The desert is a strange place

And yesterday I left it. When I first arrived, I felt like I was going to be there forever. After having been on the move almost constantly, being in the same place for seven weeks sounded like a bit of a challenge. However, I love that place, and quickly adjusted to its familiar patterns. I can't believe it all happened so fast! And now, there are many more adventures ahead.

When I tell me people I'm going to work at Burning Man, that's not the most descriptive explanation of my time in the Black Rock Desert. As I've said many times before, most of my enjoyment stems from the times outside of event week. From building relationships with tons of fascinating people to working hard every day of the week and so many things in between, I find my experience there has been uniquely enjoyable every year thus far.

For the fourth time this year, I worked for the Yellow Bike Project. We maintain a fleet of bikes that is for community & shared use. Admittedly, Burning Man is not a highly sustainable event, so I am happy to work on a crew that encourages sustainable practices. That's not to say I am without blame. The amount of energy, resources, and money that goes into this event continues to blow my mind. And by participating in it at all, I am obligated to recognize the impact. That being said, we live in a society that is inherently wasteful and unsustainable. And therein we are given the opportunity to limit our environmental impact with the individual choices we make. Additionally, we are naturally drawn toward indulgence, and because I enjoy my time in the desert, I choose to continue the experience.

This year was particularly special for a number of reasons. However, as stated, each year provides an experience unlike any other. So, perhaps a few pictures will do better than words. Below lies basically the extent of my photos taken. For some reason, I rarely feel inspired to take photos out there. During the event, I think it's because there are so many sights that would make exceptional pictures. Perhaps the over-stimulation is crippling. Outside of the event, I feel like there are fewer opportunities for good photos but many more opportunities for great experiences, so I choose the latter. Sometimes photos can be distracting to raw experiences I think.

This is our annual bike ride. We have a small fleet of bikes built on the work ranch pre-season. The way we transport these bikes is by assembling a group of folks and riding them through the beautiful terrain that is the Black Rock Desert.

This is what 1100 reclaimed bikes looks like. Only a portion of what we collected as lots of people either leave their trashed bikes behind or have their bikes stolen during the event and then neglected afterwards. It's a bit of a nuisance, but is part of our job to collect them after the event. We return as many as possible, but most are donated.

I finally built myself a tall bike! (with a lot of help of course)

It's always a beautiful day for a bike ride in the desert.

Art Cars are everywhere, but this was one of the better ones for sure. Plus, it didn't blast obnoxious techno music.

This is the site where the Man burned, the namesake event on Saturday night. The fire keeps smoldering for days. The burn barrels were brought over to consolidate the ash. Because Burning Man is Leave-No-Trace, every bit of ash and wood chip must be collected and properly discarded.

Sunset bike ride, post-event. I do like it when all the people have gone away.

Collexodus is a station near the exit where participants can drop any unwanted items to lighten their loads on the way home. The DPW gladly accepts their donations.

This is the "reject" pile of booze... We get lots of donations :)

And now, I'm on the road again. Nice bike ride through Eugene, Oregon, today, then on to Seattle, and later to Vancouver. It's funny that thing about adapting to transitions. I already feel back in the spirit of travel again! 

Didn't even know Newell, California, existed until I drove through it! (Notice my spontaneous park job.)