My eyes are barely open this morning when I realize that I have made a serious mistake. While I was careful yesterday to stay hydrated during the day, I was not so careful last night. Out here...in the desert...it is just as important to drink plenty of water in the evening as it is during the day.
And...last night while I was eagerly "swilling down" the dirty martinis made with pickle juice, the cold shots of Absinthe and the home-brewed beers, I was not drinking any water. At home, you can get away with that...but out here, the desert always makes you pay the price...and, this morning, I am paying a heavy price. So...I chug down two litres of water and half of a large bottle of Gatorade. This helps to relieve the chills, cramping and dizziness...somewhat. Now partially rehydrated, I crawl back inside the camper to sleep another hour or two.
Around 10:00AM, I head over to the main part of our camp...still somewhat shaky. I've got a big roll of Mexican Chorizo to contribute to breakfast and, soon, that's cooking up with some scrambled eggs. The food helps, and I'm now functioning at around 75%.
Part of the Burning Man "philosophy" is to leave the "playa" as you found it. That means no littering of any kind...not so much as a cigarette butt. It also means that you can not dump your cooking/cleaning water or even your cooler water. So...today I volunteer to help build a "grey water evaporator". My new friend, Hoopy, has designed a system and brought all of the things that we need to build it. Soon, several of us are using PVC pipe and a large black tarp to create a collecting pond. At each end, we secure sawhorses and from those, we string a line to hang some sheets. The sheets wick up and help to evaporate the water. It's simple, ingenious...and...it works.
But a couple of hours of working in the sun, even while drinking plenty of water, just knocks me out. So, as soon as my work is completed, I'm back in the camper and sound asleep. By the time that I wake up, it's after 8:00PM and already dark outside. I have neither the energy nor the desire to cook an elaborate dinner, so tonight I'm having a can of "Steakhouse Chili" from Costco along with a lot of water.
Except for my "volunteer work", this has been a lost day...so I'm thinking that now I've got to make something of the night.
So, for the next four hours or so, I just wander...out to "Center Camp" and beyond...out towards the Burning Man structure. Thousands of people are out there with me...wandering.
I get a few shots of the Cafe in Center Camp and a few photos of the activity out away from camp. Along the way, I stop for an hour to watch a horror movie on a huge screen...it's one of several "theaters" here. I stop again at the camp that's serving dirty martinis made with pickle juice...tonight I have just one, instead of the four last night. I'm also drinking one litre of water every hour...no sense repeating the same mistake.
Sometime around 1:00AM, I'm back at the camper. A good night's sleep, and I'll be ready for a day of exploring tomorrow.
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