Andy asks, "Has anyone here ever been to Burning Man held at Black Rock City, Nevada?" Not exactly but...

Here's a picture I snapped of the area. The Black Rock Desert runs generally north-north east from Gerlach and I'd imagine, from my encounter, that the festival itself is behind that big ol mountain. Visit the area? Not me again!

I got the call about 1995 to haul a tanker load of brown goo to an outfit in Empire, NV. "Empire, where's Empire, is there anywhere to stay in this place?" I asked my Charles Manson look-a-like dispatcher. "Uuh, Gerlach is nearby." he sez. As I know today, he should have told me to bring a tent. And a gun.

Set off from home in Portland, OR. for a sunup delivery at the U.S. Gypsum plant in Empire. Found my way to the most remote parts of Oregon and Nevada known to industrialised society. I'd pass through the smallest towns recordable on maps using the smallest roadways they could possibly call a state highway. This was the middle of the night and the places were usually blacked out like London during the Blitz. Indeed, there'd be deer standing in the middle of these hamlets, right in front of the mountain man supply stores.

I don't mind driving at night, I see real good in the dark. Nothing more beautiful than swiching off the headlights and cruising through Montana with the moon reflecting off the snow. Lots of surprising things to see at night too. Owls attacking my truck, vehicles on fire, burglers working... Then I drove up on Burning Man Festival. Holy Cow!

Hadn't seen a human being for several hours when I rolled by a motor home sitting alongside the road with a bunch of folks sitting under the bus's awning. 2 a.m. Sitting there watching the road. I don't know much but I knew enough to not make eye contact and keep rolling. Found my destination about an hour later and slept on the steering wheel til dawn.

So okay, I found out this was the registration point for Burning Man I'd seen out there. Just dimly aware of this event as it really was obscure back them. Started to get more famous as it got bigger. The biggest squawk at the time was by the old hands at the event. Seems as if the original mission was an opportunity for a group of artists to get out in the desert, get naked, take drugs and show off their art. Started to go downhill when folks from around San Fransico were just showing up to get naked, do drugs and show off... without the pretense of art. Ah man! The goofy thing has just gotten bigger and bigger since, last year, for instance, the event saw 4 people killed in two different plane crashes out there at "Black Rock City". (Hmm, Splashbar City?) Expect the same crowd to have a two-fer-one year with the DNC Convention coming up.