I just woke up. I think I dreamed last night. I was under the sea searching for a fresh water lake. Everything was blue, there were bubbles, it was glorious. Was this the first time I dreamed in the last week? Was I yearning for Lake Tahoe? Did I need to cleanse my body, mind and soul of last week’s debauchery? Was it the only way to get myself back in the game? The answer…Fuck yeah!
It took 12 hours to get from my camp, “Awesomeville” at 3:45 and Get Fucked to my house in Tahoe City. The best thing about the ride home is that we partied the whole time. We partied in line, in the car, in the desert. We did whatever was necessary to make 7 hours of gridlock fun. From Chinese fire-drills, to shot-gunning beers, from reminiscing about the days before to talking about what decompression would be like. At one point I looked out my window only to see Party Boy making out with a chick he had met only minutes prior. Where else but Burning Man can you meet a chick in traffic and have a 30 minute deep throat tongue session? What a ride!
Let’s get something straight right off the bat. Burning Man is the best party on the planet. If you know of a better one, send me the link because I like to party. If you don’t think it’s that cool, spend a night or a couple days at Awesomeville and we’ll give you a taste of what you have been missing over the last few years. Sure, repetitive whomping bass followed by an inspirational pause only to be whomped yet again into submission can get a touch old after seven days. We could all use a little more melody in our music. But, we know the routine at this point. After a few days does it really even matter? Your legs, feet and body are going to shake and dance regardless. That’s all they know!
I keep thinking it will be my last year but every year just gets better and better. It’s the new faces, old faces, new structures, and new ideas. Bringing a bunch of virgins always helps out the camp mentality. There is nothing that compares to that first site of the Playa. Those giggles and smiles makes it all worth while. They bring that necessary energy into a camp. Rolling around in a bike gang with your 40 best friends looking for trouble and signs of “free beer”. It’s mobile partying. With 40 in tow you are the party.
With all the talk of selling out (both figuratively and literally) and questions of will it continue, Burning Man came out for its 2011 edition with guns blazing! The art was off the hook. The Playa was jammed with installations. Even on the last day of the Burn I was still running into art I had not previously seen. This year’s Temple was an absolutely breathtaking piece and a perfect tribute to all the Tahoe friends that we have lost in 2011. Sunday night’s burn of the temple could not have been a more perfect ode to Kip, Allison, Adam and Allen. You will all be missed.
With all the good times, late nights, rough mornings and deep introspection it’s hard to remember what it would be like had this never existed. For so many people it’s a necessary part of the year. It’s an escape from the reality of our existence, a wandering into a different portal in time, a break from the space/time continuum. It’s a time for everyone to shine individually while at the same time shining as a collective. Plain and simply, it gives us hope. I always seem to get asked the same question when I get back from Burning Man by folks who don’t know much about the event. They say, “Is that a festival? Who played?” All I can say in response is that “We all did!”
To see all the Burning Man Photos click the link below: