Mango's BM2008 Report
Wow - what an adventure! I'm super happy to be home and clean while writing this. I come home feeling a lot of gratitude, and although I didn't have the best time, I can't wait to do it again next year. This years' burn for me became about solving a problem - making sure we could get home. Almost everything I did was related to that. So, I didn't take any pictures (never got my camera out) and didn't do any playa mail or workshops like I would have liked to do. The best parts were: traveling and camping with Koren in our trailer, our campmates were wonderful, the weather was mostly good, and helpful friends both on and off the playa. Oh, and of course, all the usual things that are wonderful about Burning Man - the dust, the costumes, the art, altered states, the Burn, the shady chill time, making new friends, taking care of myself, etc. I always come home feeling really good in my body and with a new sense of patience and gratitude and drive to get things done.
We left a little later than we'd hoped, on Saturday evening. I pretty much did all the packing and shopping, since Koren had to work. This year, I brought 2 gallons of extra gas so we wouldn't run out on our way back to Cedarville, like I've almost done every year. Looking forward to not worrying about *that*. We spent Saturday night in Klamath Falls at Colleen's time share and enjoyed one last shower and a breakfast visit with her and Bob before heading to BRC on Sunday. We arrived about 5 pm on Sunday, just in time to have a few drinks, set up one carport, and go explore the city a bit. I had a few too many margaritas that night. Oops.
Monday morning, we began setting up camp, and the wind/duststorm hit. It lasted pretty much all day and into the evening on Monday. We spent most of the day hunkered down in the trailer, which was pretty good protection from the dust. For next year, we'll have it more company-friendly. There wasn't a lot of space to invite people in this time. I went to bed fairly early Monday while Koren went out with some friends.
Tuesday was clear and all our campmates were there so we set up camp. A total of three carports and two of these dome/teepee things - one became the Snuggleden which was nicely joined to a carport with a parachute on loan from Paul and Anna. We joined up with the Flying Monkey camp, and they had these dome/teepee things, and about 300 flying monkeys that scream when they sail through the air. They were a kick! We shot them at passers-by and had a great time. Something so simple was so entertaining. People loved them. So on Tuesday morning, I got this brilliant idea to put our gas in the gas tank so I wouldn't have to worry about it leaking (it was) and moving it to the shade all the time. I mentioned my idea to Koren, who also thought it was a good idea, and he said he'd take care of it in a minute, no problem. Meanwhile, one of my campmates had used a red gasoline jug for his drinking water (don't ever do this!), and it was on the ground near our truck. Koren picked up the gas can by the truck - since he didn't pack, he wouldn't have known ours was different - and, well, the rest of the week for me became about how to get water out of our gas tank. We did go for a walk and do some exploring Tuesday afternoon, and I went out for a while while he crashed out, but all the rest of that night I tossed and turned and was unbelievably stressed out.
Wednesday morning, I rode my bicycle to the phone at 3:30 and Esplanade and called my dad. My dad said to go ahead and fix it (i.e. before calling emergency road service), and told me how. That's what I needed to hear - I didn't want to compound the problem by making a decision he'd disagree with, since it was his truck. Our connection was sketchy, so I said to email me and I'd try to find someone with internet access since there's wifi at Playa Info. My campmate (who was responsible for this) went with me and put an announcement on BMIR that we needed help. At Playa Info, I ran into Minxy, who said her man was just the man to fix this, and had a siphon and would be over to help me later that day. What a relief! I never saw or heard from them again the rest of the week. I got back to camp just in time to realize I'd missed the one thing I'd actually planned to do out there - the playa-wide ecstatic dance, initiated by Albert, broadcast on BMIR. Ah, well, I hope it was a success anyway. Sorry, Albert! Wednesday night, Koren and I went out looking at art and had a great time together and a bit of a mind trip and some good conversation. I learned a lot about autonomy that night, as well. It's different camping with a boyfriend after camping as a single person for so many years. We had a good balance of time together and apart, though.
By Thursday evening I had lined up a few empty jugs to put the gas/water mixture in, and the Rangers' Hazmat had agreed to pick it up. I just needed to get it out of there, and get new gas. And get my dad's email with instructions. So I paid a visit to Shrooom and Chris, and we all went to Playa Info to use their wifi. We couldn't get on. By Thursday night, I still hadn't found anyone to help us and hadn't heard from Minxy or gotten online, so I called my dad again. It's not like you can just pick up the phone out there. There's ONE internet phone someone's set up, and usually a line of people waiting to use it. And, we were camped at 9:00 and Edsel, the phone was at 3:30 and Esplanade. Anyway, I finally got on the phone with him, and he explained exactly how to do it (siphon most of it out, disconnect the fuel from the engine and turn the key to run the pump and get the last bit out of there, then put rubbing alcohol in the tank to disperse any remaining water, then add new gas and viola!) but I went away with a sense of confidence that I could get the job done myself, all I needed was a siphon hose and a quart of rubbing alcohol and someone to identify where the fuel goes into the engine so I could disconnect that. I went back to the trailer where Koren was still crashed out, so I went out to the Esplanade and watched a fire show at "And then there's only LOVE". About midnight I started getting cold and went to bed.
