So with this, the week ended for us. Our friends are at the temple burn (Sunday night) as we write this; maybe next year we will stay the extra day for this special ceremony. After all the hard work of putting the camp together and being full-fledged participants all week, it does seem like we should have stayed for the temple burn rather than punch out Sunday morning like a couple of weekend tourists. But I think eight nights on the Playa are just about all I could ask Jen to put up with, and she admits to being quite happy about sleeping in a bed tonight after a couple of showers and a good meal.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The Man Burns... Eventually
So after a half-day whiteout dust storm, we got the call for the big Burn. Jen and I marched out to the playa and got ourselves some seats near the front. Here are two clips of the fireworks.
After the fireworks and one heck of a huge fireball explosion, the man started to burn, and burn, and then smolder, and then smolder some more. After about an hour, he FINALLY toppled over into the pile of ashes beneath. This was way past the patience level of (we guess) about 20,000 of the burners who had already rushed the fire. But the fire would not be denied its prince, no matter how hard he resisted.
So with this, the week ended for us. Our friends are at the temple burn (Sunday night) as we write this; maybe next year we will stay the extra day for this special ceremony. After all the hard work of putting the camp together and being full-fledged participants all week, it does seem like we should have stayed for the temple burn rather than punch out Sunday morning like a couple of weekend tourists. But I think eight nights on the Playa are just about all I could ask Jen to put up with, and she admits to being quite happy about sleeping in a bed tonight after a couple of showers and a good meal.
So with this, the week ended for us. Our friends are at the temple burn (Sunday night) as we write this; maybe next year we will stay the extra day for this special ceremony. After all the hard work of putting the camp together and being full-fledged participants all week, it does seem like we should have stayed for the temple burn rather than punch out Sunday morning like a couple of weekend tourists. But I think eight nights on the Playa are just about all I could ask Jen to put up with, and she admits to being quite happy about sleeping in a bed tonight after a couple of showers and a good meal.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Surprise Miniature Golf!
Out on the playa today Bill & I stumbled upon an 9-hole putt-putt golf course. There's nothing better than surprise miniature golf!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Flamethrower Shooting Gallery
So here's a great example of something that attorneys would never allow in the real world: the Flamethrower Shooting Gallery.
Yes, happy campers, that's right: they let you handle and operate actual flamethrowers at Burning Man. You do not wear gloves, eye protection, or a fire-retardant suit. The qualifications are these: you may not be drunk or stupid (the definitions and measurements of which are arbitrary and at the discretion of the attendants), and you may not be wearing any especially flammable clothes. If you are wearning flammable clothes, one semi popular option was just to remove them. Once you pass all the tests, it's flamethrower time!!!
Yes, happy campers, that's right: they let you handle and operate actual flamethrowers at Burning Man. You do not wear gloves, eye protection, or a fire-retardant suit. The qualifications are these: you may not be drunk or stupid (the definitions and measurements of which are arbitrary and at the discretion of the attendants), and you may not be wearing any especially flammable clothes. If you are wearning flammable clothes, one semi popular option was just to remove them. Once you pass all the tests, it's flamethrower time!!!An Evening on the Playa
Last night Bill & I rode our bikes all over Black Rock City and took in a lot of the sights, sounds, and entertainment. We spent hours out there, and I feel like we only scraped the surface.
We saw beautiful statues, one made of rebar (& fire!) and the other of locks & keys:
We saw lots of fire-art. We're going back tonight to see (and maybe participate) in the Flamethrowers Gallery. (Yes, 5 people at a time get to fire actual flamethrowers - it's frakin' cool!)
But our favorite event of the evening was "Darwin's Wedge" a giant, astro-turfed slide for anyone and everyone. You had to climb up the side ramp, which is so steep you have to use the banister to pull yourself up. Sit on the nylon rug provided, and head towards the foam blocks at the bottom. It was brilliant! I don't think I saw a single person at the bottom of the slide who didn't have the biggest grin on their face! It was worth the 3/4th of a mile ride out into the middle of the playa :)
And of course, a picture of The Man. Poor guy's gonna burn in 2 days...
