Burning Man Pt. 2: Aug. 28-Sept. 2, 2005
(Click on photos to see the larger versions)
At night it gets pitch black out there, so you must stay well-lit so bicycle-riders and art-cars don't run you down... Cyd has the best setup, a full Ammo belt full of glow-sticks.
Left: Kris had some crazy eyewear goin' on...
Right: And fire-spinners were everywhere.
The man in the center of the city was burned with an insane amount of fireworks to kick-it off... and then burned pretty long before eventually falling over.
Left: Our friend John McClain dancing on down.
Right: Cyd and I ham up and just generally being happy.
Left: Next morning we leave our home sweet tent for another day of art exploration.
Right: Riding off into the playa also were some comfortable couple in a motorized papazon.
Left: The Playa treasure chest... leave something, take something... we left potatoe chips, and took an alien doll whose eyes pop out.
Right: Orange was my motif for the day, matching my bike. I was so orange that some guy walked accross the open desert and handed me an orange plastic ring, just because it matched me.
fun with camera
What's more fun than a wagon-wheel teeter totter, that actually rolls around... lots of open desert to roll around in while see-sawing.
OK... maybe Gigantic Croquet with huge rubber balls and huger mallets is a close tie...
Left: The most Monster Car ever...
Right: And some stylish blue guys...
Left: A 108 foot ladder to nowhere... yes people climbed it, but it was "closed" by the time we got there for safety concerns.
Right: Inside this large purple head was a dream-interpretation room... about the size of a small bedroom.
Left: coming back to camp we saw a 7-man "bicycle"... everyone peddles, one guy steers. Where do you get one of those??
Right: Kris's hair was at full Playafication... the dust so thick in it that you could make it all stand straight out.
Left: All dressed up with just the Temple burn left to attend.
Right: Me, Kris and Brian (ready for going out on the previous night).
Left: The temple burn was long and beautiful... with a million firecrackers crackling away as all the memories lifted into the smoke.
Right: After the temple burn we passed a fire-organ player... yes the fire shooting from those pipes is controlled by a casio keyboard.
Left: We decided to wander the Playa art til dawn, and around dawn we stumbled into the Sunrise Saloon, out on the Playa edge. The patrons strictly enforced entry through the doorway, not allowed to just come in through the walls.
Right: It's cold out there, so the barstools were burned for warmth.
Left: Kris riding his bike away from the saloon as the sun gently rose...
Right: and a stiltwalker ambles through the dusty dawn too...
We fulfilled our plan to be in the top of the 3-story metal blossom at actual sunrise.. and a very nice guy named Patrick took our picture for us. Thanks.
I loved the view of the desert sunrise through the sun-shaped metalwork.
Left: This cherry-picker turned flower greeted the dawn the morning we left...
Right: And my car was caked with Playa dust for about 2 months afterward... I finally got it clean with a hand-washing of Vinegar. The only way to get Playa dust out of anyting.