Getting 70,000 people on and off the playa is always a challenge for Burning Man. Add in some inclement weather on the busy travel days and everything backs up. This year Burning Man themed “Tomorrow Today” had to contend with unstable weather as a cooler wet front came in on top of the previous week’s heat wave. The result was thunderstorms accompanied by high winds and short periods of heavy rain that struck just before and as the gates were opening for the general public. But if you are a burner, you roll with the punches. We watched the weather and listened to the gate info and delayed our arrival by camping out a night on the way down at Goose Lake State park on the Oregon/California border. The gate was still backed up the next day, but we headed out after lunch nevertheless and crossed the gravel onto the playa appropriately at 4:20 Monday afternoon.
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But we would not reach the city until 1:30 in the morning. We were lucky that the thunderstorms gave us a light show but very little rain on the way in. We passed the time having our supper and listening to a murder mystery. We were fortunate to have a good morning to set up camp.
However, no sooner were we set up, on our first trip to the playa, when the weather changed. We hustled back to camp just before the wind and rain.
The DateTrike decided to give us trouble with the solar charge controller failing to charge the battery. With the solar panel useless, I removed it to make the trike lighter to pedal, which became a necessity after the main e-bike battery also failed when it was asked to fully help out in some soft playa sand. So we were back to the original pedal-around craft, which somewhat limited our travel range, but still got us around in style on the playa.
The Art
There were complaints this year about The Man being too small, but we found the installation very pleasing. The spiral ramps up to the large viewing platform provided shade for a variety of art exhibits below, and the deck provided the best views of the playa.
Rose Wonders by Thomas Dambo from Gadstup, Denmark. A monumental piece with a lot of character in the design and beauty in the execution, this was one of the favorites on the playa.
Un Nuevo Camino by Mark Rivera aka Kidnetick from Santurce, Puerto Rico. This piece was transformed by current events into a protest of ICE deportations. Originally the characters were seeking a new home carrying their belongings on their backs. Now they are deportees from Earth sent to make it on their own in space, Fuck ICE scrawled all over their space suits.
Tipping Point by Christopher Schardt from Oakland, California. Provocative piece on the balance between fascism and democracy sits in balance. If you tug on one side or the other, music will play that reflects the new world order, as the scale swings between the extremes. Plato’s Republic, the Magna Carta, and the Declaration of Independence sit in balance with Mien Kampf, Mao’s little Red Book, and the Project 2025 plan.
Fuck You Elon, an anonymous sculpture appears in protest on the playa.
Merman by Andrii Krapyvchenko and Wonder Workshop crew from Kyiv, Ukraine.
Lady Helene by Taproot Arts Collective Asheville, North Carolina. “Lady Helene is a sanctuary—an invocation for healing Humankind and our inseparable connection to Mother Earth. From her eyes, a slow drip of tears fall—an offering of feeling made visible.”
Arise by Dreams Unlimited, Los Angeles, California.
Reborn by Clinton Lesh from Bozeman, Montana. Made of stainless steel and heat treated to give a colored patina to the surfaces.
The Kudo by David Davis from San Marcos, Texas struck us as a particularly beautiful rendition of this animal. Made of stainless steel polygons welded together, the artist captured both form and texture of the beast.
Vertica by Clayton Blake from Queensland, Australia was the place for an evening playa wedding.
Kauyumari Ceremonial Center, blue deer in the Wixarika Mexican indigenous language, is the brain child of Leyla Brashka from Torreón, Coahuila, México. “Kauyumari high scale sculpture honors the grandfather peyote and Wixarika Culture, cosmogony, traditions, and rituals through an offering of a Ceremonial Center, made in co creation with Wixarika Community as a way to honor and be graceful for its beautiful medicine and healing.” The leaded stained glass and intricate beading required thousands of hours of Wixarika artists to execute this magnificent piece.
Art Cars
Of the thousands of art cars, here are the few that stood out to me.
Night on the Playa
Aquatica by Anna Gribovsky from San Fransico, California. This is a “mutant glowing kelp tree” as per the artist’s web site.
Inikadowa by 3V from Santander, Cebu, Philippines & Mojave Desert, California.
El Pulpo Magnifico and and other bright lights.
Nova by Chuck Sommerville from Folsom, California.
The View from the Man platform on Friday night.
We were there!
The People you Meet
All the people you meet really enrich the Burning Man experience. Whether it is with some one to make music with, folks interested in the DateTrike, artists with their work of art, food, or just a chance encounter that leads to a connection, Burning Man brings us together.
The Man Burn
Everybody loves burn night. The cacophony from the throngs of art cars, fire dancers circle the Man and fireworks light the sky; the Man raises his arms and then succumbs to the conflagration.
Ham Radio on the Playa
This year I thought I would try to set up a modest ham radio station on the playa. Once the thunderstorms stopped, I set up an antenna and brought out the portable solar powered radio set-up.
I used a “tripod” directional vertical antenna with wires for 20m and 15m bands supported by a Spiderbeam telescoping pole. I was hoping to use SSB phone, but I only managed a few contacts with that mode. However, the FT8 digital mode was very effective and I made >75 contacts around the world in the short times I was on the air.
We Say Goodbye to Another Burning Man
Next year again?
Squash Practice 