A note on the playa that we’re now in the midst of. This is a giant prehistoric lake bed encircled by hills and mountains that is sacred to the (NEED THE NAME). The Burning Man organization has an agreement with the BLM and tribe that when all is done, there is not a spec of impact left. All people take great care not to leave MOOP (matter out of place) anywhere. We would pick up MOOP any time we went out. It was a big win when we bagged something bigger than a scrap, that’s how careful the vast majority of people were even with all the wind. The norm is that every winter the rains fil the lake bed about a foot up and when this dries and settles, it leaves a crust that is great to bike on. In the documentary about The Burn, you can see people cruising along on their bikes. This year was different because it didn’t rain. Thus brief dried out place, but mostly fine dust piles. I’d love to see videos/photos of it when there is a lake. I truly haven’t seen anything this barren ever. Over the entire time I was there, I saw maybe 2 crows and maybe 3 small beetles.
We woke up easily, good sleep, quiet, the fan worked and even ended up under blankets since the desert does cool down. I went out walking around 6:30, while Rick made coffee and breakfast and Scott and Kellie took time – they love their morning van time!
I walked up to The Man, seeing people already up on the structure building the final pieces to be ready for Sunday evening, I think. There were a few camps setting up, but pretty bare. I took a few photos and a video so that I could see the changes over time. This turned out to be the quietest time of the day in terms of wind and dust.
We then built the structure to shelter the vans and trailer and it fit perfectly, unbelievable. Here’s a video to show our set up. And oh thank goodness for the shade and shelter from the wind – the wind wasn’t the dust storms that we’d heard about, but it was constant and we were wearing goggles and masks for most of the time.
We then helped set up the kitchen and den for Bumblepuss and quickly realized we were out of sync with the majority of people who are in the camp now. They’re in their 20s/30s and possibly 40s with one guy in his 60’s, but who has been very connected over the years with the camp. Scott and Kellie hadn’t been here for 3 years and things had changed.
Super nice group, but we were definitely aged out as far as just hanging out. Plus, honestly, I just wanted the cleanliness of our space. At one point, Rick and one of the women, so nice, were taping down rugs and tarps for the floor and he said he just needed to take a moment, and she said sympathetically, “arthritis?”. Funny.
The camp shower wasn’t working beause there wasn’t electricity, but happily, we’re using the solar panels and batteries and were able to clean up in our little sink. I slept so much!
