Our first Official day

Our first official Day…

Since we had arrived during darkness the sunlight brought all sorts of new sights and allowed us to see a bit of the immensity of the whole operation. As we picked our final campsite I pointed out the necessity of at least being in sight of porta potties—trailer was only for old people and night.  Although they have many they are spread out with quite a bit of distance between the poo stations. The kids agreed after the first refusal of the trailer bathroom and they realized we were serious. It was a no no to pee or poo on the playa.

What is the Playa? Landforms

·        Sink (geography), also known as an alkali flat or sabkha, a desert basin with no outlet which periodically fills with water to form a temporary lake

·        Dry lake, commonly called a playa in the southwest US

·        Playa is the Spanish language word for beach

I will try to explain the layout somewhat…Black Rock City is set up in a circle of a clock with camping from 2 to 10. The man is considered 12 but he is also a bit in the center like where the hands of the clock would attach. On the north side of the city or between 10-2 is open playa where sculptures (Embrace and the Temple plus many many others) are displayed and art carts can drive. Art cars also drive through the city streets. The city itself is set up is kind of a half or 3/4s circle using the clock format on it’s cross streets with the alphabet as the circle roads that started with A as the inner circle and going out. We camped at 2:15 and J so were basically on the outskirts on the NE top side of the city.  I am guessing but I would say the city is at least 3-5 miles wide and the only transportation, if you aren’t lucky enough to have an art car, is bike and hoofing it.

So back to camp—Of course Kelly and friend were chomping at the bit to explore but the evil aunts made them help set up camp before anyone played. And it turned into a fine camp. As an afterthought it would have been nice to be closer in just of logistics but as the week went on we discovered there was a price to pay for conveniences, dust and noise. More about that later…

Our camp had all the comforts and we finally released the youngsters and decided to take our first step into the land of the bizarre…by bicycle. It started out well but I quickly realized my bike, although looking very cool, was about as uncomfortable as is could be. It just didn’t fit my body and had an incredibly hard and skinny seat. Stacy’s borrowed bike was a bit too short for her but at least it had shock absorbers and a cushy seat. But bikes were definitely the way to go, so after a couple of hours and lots of sights later, we headed back to camp to try to do some adjusting.

We are also now beginning to see what we were involved in. I had always thought at this age I was relatively well traveled and have seen a lot of the bizarre and creative. I have seen a punk rocker demonstration in London, I have done the largest women’s music festival for a week. When my sister lived in SF I wandered Haight Ashbury and Castro Street. I have seen bizarre. I have NEVER seen anything like this.

This city is full of all ages of people. I would say 30% of them are over 50, probably another 25% between 35-50 and the rest the under 30 crowd. And EVERYONE is showing their creativity—in their costumes, their camps, and art cars. So much creative talent, money and energy had been spent to create their playa persona. Everyone can dress or be anything they want to be—it’s all performance art. The costumes have been from nothing at all, then maybe a bit more with pasties and a parasol, to full fur animal costumes, and everything in between. One of the oddest were two people on bicycles with one being a naked guy with some sort of an orange skintight over his privates. Or they could have just been painted orange—I didn’t look close enough to check for sure but all I could think was –that has got to hurt on a bicycle.

The bicycles themselves are a different class. Since most use them at night they are lit up like the Vegas strip and BM has the commodity on fake fur. Bicycles, art cars, camps…it’s everywhere. I could write pages but no matter what I said you would not be prepared. It’s basically indescribable. But it does renew your faith in the creative talent out there. And quite of a few participants are obviously financially successful—if the large number of luxury RV’s and incoming private airport traffic is any indication.  People from all over the world.

For us, BM has been a people watching experience. And there is no place on earth that is better for that than BM. Much of it has been from the comfort of our trailer…Since Wed the weather has warmed and the last couple of days the wind has become a big issue. But we had excellent seats to watch a bunch of BRC rangers follow a screaming naked guy around outside our camp area for over an hour. It was really HOT and it was probably a combination of bad drugs and heat stroke but they were really nice. Just tried to corral him and kept offering water which he refused. Finally they had to take him down and put ice on him and eventually the real rangers were called and an ambulance showed up to take him away so that was probably the end of that guy’s burn. But we were impressed how long they just tried to talk to the guy. The funny thing was that a flamboyant lady on an orca whale bicycle rode up to the group. Before we knew it she was getting her medic shirt out of her big sparkly bag and it brought home what they said in the literature—undercovers are EVERYWHERE! And this has got to be a huge revenue for the law enforcement in Nevada. But I guess it’s the only smart way of doing it. No doubt there is a whole lot of drugs and alcohol consumed here. 

