Carson City - Recompression Sunday

It is Sunday afternoon and we are at the Comstock RV Resort in Carson City. Our drive was uneventful, the only negative seeing a totally flattened burner travel trailer by the roadside (worse, obviously, for them), and the positive highlight being a stop at a Dayton NV Round Table Pizza where we gorged on the lunchtime special of salad and three kinds of pizza. Do not underestimate the value of a highlight such as this. It tasted great, the restrooms were clean, the place was air conditioned.

After setting up in Carson City I did the park unforgivable (that’s what comes of living with freaks for four days) and hosed-off (lightly) the trailer. Not clean, but much better. I drove the truck to a coin-operated car wash and eight-dollars later it looked much better. That is until I opened a window releasing accumulated now-wet Playa dust, to drool down the sides. (Note: on reviewing this blog in late November, I can report the slightest drizzle still creates Playa-dust ooze down the trailer and truck sides, and I still find spots in doorjams with caked dust.)

We planned on barbecuing for dinner but the grease-coated grill was grossly thickened with tan-brown Playa accretions. I can usually ignore what’s out of sight (and many things in sight) but this was too much and entailed more cleaning.

Meanwhile, Marcia was scrubbing the trailer floor and doing laundry, both jobs tough as Playa dust does not easily release its hold.

We took long showers (“Limit your shower to 5 minutes or less to conserve water”), put on fresh clothes, ate BBQ chicken and asparagus, and climbed into bed at 9:30 for our first good night’s sleep in a long time.

Exodus Sunday - we leave Burning Man 8/31

Sunday morning – Exodus for us – began with occasional wind gusts, a hint of what could come.

Our gear was covered in thick layers of Playa dust, looking like the aftermath of a Mt St. Helens eruption. The inside of our trailer was bad, but not too bad; John’s tent was a mess.

Little cleaning could be done – it just stirred up more dirt.

We piled everything into any space we could find, waved goodbye to our few remaining neighbors, and headed out to K Street and the exit at 8:56 AM (the time, not the intersection). It took another two hours to reach the paved highway.

In the meantime, we listened to Burning Man Information Radio (BMIR) hoping to hear encouraging traffic reports, and we did – at about our hour-and-a-half point we heard a report that exit times were 1-1.5 hours. Yeah.

But BMIR was good edgy radio. Some George Carlin. Some intelligent DJ-talk about ending the war and the importance of voting. Good alternative music, more interesting than corporate radio, even listenable. We also heard the Reverend Billy rail against consumerism and call for change, change, change. We learned that something must be done about the dictatorship in this country. For the first time since we arrived we heard news from the outside world – that Hurricane Gustav was threatening New Orleans.

The Man burns Saturday night and we left Sunday, as probably do most people. But there are other burns. The Temple is scheduled to burn tonight with the true Exodus on Monday. I learned from BMIR radio that the Reverend Billy is schedule to speak just prior to the temple burn. I’m sorry I will miss him.

Saturday night - the Man burns!

At last, about 8 PM, after several false starts, BMIR announced the Man would burn in about 45 minutes, if the weather held.

We scrambled from the trailer and found our tent neighbors were not to be consoled, and were leaving. We hurried to the Playa and got within five rows of the wide open circle around the Man. We watched and listened to the crowd, glad to be so close but wondering if the few heads in front might still block our view. A bright light from the other side made it hard to see, but from five years ago we knew the ceremony starts with elaborate fire dancing. Fire bearers were present with no sign of any action.

Suddenly the fire bearers disbursed, never utilized, and the neon tubes outlining the Man came alive. Fireworks erupted and soon small fires were visible at various levels of the platform and at the base of the Man's feet. Then more fireworks and an occasional propane blast, with a final burst large enough to engulf the whole platform and cause us to smile in awe as we basked in the heat. Surprisingly, as the flames dissipated, no new fires started and the burn continued slowly, albeit accented by fireworks. But the fires did slowly reach higher, causing the lights in the man to flicker then dim, and eventually all was in flame. The structure started to bow slightly, with the middle leaning right and the top leaning left; people began to take bets on which way it would fall. Left won, and the tower collapsed and formed a huge bonfire with no recognizable parts. Our line broke and a number of burners raced forward, dancing in the flames and taking souvenirs.

(Well, I don't know how that sounds, but this was a much less impressive structure and burn than five years ago. Perhaps part of a rumored Burning Man attempt to downplay the actual burning.)

Saturday white-out

Saturday - burn-the-man day - began nicely but slowly, again looking like we would waste the cool morning hours. We decided to check out the BRC airport by bicycle. Our only concern was bogging down in the ground dust but figured we would go as far as we could.

By 10:00 AM we were still not underway. Gusty winds caused us to duck occasionally into the trailer to dodge dust storms. Soon dust devils were melding to the point that for long minutes we could not see the tents of our friends opposite the trailer. Between 10 AM and about 8 PM we left the trailer only when we could, to get some fresh air and to take pictures; compare these shots with how our camp looked in the earlier post “Wednesday - Welcome to Camp Trout”. The dust could best be described by expletives, but more descriptively it is like very fine sand, almost like talc. It doesn't sting or sand-blast things, but blinds and makes breathing very uncomfortable.

