I had seen pictures of Burning Man throughout the years. I remember staring closely at them and dissecting each one trying to decipher what this inexplicable place was all about. During those moments, a yearning to go there, to be there started to grow inside me and sat patiently on the sidelines in a corner of my mind until an opportune time presented itself. I had never met anyone who had personally gone, so it almost didn’t seem real or obtainable to me.
Fast forward a few years to the fall of 2017, when my husband and I were in Texas. We had gone to the Austin City Music Festival and were on the tail end of our trip in Houston with one evening left before heading back home to Canada. We walked over to the House of Blues and decided to make our last night memorable! We got tickets for Sinbad (stand-up comic) and to see the band Atlas Genius after that. We had a few hours to kill, so we went back to our hotel to get ready and go out to dinner.
While we were walking through the lobby, I saw a woman standing there with some art pieces in her hands and more of them leaning on the chair beside her. Instantly I felt drawn in and curious about where the art came from and who the artist was. We ended up in the same elevator, so I asked her about it. She said the artist was her boyfriend and introduced herself as Christie. She invited us to an event that was taking place on the rooftop of our hotel and said we didn’t need to worry about buying tickets for the event, and that our key card would let us in.
We quickly got dressed and headed up there. The event was a cool mix of local vendors and artists, including a few body painters and their captivating subjects. We headed to the bar, grabbed a few appetizers, and started to mingle. We spotted the art and Christie, and she introduced us to Nate (We later purchased a piece of his and it lives on the wall in our living room). We talked about the ACL festival and our trip around Texas, and they started talking about how they were still coming off the high (metaphorically speaking) from Burning Man. Nate had gone for many years with his mom growing up, but it was Christie’s first time and she had that after Burning Man glow… that we later got to experience ourselves.
Over the years I had brought up the idea to Ty about going to Burning Man, but he never really seemed all that interested… until that night. Speaking to Nate and Christie sparked that interest. Over the next year, we had random phone calls with them and grew to appreciate our new southern friends. We had said “We’d like to go one day” but hadn’t gotten much further than that.
In January 2019, we got a phone call from them while we were out at a bar… they sounded really excited about something, so we went outside to hear them better. They repeated to us “We think you guys should come to Burning Man this year with us and be a part of our Camp!” It might have been the January blues or the fact that we had a few drinks, but we both instantly said “Heck ya, will go!” They explained that we still had to get tickets like everyone else, but they would try to help us figure it all out… so there we were, about to embark on a journey!
I began a deep dive into all I could find about Burning Man! I love research and I love organizing our trips… and I was up for the challenge! Christie pointed me in the direction of a few Facebook groups; one being Burning Man Virgins & Veterans and I soaked up all the advice and tips provided. I had lists for camping, lists for food, lists for clothing… and lists of lists!
The tickets were finally going on sale. We had done the pre-sign-up and sign-in and were ready to go! Getting tickets to BM is like trying to get a ticket to the most popular concert on the planet. There is no guarantee, just the luck of the draw (There are a few other ways to get tickets if you are part of a camp).
To our disappointment, we weren’t one of the lucky ones. Christie and Nate said not to give up hope, because there may be a way, we could get one through their camp. The weeks rolled by and it wasn’t looking good. Tyler sent Nate a text to thank them for their help and say we had accepted that it was just not in the cards for us. We were going to shift gears and book a trip to Thailand. A few hours later, Christie phoned to say that they found us tickets! Woohoo! We had a celebration that night… we were really going to do this!
One of the first things I learned about was the 10 (plus 1) Principles of Burning Man. This is the entire philosophy and platform that the event is built on. They represent the community’s culture and aspirations. They are Radical Inclusion, Gifting, Decommodification, Radical Self-reliance, Radical Self-expression, Communal effort, Civic Responsibility, Leaving no Trace, Participation, Immediacy and consent.
I read these principles many times, appreciating the values and looked forward to being amongst thousands of people attempting with good faith to follow them.