Our night ended with a free grilled cheese sandwich from Camp Black Rock Dinner (they serve them nightly from 11:00PM until they run out). A lovely end to a lovely day here at Black Rock City.
We saw beautiful statues, one made of rebar (& fire!) and the other of locks & keys:
We saw lots of fire-art. We're going back tonight to see (and maybe participate) in the Flamethrowers Gallery. (Yes, 5 people at a time get to fire actual flamethrowers - it's frakin' cool!)But our favorite event of the evening was "Darwin's Wedge" a giant, astro-turfed slide for anyone and everyone. You had to climb up the side ramp, which is so steep you have to use the banister to pull yourself up. Sit on the nylon rug provided, and head towards the foam blocks at the bottom. It was brilliant! I don't think I saw a single person at the bottom of the slide who didn't have the biggest grin on their face! It was worth the 3/4th of a mile ride out into the middle of the playa :)
And of course, a picture of The Man. Poor guy's gonna burn in 2 days...
Our night ended with a free grilled cheese sandwich from Camp Black Rock Dinner (they serve them nightly from 11:00PM until they run out). A lovely end to a lovely day here at Black Rock City.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
You Know You've Been on the Playa a While When...
- bacon grease drips on your arm and makes your arm cleaner.
- you rub your eyes and see dust sprinkle out of your eyebrows.
- having a conversation with a naked person no longer gives you pause.
- you wake up to an art car driving by blaring Wind Beneath my Wings at 11 and just roll over and try to go back to sleep.
- your legs are so chalky, you can use it like a reverse chalk board.
- you think just maybe you could spin a flaming hulu-hoop too.
- a one half-gallon shower, every other day, is absolute BLISS.
Views from Above Black Rock City
I said earlier that the tower was assembled during a windstorm. The brave gentleman who performed this daunting task was Arturo, a tower installation technician from Tijuana. He thought he was going camping, and was stunned by what he saw here. He took a camera with him up the tower and got some shots of the Sunday state of Black Rock City, prior to when it opens to the general public. So here's a couple of his photos, and a shot of him on the tower. Arturo, you ROCK!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Papa Legba Grows a Camp
So after two solid days of hard work, adaptation, and coping with Mother Nature's fine sense of humor, we have gotten our camp mostly together. Jen posted one pic of the "Blue Tube" (which looks way better attached to the ground on all sides than it does flapping in the wind and about to fly away along with all our stuff!!!), so here's another:
This shot shows Star connecting a power harness to the callsign sign midway up the 70 foot tower. The tower was assembled during a wind storm the day before. Our tower technician got lots of applause from the onlookers. Star had to put up with some raindrops - threatening, but not actually too bad. Still, kudos to her for a job well done in non-ideal circumstances. Here's the sign at night:
So, what's the point? Well, the Papa Legba Crewe is offering free text messaging service that people can use with their cellphones. The WD9XSP callsign was assigned by the FCC as an experimental license good for use at Black Rock City. So far, we've helped one camp acquire 30 gallons more water, some people find each other, and are currently supporting texting for about 400 early subscribers. Whew! It's working!
This shot shows Star connecting a power harness to the callsign sign midway up the 70 foot tower. The tower was assembled during a wind storm the day before. Our tower technician got lots of applause from the onlookers. Star had to put up with some raindrops - threatening, but not actually too bad. Still, kudos to her for a job well done in non-ideal circumstances. Here's the sign at night:
So, what's the point? Well, the Papa Legba Crewe is offering free text messaging service that people can use with their cellphones. The WD9XSP callsign was assigned by the FCC as an experimental license good for use at Black Rock City. So far, we've helped one camp acquire 30 gallons more water, some people find each other, and are currently supporting texting for about 400 early subscribers. Whew! It's working!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)