Of course, the best year (as is every year) of Burning Man is THIS year. But this one for me was certainly different than the last 4. It’s so hard to remember exactly the events of this yearly event each time. Even though I spent more time on the playa this year than all the others, I felt like the time passed quickest of all. Maybe it had to do with arriving and leaving at night. Maybe it was because of the 12 amazing first-year burners we were introducing to this crazy event. Or maybe it had to do with me DJ’ing 4 out of the 7 days I was there. Whatever the reasons, it was no less challenging than the others. And no less beautiful.
Part I - Starlala-lala-la-la
The first challenge was storage - how to move 17 campers' food, water, shelter, bikes & playa supplies to a remote desert location. Momo Swells solved this issue the most sensible way - by buying an RV! Even though it seems like a risky move to buy a 1971 ford RV just 3 days before we leave for a 1200 mile trip to the dry desert, it still felt right. We knew the previous owners of the RV & the history. Still, introducing anything new into any mix can bring about more challenges that one realizes. This was also true for our borrowed Van, the newly-purchased Rockstar Orphan trailer, and our camp’s main Shade Structure, which Pink (and ultimately many of the other members of our camp) spent 3 back-breaking weeks working on just before the burn. Still, despite the challenging learning experiences, we all pulled thru and at 5pm on Friday night 2 cars, 1 RV, 1 van and trailer (holding the completed shade structure) were on their long trek down to the playa.
The trailer made it as far as Tacoma.
The RV, Portland.
But our minds and hearts were set on making it to Reno on Sunday.
We picked up our 4 Portland companions at 10pm, but were still waiting on the van and trailer to make it thru traffic. They’d had a blow-out in Tacoma and then were stuck in the usual Friday South I-5 lull. Even though the PDX crew was excited to hit the road, the thought of 1 more night in their own beds after a long day of packing and preparation was comforting. The rest of us slept on the Portland boys' living room futon like sardines while ESNCE played slow breaks melodies and Liz sang us to sleep with Jack Daniels.
We woke early the next day, showered (not together … well, mostly), enjoyed some Portland coffee and hit the road! We made it as far as --- the next street. Seems our new and much-loved RV (who we’d named Starlala-lala-la-la while Becka and M to Tha lovingly laid fur all over her insides on the ride into town the day before) was having trouble starting, despite her brand-new battery. To our luck, a few streets up from the boys’ apartment was a battery/alternator specialty store. So we took her there and enjoyed a big breakfast while the expert had a look-see. Halfway thru my toast & egg, we received the condition - a bad alternator, possibly destroyed during a recent check-up. He would have to operate, and there was a 50/50 chance she would live. ‘Go for it!’, Momo said. ‘We need her to live.’
The operation was a success! And 2 hours later, we were on the road again. Our next stop - Mt. Shasta.
When we arrived into the small town in the shadow of Mt. Shasta, we found the tiny 1-room cottage of a new-found friend and sprawled again like sardines on our air mattresses. But we didn’t mind the close-knit quarters. We were excited and exhausted. We awoke only once during the night to the sound of Liz’s car alarm waking up the entire town to an intruder - herself. The next morning, we found the only happening coffee shop, full of locals and traveling bikers. We loaded up on coffee and gooey snacks and made our way thru the mountains of Northern California and toward the flat and burned out desert of Nevada. I rode with Harinama in the van. It was a pleasant time to learn about his life. Nothing like a road trip to turn a stranger into a friend. We had lovely chats and he shared the peace pipe that he had received from a Native American friend almost 20 years before. No coincidence that Burning Man itself was also celebrating its 20 year anniversary. It began in 1986 with a few friends burning some wood on a beach in San Francisco. They let go of a memory to build a dream.
And we were there - almost. In Reno, we stocked up on water and supplies. By 10pm we were on our way to our usual pre-burn stop, Pyramid Lake. But it was almost midnight, and we were too tired and ansy to set up camp just to break it down again four hours later. Why not wait out the moments until the opening of the pearly gates with a car nap and roll onto the playa at midnight?
Starlala-lala-la-la gave us one more small scare in the town of Gerlach (population 500, whose numbers includes the neighboring town, Empire) to remind us that technology still lays in the path to control of our own destiny. The small Shell station was out of gas and Starlala was 8 gallons short. To make matters more difficult, the remote area did not have cell phone reception (much less a Hotel or a Bar). Not being able to hold out any longer, I parked the van in a dark corner (actually, it wasn't that dark -- there was a motion-sensored street lamp that kept flashing on & off) to catch a few Zzzz's, pulled the bill of my hat over my eyes and let the chips fall as they may.
"THUD, THUD, THUD!!" I awoke with a start to Momo rapping on the window.
'C'mon! We're headin!' Within the hour, Momo had found the solution -- a pay phone sitting idly nearby. She called our late traveller Zoe to have Moriah & Da Man pick up what we needed when they headed in on Wednesday. Both stumped and then saved by Technology! Alas, some early technological genius was still sound...
We rolled towards the playa not long past midnight, behind a long line of red lights doing the same. I amused myself from the jabberings of some burners on the walkie-talkie, Channel 5. By the time we found our camp spot and began setup, the sun was rising over the horizon. Our first sunrise in its glorious beauty. We'd beat the odds on our 3-day journey down. And were bringing 12 playa virgins Home.
go to Part II...