We passed the time with eating and card games, and listening to Burning Man Information Radio (BMIR) hoping for an all-clear so the pivotal burn could take place on the Playa. Even with every trailer opening shut tight, we could still smell but thankfully not see the Playa dust.

Freeman had been out exploring but joined us late in the afternoon, remarking on how miserably hot it had become in the trailer. But no matter to him – soon he was out like a light on the gaucho.

The neighbors’ tents began to collapse and we invited them in, but they chose to stick it out. But by darkness they gave up and began to pack to leave. BMIR cautioned against leaving or at least against trying to pass other vehicles while leaving, because there had already been several accidents.

Mr. Pastie goes to Burning Man

This man is (a) providing free pasties as a service to needy women; (b) scamming a lot of women; or (c) both.

He could usually be found in Center Camp showing passing women his folder of pasties. For responding women (quite a few) he would clean the site and plant the pastie, with seemingly little conversation.

What does he do the rest of the year?—Make his pasties, I suppose. It is a short season.

EL Wire makes you happy

EL wire looks great and festive and provides some protection from collision while wandering the Playa in darkness.

As we generally are not with-it, the personally modeled EL wire was loaned to us by our camp neighbors.

Friday evening continued in this relaxed state as we enjoyed another fine meal, discussion, and wine accompaniment. Feeling a bit too wired for bed, we took a short walk-around-the-block and turned in. Well, all but Freeman. Not sure when he got in.

Smoke rings or halos, you decide

Somebody somewhere a long way away was generating these beautiful smoke rings. Freeman's may actually be a halo, or I just can't see his drink.

Ice for sale...

One of the few things you can buy and the line could be quite long.

The trick is carrying 15 lbs of ice back to your camp. Fortunately Carmen had some Berkeley Bowl cloth shopping bags, and the rest was up to Mr. Bungi.

Gotta go, gotta go ...

The woman with the cane called over my shoulder "Tom! You forgot your stick!". I turned as a man doubled-back and grabbed his white cane.

Toilets like these were all within easy reach. They were reasonably clean and had Purell dispensers at each end.

The Teter-Totter of Death

I'll have one of those big things...

This, I believe, is a gay-hosted camp.

Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll

As anywhere at Burning Man, the bar may dispense alcohol or juices, makes no difference. No charge. Just be kind and friendly in return - help someone with their tent, say hello, fix a bike tire, offer some ice, hand him/her a cookie, etc.

BRC is dotted with cocktail lounges, varying from as small as a two-person bar to really quite large (organized, plenty of seating, dancing, bands, pole dancers). Commercialization is not allowed. The booze flows both freely and freely.

There is plenty of drinking and on occasion a whiff of weed. If a burner acts illegally an observing officer will take action, but careful burners get along fine. Burning Man is not exempt from state and local laws and there are far more officials (BLM, state police, etc.) then in 2003.

In two Burning Man trips I have never seen a fight break out or heard an angry voice. Nor, with one exception, have I encountered an obnoxious drunk. Impressive for a gathering of almost 50,000 people, mostly young, partying heavily. (Okay, this place is big and we are not major partiers, so some bad stuff surely did happen.)

Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll: the sex part

The part you were waiting for.

I don’t think serious sexual harassment would be tolerated here, and the enforcers would likely be friends of the offender or perhaps the roving Black Rock Rangers. Even so, things go on that would not in Roseville, or most any other community. (Okay, so San Francisco may be another exception, under certain conditions.)

People at Burning Man can express themselves as they wish and not feel judged, probably because of the anonymity factor lacking in their home communities. For most this is through imaginative costumes, body decoration, fanciful transportation, and theme camps. For many this is through nudity, near nudity, or erotic attire. It is also through language and the free discussion of things not discussed at home.

Freeman and I noted that Burning Man attracts a number of incredibly good looking women. Many of these go topless but maybe because of the commonness it seems very pleasant but not particularly erotic. Marcia and I concluded there are more naked men than naked women, but far more topless women than naked men. Although tats and piercings are common, they seem more common in the Roseville young crowd. (Yes, I realize this is supposition and a lot of guessing about both groups.)

Nobody acts particularly sexual, even when wearing erotic outfits. But there are hints of S&M, such as camps offering bare-butt paddling by members of the opposite sex.

There are obvious gay couples, and obvious trans-gender people. I’m still taken aback by the sight of males (judged by body build and beard growth) with nice looking naked boobs.

This Burning Man seems less blatantly sexual than the one my brother and I attended five years ago, but maybe we are less adventuresome this time accompanied by our wives. Or so Marcia suspects.

WiFi

WiFi worked and it didn't work, just like home.

I never made use of WiFi because my battery was too low and I had no way to charge it. Marcia thinks this was a good thing because it is really her computer and she doesn't like the idea of exposing it to Playa dust.

More mutant vehicles

A great way to hitch a ride or join a party.

Mutants on the run

These vehicles must all be registered with the Department of Mutant Vehicles in BRC.