Burning Man takes place in the Nevada desert. Each year, Black Rock City is constructed for over 80,000 participants to gather in a global collective. Artists, architects, engineers, surveyors, builders, and organizers make this phenomenon a reality and each person attending contributes to its success. It is a non-profit project, meaning that all the money going into it is being used to further its progression.
Over the next few months, we fine-tuned our camping supplies. We opted to purchase a kick-ass canvas tent and learned how to build a monkey hut for extra shade. We live in Penticton, BC which is one of the hottest places in Canada. This helped us to understand the kind of heat we were about to endure. We had a large van that could fit all the things including large containers for water and our bikes to ride around the playa. Tyler put his crafty packing capabilities into action, we handed our house keys off to the sitters and hopped in the van for an adventure!
We took two weeks off work which gave us the time we needed to drive there, spend the whole week at BM and make our way back home with a few pitstops along the way.
Going over the border we knew we would most likely have our van searched once we stated that our purpose of visit was to go to Burning Man. This took almost an hour, but it was painless. The officer made a comment about the Gnome we had in the back of the van and told us we could be on our way.
We booted it down to Fernley Nevada in two days and then stocked up with perishables, booze, and water. I had read that there were multiple locations to fill up on water there. Unfortunately, each place we went to was out, or out of order. Finally, we found a grocery store where the customer service person said, “The machine was good to go”. We grabbed our 8 water containers and headed inside to fill them up. There was a woman ahead of us, so Ty waited in the line, while I ran around the store to get a few more items. By this point in the day, we were tired and over the conquest of searching and gathering. Eventually, it was our turn, the water was a slow tired stream that tested my patience beyond measure. It took over an hour to fill them up and at one point, I think I started rambling on about “all this not being worth it, and we should just go home”. I laugh at how ridiculous I was at that moment, but I honestly think it was a mixture of all the obstacles against us that day and some anxiety coming through about going to BM and entering the unknown.
We got a good night’s sleep and woke at the crack of dawn to make the last 2-hour stretch to the Black Rock City Gates. The anticipation was running through our veins, we could feel how close we were! Luck was on our side that morning! We made a solid choice getting up so early, and the line went quickly. Eeeeeeek! We kept looking at each other with these ridiculous grins, pointing around at different vehicles and handwritten signs with cosmic messages about entering Black Rock City. When it was our turn, two people in tutus bounced around our vehicle and popped their heads into the window asking us if we were virgins. As soon as we said “yes”, they had us step outside the vehicle, “dong the bell” and then roll around in the dirt! This was tradition and a little initiation that we both took pleasure in!
We had been given the coordinates to our camp ahead of time. Weeks before BM begins, surveyors lay out the city in a clock formation with a wide opening called the “deep playa” reserved for art installments, The Temple and The Burning Man Statue itself. We slowly made our way to find 6:30 & G. Looking around at everything felt so surreal… It was as though we had jumped inside one of those pictures, I had longingly lingered over all those years ago.
Once we found our camp there was an older hippie guy Kirby from Colorado waving us in to help guide us to our campsite. Nate and Christie spotted us and came over for that long-awaited reunion. Some of the others we had met over Zoom meetings came to greet us too! Here we all were, finally face to face!
Ty and I got right into “set up camp mode” and went to work. We had done a mock trial of our tent and monkey hut in our backyard a few times, so we confidently and efficiently set up in record time. Some of the veterans even gave us props as they watched over us as we put all the finishing touches together, which of course included lighting, tables, chairs, and our Gnome “Roger that”.
Shortly thereafter, we headed to the main tent for a camp meeting (there were approximately 100 people in our camp, not all present at that time) to go over a few things about the week coming, events our camp was putting on and to discuss how to care for one another and keep people safe.
It is quite impressive how well-organized BM is. There is a police presence, first aid stations, Rangers, fire teams and a Sanctuary tent for those needing a safe space to deal with a variety of stresses that occur on the Playa. Burning Man is a very open, free-thinking society that puts a huge emphasis on radical self-expression, but never without a safety net. It’s a place where “everything goes” if clear conscious consent is given first.