Friday morning I set out again, on a mission for rubbing alcohol and a mechanic. Friday afternoon I looked under the hood and realized I had no idea about doing this myself and had another pretty good meltdown. Also, I was supposed to hook up with my friend NoGo, but it's pretty tricky sometimes to find people out there, even if you have plans with them. Koren and I had already agreed to spend Friday night with separate friends, so I was pretty sad to have missed NoGo. Thankfully, Tam was visiting our camp, having just returned from Critical Tits and connecting up with some of my campmates that she'd known from the outside world. Small world. She was great - she held me and listened to me cry and talk and we hung out all night and went to her camp and had a rum and coke (my second drink after the margaritas, other than tequila shots at the Tequila Shack almost every day) and we dropped by Grim's camp and left him a note. (Koren did come by before he took off for the night, and looked under the hood and said he was *pretty* sure he knew what was what, but we should find someone who knows for sure, and he was very comforting and reassured me it would all work out). Also, we had a really nice community dinner Friday night with all of our campmates.
Saturday morning, I set out to track down Grim. I knew of all people, HE would make sure we weren't stranded out there, and he could get me rubbing alcohol from medical and he probably knew a grease monkey or two. He was volunteering with Medical til noon on Saturday, so I had them page him, no luck. I went to his camp and explained my woes yet again to his campmate Ben, who (thank you Ben!!) was willing to come over to the truck and help. He found an outlet in the bottom of the tank where we could siphon from (we weren't expecting this would be there - the Dodge guys told my dad there isn't one), and after a couple different hoses to get the right size and a few hours in the sun to siphon the gas and water out, finally, we had an empty tank. And, there was no water in the fuel pump or lines, because we hadn't started the truck. So we put some gas in (I still had the two gallons I brought) and it started up fine. Ben headed back to his camp (BIMC - 4:30 and Allante) just as the dust storm was coming up, which lasted until about 8 pm. So thanks to Ben, and a few other people who contributed hoses and gas cans and words of encouragement, I was finally able to relax and have a good time on Saturday night. The Man Burn was delayed due to the dust storm, and they cut the fire dancing show, but other than that, we had a great time being out on Burn Night with our campmates.
I usually spend a fair amount of time out there looking out for people - offering gifts of water or apples or pickles or footrubs, making sure people are taken care of and enjoying themselves. This year, I couldn't do that. Although, after Ben left our camp, and the dust storm was in full swing, I ventured out to the porta-potties and I noticed someone in the Snuggleden. I peeked in and offered him some water, which he said he was really grateful for - I gave him both a Vitamin Water and a plain water. Later, he hung out with us at the Burn - turns out he was a friend of our Monkey friends. I thanked him later for being that guy in the Snuggleden - he was the first random person I was able to do something nice for, since my truck situation was finally resolved. It's always more about giving than receiving for me. That kindness made me very happy.
Sunday morning - got up fairly early and started breaking down camp. We left camp about 2:15 pm, and finally made it through Exodus at 6:15. Ate a good meal at Bruno's in Gerlach and got gas (also at Bruno's), and drove straight home. Arrived home at 5:45 am.
I feel like I missed a lot of the experience this year - I did. But it was for me what it was supposed to be. And I'm grateful to be home, and grateful for all the supportive friends and family who made this whole adventure possible. I can't wait to go back next year, this time with better costumes and a different theme camp with a combination of new and old campmates. I don't know what that's going to look like yet, but there will definitely be planning parties at our place in Salem. Next year was always the best year.
****
Special thanks to:
Rick for the trailer and tech support and unloading help when we came home
Dad for loaning us the truck
Bobby and Joe for helping load up the truck
Koren for being super wonderful, a great traveling companion, friend, lover, partner, and campmate
Goo for overpacking - you always had what I needed
Brujo - it wouldn't have been the same without you!
Gene for our power grid and friendship, and enough gas to start our journey home
Mark for your steady presence and conversation
The Flying Monkeys - it was great to camp with you guys!
Barry for the beautiful necklaces. Sorry about your garden hose.
Taija for doing the greywater dirty work
Charley and Cyn for being cool to camp with
NoGo for the empty gas can.
Robyn and George for being supportive and hauling off the hazmat. I still have a gift for you!
Tam for hanging out on Friday night and being supportive during my meltdown.
Ben for being The Man - I'd still be there if it wasn't for you.
Guiness for being the guy in the Snuggleden
Everyone who supported Snuggletown! during the last year to make this happen (you know who you are!)
Sheila and Butch for watching Buddy, and Scuba for wearing him out while I was gone.
And thanks to the Burners who heard our pleas for help on the radio and were willing to give us gas. I love the way this community pulls together!
We left a little later than we'd hoped, on Saturday evening. I pretty much did all the packing and shopping, since Koren had to work. This year, I brought 2 gallons of extra gas so we wouldn't run out on our way back to Cedarville, like I've almost done every year. Looking forward to not worrying about *that*. We spent Saturday night in Klamath Falls at Colleen's time share and enjoyed one last shower and a breakfast visit with her and Bob before heading to BRC on Sunday. We arrived about 5 pm on Sunday, just in time to have a few drinks, set up one carport, and go explore the city a bit. I had a few too many margaritas that night. Oops.
Monday morning, we began setting up camp, and the wind/duststorm hit. It lasted pretty much all day and into the evening on Monday. We spent most of the day hunkered down in the trailer, which was pretty good protection from the dust. For next year, we'll have it more company-friendly. There wasn't a lot of space to invite people in this time. I went to bed fairly early Monday while Koren went out with some friends.
Tuesday was clear and all our campmates were there so we set up camp. A total of three carports and two of these dome/teepee things - one became the Snuggleden which was nicely joined to a carport with a parachute on loan from Paul and Anna. We joined up with the Flying Monkey camp, and they had these dome/teepee things, and about 300 flying monkeys that scream when they sail through the air. They were a kick! We shot them at passers-by and had a great time. Something so simple was so entertaining. People loved them. So on Tuesday morning, I got this brilliant idea to put our gas in the gas tank so I wouldn't have to worry about it leaking (it was) and moving it to the shade all the time. I mentioned my idea to Koren, who also thought it was a good idea, and he said he'd take care of it in a minute, no problem. Meanwhile, one of my campmates had used a red gasoline jug for his drinking water (don't ever do this!), and it was on the ground near our truck. Koren picked up the gas can by the truck - since he didn't pack, he wouldn't have known ours was different - and, well, the rest of the week for me became about how to get water out of our gas tank. We did go for a walk and do some exploring Tuesday afternoon, and I went out for a while while he crashed out, but all the rest of that night I tossed and turned and was unbelievably stressed out.
Wednesday morning, I rode my bicycle to the phone at 3:30 and Esplanade and called my dad. My dad said to go ahead and fix it (i.e. before calling emergency road service), and told me how. That's what I needed to hear - I didn't want to compound the problem by making a decision he'd disagree with, since it was his truck. Our connection was sketchy, so I said to email me and I'd try to find someone with internet access since there's wifi at Playa Info. My campmate (who was responsible for this) went with me and put an announcement on BMIR that we needed help. At Playa Info, I ran into Minxy, who said her man was just the man to fix this, and had a siphon and would be over to help me later that day. What a relief! I never saw or heard from them again the rest of the week. I got back to camp just in time to realize I'd missed the one thing I'd actually planned to do out there - the playa-wide ecstatic dance, initiated by Albert, broadcast on BMIR. Ah, well, I hope it was a success anyway. Sorry, Albert! Wednesday night, Koren and I went out looking at art and had a great time together and a bit of a mind trip and some good conversation. I learned a lot about autonomy that night, as well. It's different camping with a boyfriend after camping as a single person for so many years. We had a good balance of time together and apart, though.
By Thursday evening I had lined up a few empty jugs to put the gas/water mixture in, and the Rangers' Hazmat had agreed to pick it up. I just needed to get it out of there, and get new gas. And get my dad's email with instructions. So I paid a visit to Shrooom and Chris, and we all went to Playa Info to use their wifi. We couldn't get on. By Thursday night, I still hadn't found anyone to help us and hadn't heard from Minxy or gotten online, so I called my dad again. It's not like you can just pick up the phone out there. There's ONE internet phone someone's set up, and usually a line of people waiting to use it. And, we were camped at 9:00 and Edsel, the phone was at 3:30 and Esplanade. Anyway, I finally got on the phone with him, and he explained exactly how to do it (siphon most of it out, disconnect the fuel from the engine and turn the key to run the pump and get the last bit out of there, then put rubbing alcohol in the tank to disperse any remaining water, then add new gas and viola!) but I went away with a sense of confidence that I could get the job done myself, all I needed was a siphon hose and a quart of rubbing alcohol and someone to identify where the fuel goes into the engine so I could disconnect that. I went back to the trailer where Koren was still crashed out, so I went out to the Esplanade and watched a fire show at "And then there's only LOVE". About midnight I started getting cold and went to bed.
