Burning Man

[sarren]

strangedave's description of their Burning Man experience has filled me with a seriously intense desire to get there myself one year soon.

I've always assumed that something that intense would take me waaay too far out of my comfort zone, and I know I couldn't go alone, but maybe one day, with friends?

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/doctor_k_/]

Well, Dave and I plan to go again next year, and plan to drag many Perth friends with us, so how about 2006?

Burning Man is easy. Plus you can have it as intense or as laid-back as you want. The hard parts are getting all the gear you need, and then getting to the desert and back.

[sarren.livejournal.com]

How DO you get to the desert and back?

Also, you guys are all like, naturals at this, I'd probably be disturbingly clingy unless there were other newbies there *g*

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

Our friend Ian hired a giant RV, and we drove -- it takes quite a few hours to drive there from San Francisco, where most people are coming from. The vast majority of people drive there, though its possible to get there by bus somehow I think. Lots of lift sharing goes on though.
I wouldn't worry about the clinginess. It wouldn't matter if you were, but there were lots of new people there, and there is so much to see its OK to just wander about and look at stuff for a while.

[http://users.livejournal.com/doctor_k_/]

For me and Dave, there is no way we could have done it without Ian and Dan. Ian hired the RV, and he and Dan drove it there. I helped drive it home, but it's scary driving on the wrong side of the road - having Ian be my lookout made it possible.
Dan took us in his car for a day of shopping the day before we left - drove us to heaps of different places, and said "You'll need this" and "You'll need these". We had little idea of what we'd need, let alone how to find it in a foreign city.

Of course, now we know locals, and San Francisco, and what we need - so we can be your local resource in future!

[sarren.livejournal.com]

Seriously, if I can tag along with you guys (I'm shameless) it's something I'd really consider doing.

[http://users.livejournal.com/doctor_k_/]

We'd love to have you along! You can share the driving.

[sarren.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a plan. Will start saving :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/doctor_k_/]

I wanted to be a bit clingy in the first days, but my bike was so slow that I was exhausted trying to ride fast enough so that Dave wouldn't fall off, he was riding so slow. We had to split up.
Time kinda dissolves into 'morning', 'midday', 'evening' and 'night', so arranging a time to meet up just doesn't work. Having a camp you can come back to makes a huge difference. Our camp had heaps of newbies in it, not just us. Same with the whole city I think. Everyone is very caring and supportive of newbies, more so than SF circles are.

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

It would be scary to go alone. I found it quite hard to start conversations with new people the first few days. We were glad we had a friend who had been before to go with. And having a nice camp to hang out with was really nice as well.
I think we will be trying to go as often as we can now, and of course would be happy to camp with you if we happen to be going in the same year.

[cricketk.livejournal.com]

Me too!

and Me too!

and also Me too!

I'll definitely go with you.

[http://users.livejournal.com/doctor_k_/]

Can we have you in our camp?

And poke Dr MickeyK for us too - he needs to come with us next year as well.

[cricketk.livejournal.com]

Isn't it more - can I come be in your camp?

Yay!

[sarren.livejournal.com]

I'm prepared to seriously commit to going next year with you (and Dave and drK).

I'm prepared to curtail spending on alcohol and *gasp* dvds.

Cricket?

[cricketk.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

am curtailing.

Imagine all the incredibly boring lunches I'll be eating between now and then.