Some people have a misconception that Burning Man is just a place where people get high and run around in crazy costumes having wild sex. That is not what Burning Man is all about… I’m not saying those things don’t happen, but BM is so much more than that!
Many of the people organizing and attending the event are smart, educated and geniusly artistic individuals. Some of the most talented engineers in the world are involved in the design and creation of different structures including the main Temple. City planners, Doctors, phycologists, and politicians congregate here and take part in this city that mirrors a society many of us have only dreamed of being a part of. This is a kind of social experiment that we can grow and learn from without all the distractions of our normal lives getting in the way of the process.
Most of our camp members were from Nevada and Texas and were made up of Three camps: Badlands Bordello, Rootist Lounge, and the Good Vibe Tribe. It was an eclectic group of people including professionals, tradespeople, artists, yogis, fire dancers and retirees. The best part about Burning Man was spending time with these people and getting to know them.
Before sundown, 12 or so of us decided to head out to the Playa together on bikes and do a tour around. We all suited up in our attire for the evening (the desert can get cold at night), grabbed some “road pops” and went on our way.
Derrick and Justina had the tunes going and we all had our heads bopping to the music. A member stepped up to lead our little gang, which we later realized was a good idea for a group our size. Kat had a way about her, she was able to wrangle us up and keep things moving all while attending to some basic needs like bathroom breaks, stops for grilled cheese being gifted from a camp, and random places that perked our curiosity, like the land of destructive Barbie Dolls Exhibit.
Tyler and I were mesmerized. It was as though anything your imagination could conjure up, existed here.
We went to bed dusty and woke up dusty. We liked it but were lucky that our camp had a makeshift shower that we were able to use when the desire arose. There was a large black tank, that we contributed water to that was hooked up to a shower head and powered by a generator, and an evaporation reservoir for the “gray water”. It was simple and yet impressively effective. We showered twice in the week we were there, the other days we used baby wipes and just embraced our dusty exterior.
We also quickly learned that the outhouses closest to us were cleaned daily around 8:00 am… I’d listen for them to finish and dart over like a woman on a mission to “do the do” each morning. I grew up camping, so ruffing it is not foreign to me, but I would say my kryptonite would be having to deal with the whole dunny situation. My sniffer is super sensitive (maybe I was a dog in a past life) and my gag reflex really shifts into high gear in these situations. Never would I ever, enter one without my trusty bandana to help stiffen the aromas. I used to be an electrician when I was younger and learned this helpful trick during the many years of having to use outhouses on job sites.
One thing to keep in mind is that under no circumstance are you ever permitted to leave anything on the Playa. The desert has a fragile ecosystem, and during the negotiation process of being given permission to use the land, the founders made a promise to respectfully return it as found. Therefore, that also includes never, ever peeing or otherwise on the Playa.
One evening I had to pee so bad I really thought I was going to have an accident. We were way out on the Playa and the line for the washroom almost superseded the limits of my bladder. We had bumped into one of our campmates Bex, and together darted for the line. Each time someone would pop out of one of the doors everyone would cheer and high-five the “exitee”. Thankfully, my turn came just in time.
Later that evening, a veteran shared with me some solid advice to bring a container of some sort in your saddle bag of your bike for times of need.
Riding around at night was stimulating. Music was pumping, art installations were all lit up, lasers shooting across the sky and art cars zooming by with people hanging out in all directions dancing and grooving. We learned before going to Burning Man that you need both your bicycle and yourself lit up to avoid getting hit by anyone. Within the inner limits of Black Rock City, all the camps are bright, and visibility is premium, but once you head deeper into the playa it is dark. There is a name for people who don’t pre-emptively prepare for this; they are called “darkwads” and being a “darkwad” is frowned upon.
One of the pillars of BM is Communal Effort. We had signed up for “ice duty”, which meant we would head out with Jerry in the morning on his “souped-up” golf cart to retrieve all the ice for the camp and deliver it to everyone’s site. We really enjoyed the process… it made us feel like part of the camp and part of the Burning Man community. It was also how we started conversations with people in our camp we hadn’t met yet.
Jerry is a retired firefighter from Texas, he had a blue-collar work ethic with a hippie mentality… who also resembled Jerry Garcia (just saying!), and man oh man, was he a good storyteller! One day after delivering ice, he told us to hop on in and go for a ride. I felt like he was a long-lost uncle I never knew I had. We all brought our cups with us. Many of the camps have uniquely decked out bars and give out free drinks as their “Gifting” part of BM.
We went to a few of these camps. Some had games you could participate in, some with DJs, live bands or a pianist, another had buckets of ice water you could dunk your head in to cool off and one had a cool lounge space with dozens of hammocks and sofas with velvety animal print and pink furry fabric where you could snooze or just swing and listen to tunes.
With one of the BM principles being Gifting, people have gotten very creative in the many ways to do this. Besides giving out free drinks and food, there were camps that provided haircuts, massages, bike repairs, yoga classes, arts, crafts, and first aid supplies. Many people would individually gift things, this could even come in the form of a hug…. with consent of course. Ty and I brought a large container of different flavoured lip chap to give to camp members and people we met along the way. Due to the dry heat and dust our gift came as a nice relief for some dry lips out there.
We were given wood-carved necklaces by an old roommate and friend of ours from Yellowknife who was part of the Lazy Ass F*@kers camp. They created a museum of the history of Burning Man including the many necklaces they had given out and been gifted over the years. We hadn’t seen him in 10yrs, so this was a pretty cool way to catch up.
Two members of our camp gave out Margaritas that they mixed up in blenders with a chainsaw! They were brothers from the same mother and fellow Canadians. They’d walk around our camp yelling out “It’s Margarita Time!!!” … you would then hear the chainsaws going and we’d all grab our glasses and run towards them with our arms held out waiting our turn for this delicious refreshment.
One of the favourite things a camp does for the community is the foam wash station. We never went inside ourselves but hung out for a while talking to some folks who were waiting to enter. It’s like a giant car wash for people who want to get naked or partially naked and cool off while getting squeaky clean.
Nudity is prevalent at Burning Man. There’s only a small percentage who participate in this, but it’s a thing. It was funny how quickly it became normal to us. We didn’t feel compelled to take this leap ourselves but admired the self-actualization involved in being comfortable in one’s skin. Bodies are beautiful in all shapes and sizes. I truly believe that. Just as I love an individual’s unique characteristics… a crooked smile, a large nose, freckles, crazy curly hair, dimples and laugh lines! Sometimes I find myself staring at my friends, thinking about how much I love their faces and would never want to see them any other way.
We spent a lot of time with Poppy and Branch. They were a cute couple from Texas. These two professionals come to the Playa to let loose and enjoy the ride. Branch loves to be naked. As I mentioned earlier, it didn’t take us long to get used to people running around in their Birthday suits, but not without a few awkward moments. I remember one morning Branch coming out of his tent in the nude and Ty and I were up having coffee. I glanced over through the mesh of our tarp and saw him do a big stretch and then make his way over to say, “Good morning, friends”. He then threw his leg up on a container and proceeded to talk about the weather, and this and that. Ty and I kind of smirked and tried to carry on this perfectly normal conversation while diverting our eyes upwards, onwards, and upwards!
We had another friend of ours joke and say, “I have never made more eye contact with a person than when he’s naked!”, which of course gave Ty and I a good laugh.
One thing I had read a lot about before Burning Man was that it can break up relationships. Crazy, right? The thing is, BM is like entering a porthole into another dimension. There are upwards of 80,000 people with similar mindsets following the 10 Principles and living out their dreams on the Playa. This can be the best time of your life and it can also stir up feelings and realizations that maybe you never allowed yourself to come to terms with. For some, late nights and partying can take a toll and ugliness can rear its ugly head. We witnessed both of these things on the Playa.