Friday morning I set out again, on a mission for rubbing alcohol and a mechanic. Friday afternoon I looked under the hood and realized I had no idea about doing this myself and had another pretty good meltdown. Also, I was supposed to hook up with my friend NoGo, but it's pretty tricky sometimes to find people out there, even if you have plans with them. Koren and I had already agreed to spend Friday night with separate friends, so I was pretty sad to have missed NoGo. Thankfully, Tam was visiting our camp, having just returned from Critical Tits and connecting up with some of my campmates that she'd known from the outside world. Small world. She was great - she held me and listened to me cry and talk and we hung out all night and went to her camp and had a rum and coke (my second drink after the margaritas, other than tequila shots at the Tequila Shack almost every day) and we dropped by Grim's camp and left him a note. (Koren did come by before he took off for the night, and looked under the hood and said he was *pretty* sure he knew what was what, but we should find someone who knows for sure, and he was very comforting and reassured me it would all work out). Also, we had a really nice community dinner Friday night with all of our campmates.
Saturday morning, I set out to track down Grim. I knew of all people, HE would make sure we weren't stranded out there, and he could get me rubbing alcohol from medical and he probably knew a grease monkey or two. He was volunteering with Medical til noon on Saturday, so I had them page him, no luck. I went to his camp and explained my woes yet again to his campmate Ben, who (thank you Ben!!) was willing to come over to the truck and help. He found an outlet in the bottom of the tank where we could siphon from (we weren't expecting this would be there - the Dodge guys told my dad there isn't one), and after a couple different hoses to get the right size and a few hours in the sun to siphon the gas and water out, finally, we had an empty tank. And, there was no water in the fuel pump or lines, because we hadn't started the truck. So we put some gas in (I still had the two gallons I brought) and it started up fine. Ben headed back to his camp (BIMC - 4:30 and Allante) just as the dust storm was coming up, which lasted until about 8 pm. So thanks to Ben, and a few other people who contributed hoses and gas cans and words of encouragement, I was finally able to relax and have a good time on Saturday night. The Man Burn was delayed due to the dust storm, and they cut the fire dancing show, but other than that, we had a great time being out on Burn Night with our campmates.
I usually spend a fair amount of time out there looking out for people - offering gifts of water or apples or pickles or footrubs, making sure people are taken care of and enjoying themselves. This year, I couldn't do that. Although, after Ben left our camp, and the dust storm was in full swing, I ventured out to the porta-potties and I noticed someone in the Snuggleden. I peeked in and offered him some water, which he said he was really grateful for - I gave him both a Vitamin Water and a plain water. Later, he hung out with us at the Burn - turns out he was a friend of our Monkey friends. I thanked him later for being that guy in the Snuggleden - he was the first random person I was able to do something nice for, since my truck situation was finally resolved. It's always more about giving than receiving for me. That kindness made me very happy.
Sunday morning - got up fairly early and started breaking down camp. We left camp about 2:15 pm, and finally made it through Exodus at 6:15. Ate a good meal at Bruno's in Gerlach and got gas (also at Bruno's), and drove straight home. Arrived home at 5:45 am.
I feel like I missed a lot of the experience this year - I did. But it was for me what it was supposed to be. And I'm grateful to be home, and grateful for all the supportive friends and family who made this whole adventure possible. I can't wait to go back next year, this time with better costumes and a different theme camp with a combination of new and old campmates. I don't know what that's going to look like yet, but there will definitely be planning parties at our place in Salem. Next year was always the best year.
****
Special thanks to:
Rick for the trailer and tech support and unloading help when we came home
Dad for loaning us the truck
Bobby and Joe for helping load up the truck
Koren for being super wonderful, a great traveling companion, friend, lover, partner, and campmate
Goo for overpacking - you always had what I needed
Brujo - it wouldn't have been the same without you!
Gene for our power grid and friendship, and enough gas to start our journey home
Mark for your steady presence and conversation
The Flying Monkeys - it was great to camp with you guys!
Barry for the beautiful necklaces. Sorry about your garden hose.
Taija for doing the greywater dirty work
Charley and Cyn for being cool to camp with
NoGo for the empty gas can.
Robyn and George for being supportive and hauling off the hazmat. I still have a gift for you!
Tam for hanging out on Friday night and being supportive during my meltdown.
Ben for being The Man - I'd still be there if it wasn't for you.
Guiness for being the guy in the Snuggleden
Everyone who supported Snuggletown! during the last year to make this happen (you know who you are!)
Sheila and Butch for watching Buddy, and Scuba for wearing him out while I was gone.
And thanks to the Burners who heard our pleas for help on the radio and were willing to give us gas. I love the way this community pulls together!