I've been home from Burning Man for nearly two weeks now ... and it's really amazing how much a person can change in a week.
I wasn't really sure what to expect at Burning Man, and it is actually quite difficult to put into words, but let's just say that Black Rock City, the temporary city that is built to hold Burning Man, is unlike anywhere else in the world. It is a place where people are free to be who they want to be. Obviously the law still applies - drugs are illegal, underaged minors can't drink, harassment is prosecuted - but the laws that the "default" world places on us that are moral issues, seem to be left at the gate. People stroll around in the buff. People make love on the playa. And, perhaps most impressive, is that no one else really cares. Why should they?
Burning Man is a mecca of art, which can be seen on the people, driving around the city on the art cars (mutant vehicles) and in the art installations scattered across the miles of dusty playa. The city is composed of nearly 50,000 people who live by the motto of radical self-reliance. We all brought our own lodging (a tent for me), food, water, goggles, dust masks and bikes. Almost everyone lives in a camp - I was in the Camp Nomadia Annex with a great crowd of people who spend most of their time traveling and work when necessary. I made friends with a girl who's been hitchhiking across Canada and the U.S. for the last year and a half, several people who live out of RVs, a couple guys driving around North America looking for the next great thing, a girl who has spent the last year in India and is contemplating where to go next, a handful of guys representing Matador Travel Network and, of course, the other Digital Vagabonding Roads Scholars. It was a happy and free group of people ~ very inspiring.
While the entire week was memorable, if I had to choose specific highlights, I would probably pinpoint staying up all night to watch the sun rise on the edge of the playa, taking "wedding" photos of my friend Erin in the middle of a dust storm, dancing the night away (twice!) at Opulent Temple, watching the temple burn, biking across the playa looking for hidden art and just generally questioning the way we live life outside of Burning Man.I've written about my Burning Man experience extensively on Kaleidoscopic Wandering, and I encourage you to check out these blog posts:
A selection of my photos can be found here:
Also, if you read this blog, also enjoy Kaleidoscopic Wandering and are on Facebook (whew ~ now there's an exhaustive list!), you are more than welcome to join the Kaleidoscopic Wandering fan page on Facebook to stay up-to-date on new posts to the site. You can find the fan page here.
Neon on lights, techno music, stunning works of art and a new outlook on life ~
JoAnna
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