smock and hood welding a sculpture (It might have been Koilos). Alas, I did not have my camera with me to capture the moment.
We also spent some time in the exhibit hall at the base of The Man. I'm sorry I didn't wander around more in there, as it was closed from then on due to the premature burning of The Man that night by arsonist Paul Addis.
Speaking of The Man burning, that night I did hear a collective noise of the crowd while I was sleeping but didn't get up to investigate. I thought it might have been from the total lunar eclipse, but it probably was in response to The Man being on fire.
I do know that cozily ensconced in our RV, I was one happy camper -- happy to be at Burning Man and happy that everything had come together like it had. The greeter was right, it did feel like coming home.
Monday, August 27, 2007
San Mateo, CA
We woke up early, 4:30 AM, and made it out the door by 5:17. Our RV was packed and ready to go and we were excited to be hitting the road to Black Rock City, Nevada, home to the Burning Man festival.
Once we hit Highway 80, we started seeing other motorists on their way to the festival. We were in the slow lane, so lots of times we got a honk and wave out the window as others passed us on the left. We could tell others going to the festival by their jam-packed cars and their colorful bikes. Everybody was excited to be on the road.
We stopped in Reno to eat our last take-out meal at P.F.Chang's China Bistro and to stock up on water. We had to go to two grocery stores to get enough water. We also stopped in Target, and it became obvious from the stares and comments that the general mood in Reno is anti-Burning Man. That probably has something to do with the aftermath of the event, when thousands of dirty people dump their garbage in random Reno dumpsters on their way home. At least one checkout person warned us to "be careful" and that there would be "weird people" at the event. We were happy to be back on the road and on our way to Black Rock City with the rest of the weirdos!
We made it to the line of cars waiting to get into the event around 3:00 PM. It probably took about an hour to make it to the front, where two surly women checked out our RV to make sure we weren't hiding any "dirty hippies," people who were trying to sneak in without a ticket. We were harboring no dirty hippies and made it through the gates to the greeter station, where a naked man gave us four welcome packets and exclaimed, "Welcome home!"
We drove straight to our camp, KidsVille Village, and figured out where to park our RV and set up our home away from home, shade structure, and Tsaobug Movie Theater. We started setting up camp and had the whole thing ready by sunset.
As soon as the sun started setting, the moon started rising. That night was the full moon, and as was the custom at Burning Man, people started whooping and clapping when it made its appearance. In general, people at the festival clap and cheer for all natural events, such as the sun rising, the sun setting, the moon rising, and rainbows. Tee hee.
We were tired Monday night from our day of travel and only went out for a bit, riding around the Playa with the kids in the bike trailer, checking out the art that was already up and watching some of it in the process of being created. I remember seeing a woman wearing nothing but a bikini, a welder's smock and hood welding a sculpture (It might have been Koilos). Alas, I did not have my camera with me to capture the moment.
We also spent some time in the exhibit hall at the base of The Man. I'm sorry I didn't wander around more in there, as it was closed from then on due to the premature burning of The Man that night by arsonist Paul Addis.
Speaking of The Man burning, that night I did hear a collective noise of the crowd while I was sleeping but didn't get up to investigate. I thought it might have been from the total lunar eclipse, but it probably was in response to The Man being on fire.
I do know that cozily ensconced in our RV, I was one happy camper -- happy to be at Burning Man and happy that everything had come together like it had. The greeter was right, it did feel like coming home.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Welcome Home
We're back from Burning Man and it was a great time. Seriously. One of the best vacations we've ever taken.The kids loved it! More about that later...
I wasn't able to blog while I was there; the wireless was spotty at the RV and I couldn't risk taking the laptop into Center Camp when I also had to watch the kids. But after we got home yesterday evening, I spent hours putting our photos online. Here's a link to the Flickr set. Start at the beginning and work your way through to get a good idea of how we spent our week.
Today we cleaned out the RV and started cleaning all the stuff we brought with us and putting things away. Back to reality. Tomorrow we return the RV and continue the cleaning process.
I've got a lot to put down in writing, of things I want to remember. Like Emily telling me on our third day there, "Mommy, I'm not scared of fire anymore." And Thomas asking me tonight at dinner, "Why aren't we at Burning Man?" I hope I get the time tomorrow to write a longer post.
I wasn't able to blog while I was there; the wireless was spotty at the RV and I couldn't risk taking the laptop into Center Camp when I also had to watch the kids. But after we got home yesterday evening, I spent hours putting our photos online. Here's a link to the Flickr set. Start at the beginning and work your way through to get a good idea of how we spent our week.
Today we cleaned out the RV and started cleaning all the stuff we brought with us and putting things away. Back to reality. Tomorrow we return the RV and continue the cleaning process.
I've got a lot to put down in writing, of things I want to remember. Like Emily telling me on our third day there, "Mommy, I'm not scared of fire anymore." And Thomas asking me tonight at dinner, "Why aren't we at Burning Man?" I hope I get the time tomorrow to write a longer post.
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