Before going to BM, Tyler and I had a few talks about this. We thought the idea that a one-week event could tear a relationship apart kind of seemed ridiculous to us, but since we knew it was a reality for some, we thought we would discuss any of our fears or comfortability limits. Tyler and I are in a monogamous relationship, which we both have no interest in changing. We were discussing things like, let’s not leave each other alone and how to support one another if one of us was struggling with something.
We have been together since 2004 and I am proud of how much we have grown together. Burning Man was good for both of us. I feel like it brought out the best of who we are at the core. When Tyler and I met, I remember feeling like I was 8 years old hanging out with my best friend who was guarding my heart. Burning Man brought us back to that place.
I did however have a few self-realizations. A shift took place inside me after we left. It’s hard to explain, except to say it put a lot into perspective and I am grateful for that. I can partially contribute my starting this blog to that realization (although covid put a bit of a wrench into the timing of things). Tyler has said that it was an eye-opening experience that has allowed him to see things differently… he said he feels more open in general.
Going to the temple was particularly emotional for me. The Temple is a quiet place where you can meditate, let things go from your past, honour change, send messages to loved ones or simply appreciate the space. It is spiritual yet, non-denominational. Everyone is welcome at any time of the day. I lost my father to dementia 10 months before going to BM and the loss was still sitting close to the surface. A small group of us rode our bikes out to the Playa. As soon as I could see it in the distance, I could feel my jaw start to quiver.
We walked around the exterior to find a place to lock our bikes, I looked over at one of my campmates and asked, “Can you feel that?”, she shook her head yes. There was an undeniable uniqueness to how the area felt around the Temple, like a gentle hum of sadness and hope intertwined. I was both intrigued and nervous to enter.
The structure was beautiful, long, and linear, with a golden hue like the glow of an amber. Streams of light shined through from outside and a nice breeze gently weaved in and out between the slats of wood. We walked in slowly to let ourselves and the space make acquaintances. The walls were covered in pictures of loved ones, messages, and poems.
One of our campmates Bex left a box with a note inside saying goodbye to her former self. After some time, I built up the courage to write something to my dad. At that moment I felt as though he was beside me watching me as I wrote the words to an inside joke that only he would understand. We all knew that on Sunday, the temple would be burned, and it would all turn to ash, and ash to dust… sending smoke signals to our loved ones to the other side. At least that’s how I saw it in my mind.
We met Bex on our second day on the playa, her site was close to ours. She was a chill individual that I instantly felt a kinship to. We ended up hanging out a lot during that week. She would often come and visit us to escape the sun under our monkey hut. We would talk about the day prior and all the crazy shit we did and saw, and she would almost always have a nap in our lounge chair. This little monkey hut of ours proved to be a meeting place for some very meaningful conversations.
We had the pleasure of attending a wedding ceremony outside of the temple for two of our camp friends Dana and Kevin. They are a beautiful couple from Houston Texas that we had gotten to know through our Zoom meetings. They were kind of like the parents of our Good Vibe Tribe… a very integral part of organizing our group participation within the main camp.
Have you ever seen a bride-to-be ride in on a metal horse? Well, we have! Dana and Kevin are friends with the talented artist that built this horse and trekked it from California to bring it to BM and have it be a part of this sacred day… needless to say, this was freaking cool!
You may have noticed thus far that some of these people I’m mentioning have unique names. These are their Playa names. A lot of “Burners” have come up with them on their own or have been given them by friends. If you are wondering… no Ty and I did not acquire Playa names.
A good friend of theirs performed the wedding ceremony. He reminded me of the Lone Ranger but with a Yoda-like way of speaking. He went everywhere on foot, he said he felt more connected to people that way and felt like the bike got in the way of the “immediacy principle” part of BM. He wore a long, intricately woven robe that skimmed the earth as he walked, making it appear as though he were hovering above it. A few of us would joke and talk about how it seemed like he could cover a larger distance and arrive at places faster than we could on our bicycles. His Playa name was Gandhi.