More Reno, More Cops, and ARRIVAL!

Sunday found us hunting and gathering food, alcohol, and the rest of the necessities. Our plan was to leave at 6am Monday. We had to do the final dump and fill of the trailer on the way out of town but were hoping to miss most of the initial traffic of opening and it was only 110 miles from Reno. 

They opened the gates Sunday at 10 am but getting 66,000 people into the playa with only one road takes some time. We experienced minor traffic and got into the last town closest to the playa around noon. Burners and those catering to Burners was all you saw the last 40 miles.  I opened my window as we drove through town and overheard a guy telling his buddy that the playa was closed until noon Tuesday. I figured that he was just trying to scare his buddy but it did put the seed that something might not be right.

But since Kelly and Gianni were in another car we just stayed in the line of traffic—after all we were less than 15 miles from our destination. But we got a bit more concerned when our line stopped about 9 miles from the gate and we were seeing people coming back. It made no sense. Eventually the word came down via the ever present law enforcement that we had to turn around. Black Rock City (BM) had a historic rain and hailstorm and it was a sea of mud. They had to let it dry out before they let anyone else in so they had closed entering BM until noon on Tuesday—it was now just early afternoon on Monday. They wanted us to turn around. No one had any idea how we should turn around big RV’s and trailers on a narrow 2 lane road but that is what they were barking out the loud speakers. After about another hour of that, and some turnaroundable cars had left, no one else had moved. So they then told us to pull off to the side of the road to camp and we could all party hearty. No one was getting into the gates until noon the next day. Law enforcement ok’d drinking and grilling. So we did. Speakers were pulled out of RV’s, grills were fired up and the view was great. We were content and figured luck was actually with us since we were missing out on the alkaline mud and muck and it was all part of the story. Meanwhile on a side note we noticed that we had yet another tire going bad but figured it could be changed at the campsite.

Law enforcement was everywhere and we witnessed a bust down the road. It was kind of like shooting ducks in a barrel. But then they played their hand. The word came about 7pm that they were opening back up—everyone leave. By then we had all had a few cocktails and my immediate thought was this was a perfect setup to get in trouble. Of course Stacy and I wanted to wait until morning but the kids wanted to go in. I had pretty much put my foot down but then EVERYONE was leaving. Kelly ASSURED me it would all be alright so we loaded up and got in the 9 mile long line, and waited. By now everyone in our group was sober and traffic was a slow crawl of snake lights.  I was sure they would have DUI check points but we got to the gates without seeing any incidents.

We finally hit the gates at about 1 am. And just inside of the gates was a gauntlet of 30+ law enforcement vehicles pulling people over. The speed limit was 5 mph and they were stopping people who were going 6. And once they had probable cause they had dogs and were searching everyone. Needless to say we went only 4. It was amazing to watch. Of course we were following Kelly since we had noticed she had a tail light out that morning—one of the reasons were glad were thought we would arrive in daylight. And of course ahead of us we saw the flashing lights pull in behind her. Guess staying by the side of the road was looking pretty good to those kids right now! Of course they were searched and in spite of not finding anything they were sweating bullets. They got REALLY, REALLY LUCKY!  The cops had them roll in playa and a told them they found pound of ecstacy in their car. Obviously not but cops knew deer in the headlights when they saw them. J We just sat about 200 yards off to the side and watched.  But lesson learned…sometimes her old aunts know what they are talking about. We learn from our mistakes and I think the whole thing made a huge impression on them. She got off with only a warning and we parked the trailer in the area they wanted to camp and all four of us slept in the trailer that night. It had been an exhausting 17 hours of entrance…

As we went to bed we starting to see what was in store for us. Huge art cars with neon lights, loud music, laser lights and lighted bikes…amazing. We could also see some of the main lighted sculptures—the Man, Embrace, and the temple among others. It was like nothing we had ever seen…

Wheels, Cops, and Reno

Thursday morning we woke to cooler weather and decided we would take Hwy 50 across the states of Utah and Nevada. It was a bit closer mileage wise, basically two lanes with fewer towns, but through some really desolate and beautiful country, with our evening’s goal of Great Basin National Park just over the Nevada state line.  About this time gasoline was going up and our MPG was going down so we had to plan our stops carefully. We met some other “Burners” at one of the gas stops and learned as much as we could from them. They told us about a little road stand in Utah to buy different melons and we stocked up on some of the best tasting melons we have ever had. One more thing marked of the grocery list for BM (Burning Man).

Above is a banjo BBQ the other "Burners" were towing. 

The bottom is their other trailer in their caravan.

Great Basin park gave us another picturesque camping site where we were visited by a whole flocks of turkeys wandering through. Had a moment of homesickness…and we were getting tired of driving…but the next morning we started our final day of less than 300 miles from Reno. We were hoping for a nice Friday night out with our niece Kelly that finally involved GOOD Mexican and the long sought after Margarita—maybe even a bit of slot play.

Food options had been sparse so after passing the last town before we hit Reno 200 miles away we decided to pull off the side of the hwy 50 just west of Eurika, NV about 7 miles. I was going to make sandwiches. Then it all started with “Houston-we have a problem”.

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I had heard this phrase years earlier about two years after we had bought our brand new 2008 trailer while we were sitting in it in a desolate spot in western Texas. So time for a bit of a flash back…

We were parked in an RV park and in the middle of the night we heard this strange noise. The next morning Stacy came in and said…”Houston—we have a problem…”. A main underneath spring had broken on our trailer—just while we were sitting there!  In spite of having AAA+ towing we ended up having to drive the trailer into the Dallas area where we found an RV repair place and ended up having to leave our trailer for two weeks. The saving grace in this big adventure was that we had our BFF Nancy to stay with so we ended up spending our Thanksgiving with her and our Texas friends. That part was a nice thing…

The repair place ended up getting the wrong part, tried to install it and then having to do it all over again. Keep in mind our trailer should still be under warranty but it still ended up costing us over $700. After a long 2+ weeks, we finally picked up our “fixed” trailer and I asked them if there is anything I should get checked once I get home. The repair guy said “You might want to get your wheel bearings packed again” Not sure why they didn’t just do it at the time but I figured I could get it done at home.

 But of course 70 miles north of Dallas, in Oklahoma, our trailer is spitting out wheel bearings all over the highway…so another tow and $300 in Oklahoma finally got us home. Since that has happened we have had tire wear issues with our back axle. So while we were sitting west of Eurika and Stacy told me that a wheel bearing was going out and our tire was almost falling off…the “Houston issue” it started a new adventure. 

The good news is that the trailer was parked in a parking area next to the highway—albeit the “loneliest road in the US”. The bad news is that we had no phone reception. So we unhooked the trailer, took off the tire, and headed back towards town to try to get phone reception. Just outside of town we met a trooper who had just pulled someone over in the town’s speed trap and we asked him about repair possibilities. He directed us to a tire shop that he said was our only local possibility. Of course when we got there they were closed on Friday! But we did finally have phone reception, so we called AAA for a possible tow up to Elko about 120 miles away—and waited. They never called us back…

So we headed back into town after googling how to pack wheel bearings and hoping someone in town had them. The miracle was that the town did have a small auto parts store which had a very nice lady in it. She started calling around and basically begged a guy to try to fix it. We were told it was going to cost us $300 but we had few choices. So after a couple of more trips he basically packed the wheel at the auto parts store, they couldn’t find a cap that would work so in spite of the $300 price tag he still finished it off in duck tape, but at least it should get us to Reno. We headed out back out to our trailer with a sense of relief and I did a minor celebration with my Denver purchase since Stacy was driving. As our luck would have it about that time we were passing through the local speed trap we had commented about earlier—a 35 MPH sign at the beginning of a steep hill out of town and a quarter of a mile away it hits 55. You naturally want to build up speed as you go up the hill—especially in a big truck. Of course our minds were on other things and feeling happy we were getting it all figured out but when we met the sheriff and he turned around and turned on his lights it certainly darkened our day.  He got her for 53 right before the 55 sign. But of course he smelled Denver and I was busted.

The good news is that Stacy didn’t get a speeding ticket…but they did ticket me and confiscate a very, very small pinch of pot and pipe I had in the truck.  The good news is that most of it was in our trailer. In spite of them almost being apologetic for busting me they handed me a $720 ticket at the end of it all. So for those keeping tally that is over $1000 in just a few short hours and we hadn’t even hit the slot machines…

They did tell me to contact the court and tell our story and often the court will be very accommodating and lower the fine or even offer community service between the different state departments. I have until November to try to convince them to lower the fine. He took pictures and even wrote “very, very small amount”. So we will see how that all falls out but there is some irony that after 58 years I get busted for the very first time and it’s LEGAL pot. As a side note—for all those that want the different states to pick what is legal in their state instead of federally—we end up with this sort of thing happening.  The only thing it does is add another form of revenue…You pay when you buy, you pay when the next state takes it away…but I have become much more careful. It was still a real drag and a stupid way to get caught.

So we finally arrive in Reno pretty beat up but mobile and fortunately Kelly had a place in her neighborhood where we could park the trailer for the weekend while we did our final preparations. So we got parked and comfortable and then had a great Mexican dinner—Kelly’s treat.

Saturday was designated as the gas and water day. We also finally met Gianni, our final player in our BM adventure. He is Kelly’s best friend and planning on pitching his tent next to us. He is going in on the pleasures of the gas for air conditioning and plans on sharing our gourmet meals. So we filled our $250 worth of gas cans—rather a rude awakening for the young people who were now in charge of the buying, and filled our 150 gallons of assorted water containers. By now we were seeing the weight in the truck and I will admit our 2000 mile trip home and what could happen is always in the back of my mind due to our beginning. But with the new rack on the back of the trailer counter balancing once we got hooked up we pulled pretty good.

Saturday night found us on the strip of Reno eating Vietnamese food and losing our token $27 between the two of us on penny slots. When in Rome…

Yes we had a 100 gallon horse tank in our truck bed with a bladder in it. It worked Great TIM!

Heading to Burning Man...the beginning days.

It is now Saturday and we have been at Black Rock City for 5 days. And an interesting 5 days it’s been…

But I will start at the beginning…

We finally left West Plains with the normal amount of trepidation we always have any time we go on a long trip with our travel trailer. With 2 different wheeled “moneypits” we always wonder what will break along the way. But we ended up the first night in Dodge City, Kansas--running and pulling like the best of them.

We found the town cheap RV park and asked for a Mexican with Margs dinner recommendation, and then headed to the restaurant. The trailer was still connected but we found parking and entered said establishment. It went downhill from there when we quickly realized NO margaritas! But pulling a trailer around town looking for other parking meant compromise so we stayed. The bad news is that although basically tasty, they also seemed to have a cheese shortage and Super Nachos with no cheese just lacks something. Stacy was missing her queso and she almost cringed when she saw her cheeseless tacos.  The next morning we headed out of Dodge…

As people who know me well and now everyone else will now know…I am a pro marijuana person—have been all my life and it finally looks like society is catching up. Stacy has never shown interest in it, but I did grow up in the generation that almost preferred pot over alcohol, so she tolerates my vice.  So yes, passing through Denver was a treat for me. Since all the dispensaries seem to be in really congested areas of Denver I dreaded finding parking but googled our choices and picked one close to the interstate. It worked out well—good parking for the trailer and we made our second trip of our life into a legal dispensary.

Dispensaries are amazing. After a lifetime of seeing how pot sales work on the illegal exchange, it was absolutely wonderful to see it being sold in a legal and professional manner. When you go in it’s like going into a doctor’s office. There is a waiting room with a menu of what was available which really was all greek to me. Bud comes in a bag—that is pretty much all I have ever known. This time we met a couple our age, maybe even a bit older, but obviously professional people, who had just flown it from Ohio. They were on vacation and the dispensary was their first stop and their first visit. They were getting “edibles” and believe me it is being like a kid in a candy store.

The best thing is that Colorado has created a whole new industry for employment instead it all going to the Mexican cartels. Each dispensary has security, delivery people, they always have sales people one on one with the customer so there are lots of sales people, and it is making Colorado 17% tax on recreational sales. This is big bucks and the two times we have been in a shop we have been surrounded by older professional clientele as the customers in the waiting room. Not a meth head among the bunch! Medical is about half price without the extra tax and the reality is that good ole’ pot helps a lot of people deal with medical and emotional conditions. It was vilified in the early 30-40’s, yet is so much safer than alcohol. Fortunately society is finally catching up and now that the revenue is needed for the states I have no doubt it will eventually be legal everywhere. But at least we had Denver…So we bought our legal “out of state” amount and continued to head west. We had heard that the “new” revenue for the other western states was busting those that had bought their legal out of state pot so I made Stacy watch her speed, crossed our fingers, and we headed into our dreaded going through the mountain part of the trip.

The good news is that our “BAT”  (Bad Ass Truck) mobile took it like a champ and we ended the second day in a pretty state park just outside Grand Junction CO. and I was a happy girl…