West Coasters Heading to Burning Man

[darkfyre_muse]

I am now in full out plan mode. I have been apparently adopted into Team Trick Concepts and will be spinning fans Saturday night. Hmmm..first performance will be in front of a couple thousand people. That’s a good plan. (I know no one will probably see me, its still intimidating. Oh wait so is this entire adventure. At least it will be excitingly consistent.)

On to practicalities. I am flying into Reno Thursday Morning and find a ride. I know coming in right before the gates close is kinda lame but it’s the best I can do. Flying means some things just can not come with me. Namely a bicycle. Have you ever taken one? How valuable is having one there? Would anyone be willing to haul it in for me if I get it to wherever you are?

Starting to plan out wardrobe/sewing needs and trying to come up with an idea for a relatively small, very portable mini installation for our camp. We have offers for day shelter at at least one theme camp so I can be pretty free with it. Not thrilled with the whole ‘American Dream’ theme so I think I will go with just a dream/nightmare concept.

May the plotting begin!

Comments

[candle.livejournal.com]

I think having a bike is really important, especially if you're coming in late and have a short period of time to see as much of the camps and art as possible. Some of the truly amazing art is located in deep space, which IIRC is about two kilometers from the main camping area. Or to put it another way, the Cult Of Levitating Plywood (which a good chunk of the OTP crowd are part of) has decided that a 1:1 ratio of bikes to campers is a requirement.

There are some bikes for loan around the site but you can't be guaranteed that it will still be there when you come back to it.

I suspect that the CoLP will have to have two trucks to get everything out there (starting in San Jose) this year which would mean we'd likely have space for a bike for you but I'd have to check with the others before promising anything. (Also make sure you have lots of lights for your bike (and person) to ensure you don't run into people or vice versa.)

Importantly for making plans on getting out, be aware that it takes a LONG time to get off site. We left immediately after the temple burn Sunday night and it took two hours just to go the two miles or so to the highway. And then another two hours to get to Reno. And that's considered a fairly short time - the site recommends allowing four hours for that short trip to the highway. Everyone is exhausted and there's lots of accidents, so prepare for the worst as far as allowing time to get to the airport.

[darkfyre-muse.livejournal.com]

I was thinking that a bike was a must. And yes tonight's foray was into the land of transportation logistics. I would much rather sit around the airport for hours than miss a flight. Leaving late Monday evening seems to be a good idea. Reno to LAX is a short hop and most people don't want to fly late. We'll see. Fortunately there is a decent contingent going from here. And everyone but me and oceansfire have been before. And I believe others have flown in before.
At the moment I am alternating between really, really manic excited and vaguely freaked out.

[altahnthorunn.livejournal.com]

You go girl!

And I want video!!!!!

I am so glad this has caught your interest . . .keep us informed here as you learn more!

HAVE A GREAT TRIP . . . YOU DESERVE IT!!!!

[darkfyre-muse.livejournal.com]

I'm sure there wil be lots of video and probably make it to YouTube. I should dig up some Fire Drums links on YouTube to post. It is amazing to watch.

[l-stboy.livejournal.com]

As Candle mentioned, bikes are really really useful if you can get one out there. Levitating Plywood took out 20-some bikes last year, and are probably adding more this. We won't be talking about transportation until mid-June, but if nobody from your neighborhood is sending a truck, we can probably make space on ours. (Speaking of trucks, if there is an SD collective sending one out, it's really nice to have someone take out a suitcase or two for you so you don't have to deal with airport security for your pocket knives/lighters/battery powered toys/concubines)

It sounds like you've got plenty of support, but I've been out 5 years running, each year with a few more newbies- if you want to chat about things, freak out a little, or hear stories and see pictures, find me online or give me a call sometime.

[darkfyre-muse.livejournal.com]

This week's goal is to get most of the transport stuff figured out. Between the Cult and a friend or 2 down here I know I can get a bike there, the specifics will probably happen later. But the basics I think have been simplified at this point. The plan is to reserve a rental car and drive ourselves. While I love the green community mindedness of using shuttle/public transport, the reality is that it will just serve to piss me off. And we would need to leave Sunday before the Temple Burn to not risk missing a monday flight. Not having to worry about fitting someone else's schedule means I can 'concentrate' on enjoying the burn.

Traveling with our gear on a plane is actually not a big deal. I have done an absurd amount of east coast camping since I moved to Cali. And this time a won't need a weapons bag. So I can replace that with the more involved camping gear. We also have a ride for the fuel/tools since the troupe sponsor will be up for the whole week. (yea no storage worries!) We're also pretty minimalist food-wise.

Well more later as the plotting continues. (Think bike with batwings)