It was crazy how quickly we formed a bond with our campmates and how that bond carried an invisible string that seemed to magnetically bring us back together, time and time again. Black Rock City is huge! It can take you 20 minutes to ride your bike from one camp to another. When you arrive, they give you a book about what is happening at camps all over the city. Sometimes we’d study the pages to figure out what we wanted to do that day and other times we’d just wing it. Regardless of this, we somehow would always end up finding our people.
One of my favourite memories was waking up early and riding out into the playa with a few friends to watch the sunrise. It was so beautiful and serene. This was the perfect time of day to get up close and personal with the art sculptures and structures. A lot of them are interactive, designed with hidden messages and little surprises to be discovered.
That morning most of Black Rock City was sleeping, except for those that were still up partying from the night before. Deep into the Playa, we saw a giant ship-like art car of a dragon rolling along with a DJ playing tunes and a crowd of people that looked like they were dancing in unison. We stopped to watch for a while… this place never ceased to amaze us.
Later that afternoon, we had one of those windstorms blow in that we had heard so much about. It came on fast and hard. We put on our masks and goggles and ran for cover; jumping into our van to wait it out. Man, oh man it was hot in there! Luckily the storm only lasted a few minutes but not without causing some damage. Christie and Nate had a pole from their “teepee style” tent blow down and caused a large rip by the entrance. They had been out for the afternoon exploring the playa and were nowhere to be found. A few of us darted into action to help. Ty and some of the other campmates got the pole back into place and I cleaned up and helped hold the tent together as Bex grabbed her trusty sewing kit and got to work with her needle and thread. We did our best. Nate and Christie appreciated our efforts. These storms can be crazy. We heard about a few tents that lifted into the air and flew across the sky into a completely different sector of the city. Ty and I had read about this ahead of time, so instead of tent pegs, he drilled 12” lag bolts down to secure our site when we were setting up.
Another thing we volunteered for at our camp was to watch the door and check I.D. for our Moulin Rouge-themed night that included absinthe and other delicious cocktails. One stamp for those of age, and one if you were not. Even knowing Black Rock City is a made-up place that only exists one week per year, Nevada law is still governing the land. Police are undercover to make sure the laws are respected. Our camp was decked out in a Moulin Rouge theme, and we were all dressed for the part. We had so much fun being a part of the event. We enjoyed meeting people from all parts of the world and being part of providing a memorable evening to others.
The day before we left, we helped deconstruct the main camp we all shared and hosted events in. This was an all-hands-on-deck situation that took us a few hours to disassemble. It was bittersweet. Mike, Ken, and Melinda were a huge part of Good Vibe tribe being invited to camp with them, so the least we could do was help with this part since we weren’t there to set up. Ty and I have talked about how amazing it would be to be part of a crew that arrives weeks before Burning Man to help build the city. Who knows? Maybe one day we will make it a reality.
We packed up most of our camp before we headed out for the evening. This was also when many of us started to say our goodbyes. It was Saturday, the night they burned down the man himself. We were going to miss the Sunday temple burn and that was ok… the temple and I had discussed this already. We were taking a few relaxing days to travel home and had a wedding weekend to attend two days after we returned.
Our crew headed out. The energy was off the charts, we were all pumped about what was about to take place. The Burning Man was the stage, we all circled around it within a safe distance and the art cars lit up around the outer ring. One of our campmates Kastle was a fire spinner. He was going to be at the epicentre of it all performing. We made sure to take a seat as close as we could to show our support and watch him do his thing.
One of the more unique gifts that we came across out there was a guy walking around with a top hat that had a little flame inside and he and his girlfriend were handing out little sticks and marshmallows for roasting… Just another crazy moment to add to our memory box!
