I have slept well...despite waking up twice during the night. The first time, around 1:30AM, I awoke to see/hear a vehicle lighted up like the state of Texas rolling down my street, playing county western music. This was a "mutant vehicle"...think of them as motorized parade floats as envisioned by Salvador Dali. Later, around 3:30AM, I again awoke, this time to the sound of Techno music from one side and and a female voice singing opera from the center camp.
After the long day yesterday, I'm sleeping in this morning. Around 10:00AM, I walk over to the main part of my camp...and people are cooking breakfast. One gal, Stacey, has a real "touch" for cooking for a large group. People have contributed "stuff" for breakfast, and Stacey is mixing this with that to create a pretty darn good meal.
This is my first day for "exploring" so, after breakfast, I set out.
As I may have mentioned, Burning Man is laid out in a semi-circle. There are "streets" that correspond to hours and half hours on a clock...from 2:00 to 10:00. Intersecting these are "lettered streets"...A (Athens), B (Baghdad), C (Cairo), D (Detroit), etc.
My camp is near 6:30 and Athens, so I head out on foot toward 10:00 on Athens. Along the way, I discover one (of many) of the nice things about Burning Man...the tradition of "gifting". Many "camps" have a food or beverage (or both) theme...and so, all along the way, there are friendly people handing out great food...others are handing out beer, wine, and other homemade beverages. These are all "gifts" as there is no money used at Burning Man (except for ice or coffee in Center Camp). And, it's a chance to sit down and converse with different people from all over the U.S. and all over the world.
Now I'm on Baghdad heading from 10:00 to 2:00...and it's clear that many people have given a lot of thought to the "shelters" at their camps. There are the usual tents, but there are also "structures" built with wood, aluminum, fabric...you name it. There's a whole lot of creativity here.
Burning Man offers people the chance, for eight days, to be whoever or whatever they want to be...to define themselves. So many of us are "defined" by our job, our family, our past. At Burning Man, you define yourself. So...there are lots of elaborate "costumes" of a sort. Some people wear nothing at all...it's whatever YOU want to be.
As I near the 6:30 position, I stop back at the camper for water...this is a desert environment, and it is critical to stay hydrated.
So...I continue to walk...traversing B (Baghdad, C (Cairo), etc. All along the way, I'm stopping for a bite to eat, a cocktail, a conversation. Soon, it's 6:00PM...and I've been out in the sun all day. After a short rest, I haul my little Weber Grill, plus charcoal, etc., over to the main part of my camp and proceed to grill up about eight pounds or so of Tandoori chicken. Back when I first decided to come to Burning Man, I thought that Tandoori chicken would be a great thing to "gift" to the people in my camp. About the time that the second batch of chicken comes off the grill, the bus arrives with the remaining members of our camp. They set off days ago from Ann Arbor, and their journey has been a difficult one...the first bus broke down in Illinois...they found another bus. The second bus had brake problems...they fixed it...fuel filter problems...they fixed it. And now, at last, they have made it to Burning Man.
So, for an hour or so, we all pitch in and help unload the bus...tents, sleeping bags, and also the rest of the stuff that we need to complete our "maze". Bus unloaded, I'm back to grill duty. People are tired and hungry...the chicken does the trick...soon, it's all gone.
Later, after dark, I'm out again to explore...this time the area around the Central Camp. There's a little bit of everything...more food/drink, music (of all varieties)...there are two camps showing movies on giant screens (European films and classic American horror). And, all around, there are people (50,000+ at this Burning Man)...and those "mutant vehicles"...some look like giant birds...or sailing ships...or animals...I've never seen anything like it.
By 1:00AM or so, I am "whipped" (or, perhaps, overstimulated). As I'm climbing into the camper, I look up into the night sky. People have sent up several illuminated weather balloons...and...as I'm drifting off to sleep, it's like I'm on another planet...this one with four "moons" instead of just one.
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