Burning Man 2016
'Welcome Home!' is what new and returning burners hear upon entering the gates to Burning Man. This once a year festival in the middle of a Nevada desert is indeed a travel destination, really!. Generally, the first question I get about Burning Man, (if you haven't been) is, what is Burning Man, followed by 'why would you want to go?' Its description is elusive because each person's experience will be different depending on personal philosophy and life perspective. It's basic physical description is the sudden appearance of a temporary city, this year, population 70,000. The City is organized in a U-shaped pattern organized like the face of a clock. The 'Man', the one who gets burned, is always at 6 o'clock. Crossing the time lines are letters of the alphabet. Therefore, we all have 'addresses'. Believe it or not, there is a fully functioning US post office located in Center Camp. There are no money transactions in this City. There are two things to purchase however, coffee/tea and ice. Not sure how coffee/tea made the must have list, but ice is a much appreciated luxury to be able to keep foods from spoiling during the week. People bring extra food and trinkets to share. There are impromptu bars everywhere (and attendees do get carded), if you're lucky to wander into a camp that is serving ice cream or frozen margaritas, it is the most wonderful thing. I think I am more food oriented because my favorite moment that week was being out at the furthermost perimeter and having a hot dog cart arrive with grilled dogs for the taking.
The spiritual side of Burning Man is more difficult to describe. Interpretations of experiences will be different simply due to where you are in life. The first thing I'd say is that it is stunningly beautiful, visually. I appreciate the dedication to art, and have spent hours riding around on my bike viewing what I would guess is the world's largest art gallery...not in terms of numbers, but sheer size. I've heard the camp area is 5-6 square miles. The face page picture is called the 'lighthouse', definitely the crowd favorite this year. It was made of wood, therefore it burned at 1am on Saturday night, a few hours after the Man. Notice the amazing detailed artistry of the wood structure, and it was just as amazing on the inside too. How many hundreds, if not thousands of volunteer hours were needed to build this structure? Now, it no longer exists. That seems perplexing for some, to not retain the permanence of hard work. Burning Man, I've been told is about letting go....
There is a daytime burning man, and there is a night time burning man. Daytime is filled with heat, dust, seminars, impromptu bars, random meetings of strangers who feel like friends. Nightime, there are lights, lots of lights, music, dancing, more dust, and it can be cold. I wish I could have captured the swirling lights, but my basic point and shoot camera wasn't up to the task.
The real question is why does this event attract tens of thousands of people? I think in part, the sometimes harsh conditions are a great equalizer. It doesn't matter so much where you just came FROM. This is a place where the job and mundane responsibilities can be left behind. There is also a LOT of time to think and reflect. As in any big city, there are people who can behave badly, people interested in time spent exploring the hedonistic side of a festival. Inconsiderate people, kind people, old and young people. What is not generally in short supply...hugs. The best burning experience in my view is meeting a random stranger who looks you directly in the eye, makes a human to human connection and says goodbye with a full body hug.
A travel destination like no other, in my opinion., and worth the trip.
