Day 4: Burning Man Festival, Black Rock City, Nevada

Diane: It’s my sister Lisa’s birthday. But, there’s no way to send her a birthday wish; the cell phone lost service an hour or more before we arrived at the desert. There is a Black Rock City post office, but it only delivers internally. Even though the city exists for a mere week each year, with 35,000 people, there are critical mail service needs. Our next door neighbor Austin received a happy birthday postcard. It had been marked as an urgent delivery, so the bicycle courier came whizzing by at top speed about a day after the actual birthday. The birthday greeting was sent anonymously, but did inquire as to how Austin had been treating his sister. Hmmm.

Starlight Compost, another next door neighbor, had a thing about birthdays. I watched as she met several people. Within the first 2 or 3 sentences, she would ask the new-found friend when they were born. With me, she looked up the date and declared that I was “Iron Wolf riding Fire Mouse”. Or maybe that was Calliope. Her face just beamed as she told me this, as if knowing that this knowledge would help me through life’s hard times.

Starlight and her husband, Cattail, are living close to the earth. They are educating themselves in the art of survival. He is a tanner and knowledgeable concerning botanicals. They both wear hides. Their sunhats are woven from plants that grow near their home. Although, I didn’t see them eat any other meal, one day I passed by as Starlight was serving everybody herring and sardines for breakfast. Both young boys ate willingly. They were quick to offer me some, which reflects the general tenor of Black Rock City.

There is no monetary exchange allowed during the Burning Man Festival. Not even a bartering economy is acceptable. It is called a gifting community. People give small tokens of appreciation. They build large and complex art installations for the enjoyment of all. Some volunteer as lamplighters.

Others provide play spaces. Theme camps offer various workshops, tours, anc competitions. The variety of gifts is as boundless as the creativity brought by each of us participating.

Others provide play spaces. Theme camps offer various workshops, tours, and competitions. The variety of gifts is as boundless as the creativity brought by each of us participating.

Tom: What do you need to survive in the desert? If you guessed water, shade, dust protection for your eyes and lungs, food and warm shelter for the surprisingly cold nights you would be mostly right. The most important factor in having a survivable and enjoyable experience in the playa environment is the people around you. First and foremost for our family was our friend, John. John arrived in his VW Westphalia camper with survival neccesities, the makings for a parachute shade structure being the single most critical item, as well as loads of neccessary comfort items like an espresso maker and coffee, Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate with Almonds(the three pound size bar), avocados, good whole grain bread, excellent quality and ample quantity of beers and wine, five bicycles (three of which he obtained and restored just for our use, one borrowed from his spouse that I used- Thanks Kim!) and and what seemed an endless supply of energy, good humor and patience. John made our first Burn a particularly wonderful experience. Thanks John for being such a constant, generous and thoughtful friend over these many years. May we have more Burns or other adventures together.