After the fire spinners and the fireworks, we heard some shouting to remind people to stay seated. All eyes became glued to the Man. You could hear some loud bangs and the crack and rumble of the fire as it grew stronger. The 40ft man was coming down. Even knowing it was a well-prepared-for and controlled burn, it was fiercely powerful, and the heat radiated at an unbelievably far distance.
What is the purpose of this, you may be asking? Well first off, it is tradition. More importantly, it is up to the individual to decide how to interpret it. Are you letting go of your old self or self-destructive habits or people, or are you simply looking at it to signify the week coming to an end and that all things must move forward? … I kept thinking about it like a beautiful 7-course meal that has taken days to plan and prepare yet consumed within hours. To me, it was all about giving to others and self-expression. So much creative devotion and work goes into everything each year to be witnessed and shared with this community for just a snippet of time and I appreciated this immensely.
We hung out for a couple of hours later but eventually had to head back to camp. Saying goodbye to these people wasn’t easy. We were already planning a trip back to Houston to see some of these people. We were offered a place to stay… Ryan said he’d cook us up a mean BBQ and Jonathan promised me all the oysters I could eat! We also were planning to attend one of their local burns, so we could see everyone at once. We actually did plan that trip but had to cancel 4 days before we were supposed to go, on March 10th, 2020, because of Covid.
We got up and left early Sunday to avoid the lines. This proved to be successful. We made it to Reno Nevada in a few hours, where we booked a glorious hotel for the night to treat ourselves, shower and enjoy the pool. They call this “decompressing”, which is an important part of leaving BM. You want to leave slowly and gently, letting yourself ease back into reality. Reno is prepared for this. They even meet you at the hotel entrance with air blowers to try to get some of the dust off you before you entire their pristine space. They also hire talented DJs to play poolside and all the major clubs. We enjoyed a few hours at the pool and decided to go back to our room and have a nap before we went out to dinner that night. We slept and we slept, and we slept some more. It was almost midnight when we woke. I guess we needed the rest. We decided to order room service.
We were grateful that we planned to take a few days to get home. We talked for hours and sat silently for hours reflecting on the beautiful, crazy week we had. It was so incredible to be around so many lovely souls. We had an abundance of beautiful interactions.
Ok…. I feel the need to be completely transparent. Some people were still jerks. Not everyone can apply the principles, and some take these principles a little too far and can be annoying! For example, we met a snug couple at a camp that just couldn’t seem to let it go…. Tyler had a small patch with a logo on his sun hat that represented a brand. It was a tiny wave. She wouldn’t shut up about how were not supposed to be advertising brands at BM while repeatedly calling us virgins. She even went as far as pulling out a stitch remover and asking Tyler if she could take it off!
We made a point not to pack things that advertised brands. I guess this hat snuck its way into our bag like a counterfeit LOL! I thought she was being ridiculous… I mean, did she have that thing in her bag for the sole purpose of running around BM and ridding all the people in the land of tiny evil patches? Tyler succumbed and let her do it. I was completely turned off by this individual. We had no interest in seeing them again… thank goodness I wasn’t tethered to that one! Anyhoo enough said. Point made.
Not every moment will be perfect, there is no such thing as total ever-lasting euphoria. You can most definitely get a glimpse and peek inside. You can dress yourself up, twirl around under the desert sky and howl at the moon until the sun kisses your cheeks hello to a new day… You can most certainly find joy in the small things, spark curiosities and take solace in knowing you are doing yourself this service of self-expression and discovery… and you can be grateful for it!
To say we are grateful for the experience doesn’t even begin to describe how we feel about it, but at the end of the day, the word grateful is how we feel… from the bottom of our hearts to the top of our heads and down to our tip-e-toes!
Was this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? I guess we’ll have to wait and see! We would love to join our camp and return one day. Guess we’ll see what the future holds. There’s a whole big world out there that we want to explore!
Thanx for listening to this BM virgin. My purpose of this blog is to share our story with all of you who may be curious about what going to Burning Man for the first time can be like, and maybe spark that flame that we were given from meeting Christie & Nate.
Thanxs for Stopping By!