Burning Man 2014

When I found this Playa Barbie box at Burning Man I got ECSTATIC! I went twice to get my pictures taken in it. As a TRUE feminist (hi to all my strong and smart women out there that can actually think outside of the box.....think outside the Barbie box) I love pink and I'm not ashamed of it and I also love Barbie. I am funny Barbie, angry Barbie, happy Barbie, outspoken Barbie - you can be whatever Barbie you want! There were men taking pictures in that box - SHOCKING I KNOW!!! Daaaaamn, I look good......





And I had to have a picture inside the Conversations With God phone booth, one of my favorites from last year. This time God was on a break, I guess even God needs a break once in a while. Last year I thanked God profusely for everything, because let me tell you......most of the time I absolutely LOVE my life and I am extremely grateful for every moment (except the hard and shitty times of course).

No drugs for me at Burning Man this year. I know people are curios about that, they think Burning Man is some kind of a large drug fueled sex orgy an not much else. Far from it.
From what I have observed, people are way more drunk and drugged up in the village I live in here in Alaska. I was tempted by these brownies (soooo cute too).....but decided to leave them alone. There is a reason for that. I don't want to disclose the reason but I had to be responsible. Next year though!





Instead I got tipsy a few times. I discovered that I am a very happy "drunk", I would just walk around or dance with a smile plastered on my face. I had the most delicious freshly sliced grapefruit and vodka drink, so good that I pedaled back in the hot sun to the place where I had it served to ask for some more. At the TIKI bar they had a very sweet fruit punch made with rum and vodka, tasted like juice. I spent some time in there sipping on that, meeting new people. Then I had a couple of shots one night. Very fun times I have to say! I can take it or leave it, I don't need drugs or alcohol for a good time. I see both substances as an extra spice that I indulge in and enjoy once in a while. And if you think using drugs (the illegal kind) occasionally is baaaaaad then I can say that I believe that being informed about them and indulging once in a while, if that is your wish, is a heck of a lot safer and healthier than smoking cigarettes every day or poison your mind and body with prescription drugs on a daily basis. NA ZDROWIE!




I have a GREAT story about a man I met and talked to in the TIKI bar......One of the volunteer bartenders told me it was his first time at Burning Man. He was 60 and LOVED everything about it, wished he would had made it out to Burning Man before this time but couldn't.....because of life - work, obligations etc. The reason he was there? His 83 year old father that was sleeping in a large RV connected to the bar. His Dad has been attending Burning Man for the last 14 years! His wife passed away four years ago, she was never into the Burning Man thing and the Dad would go alone all the years, meeting up with his friends at the Playa. Well, this year he got "married" at Black Rock City. 83 and enjoying his life!
THAT is how I want to live my life too when I'm in my 80's......!
One more pic of the cute brownie......just because!


Enjoying a refreshing grapefruit drink.

What do you eat at Burning Man? Is it like a fair so you can go up to a food stand and buy a burger or a funnel cake when hungry? No. You have to bring in your own food and water.....self reliance - it's one of the ten principles of Burning Man. You can only buy ice and then coffee and chai at Center Camp. Last year I lost weight at Burning Man. This year I was munching away and I think I actually gained a few pounds despite biking around for miles on the Playa. Not that it matters, just a random fact that I noticed.
I make mental notes to what I eat or not so I know what to bring or not for next time.
Why bring in more than necessary? So, I finished my KIND bars (I gave away some). I actually drank some beer, I like a cold beer now and then. I ate a lot of chips and dips and sliced up cucumbers with salt on them, that was my favorite I think. Check out my fancy cheese platter!

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I ate some fruit but far from all the fruit I brought with me......fed leftover apples to some horses on the way home.
So next year it will be pretty much the same as this and last, KIND bars, cut up veggies (cucumbers and peppers) with salt on top, fruit (nectarines) a six pack of beer, chips and a few different dips. Mineral water and fruit juice. I can see maybe bringing in some yummy lentil soup also. There is also plenty of drinks and food that people serve all over Burning Man, you don't have to starve......bring a cup and enjoy what there is to be offered.
But remember, be self reliant!
I had a latte every day in Center Camp, one of my fave moments of the day. Sipping on an iced latte while people watching and maybe making new friends at Center Camp! Sometimes I would go back at night for a hot chai.

Having long hair on the dusty Playa can seem scary. How do you handle it? Will it become destroyed, a total crazy mess of tangles? Having a lot of dust in your hair whether long or short for a week without a proper shower can scare some people off. But my hair did remarkably well. I washed it once, actually Jill, a girl that I camped with was a darling and washed it for me outside. This was my hair Saturday. I didn't comb it once ay Burning Man.
It was all natural. Playa hair!



I would spray it down every day, I think that helped a lot. It added much needed moisture.
I actually loved how my hair looked as Playa hair, the texture and the look. It felt soft, my scalp wasn't itchy at all and it feels great even now after one wash since I've been home.
I think it got naturally bleached too, so to the people out there that wonder if I bleach my hair......no, the sun and dust at the Playa does that for me. I do have some gray hair that I color but I have written several blogs about that already.
Here I am with my spray bottle, I had already left Burning Man when this pic was taken.......



Last week Tuesday while briefly stopped in Roseburg, Oregon waiting to pick up a food order at a Mexican restaurant, I love eating Mexican when on road trips, a girl came up to me and told me she really liked my hair. I told her funny because it was full of dust and unwashed. She asked me where I had been and I told her the desert, more specifically at Burning Man and she told me she and her boyfriend really want to go. I told her, DO IT......GO! You will LOVE it! And I gave her a BRC Weekly, I picked up some extra copies to give out to people in the "default" world. It's weird, some of the connections you make with random people.......!

So to get to Burning Man this year I flew into Portland where I was lucky to find an RV last minute basically AND for a good price, free miles and generator included. RV's are hard to come by for Burning Man, they get snatched up fast and paying $3000 for the week is nothing unusual. Last year I got lucky too and got to be in a huge RV for free! This year I had a 24' Winnie Minnie and I fell in love with it, my next large purchase is going to be an RV.....I've been wanting one for a while. Actually I wish I would had gotten a really nice RV instead of property in Las Vegas but oh well.....you live and learn.
Driving from Portland to Gerlach is less than 500 miles and wasn't too bad.



I drove and was the passenger. I LOVE road trips, one of my fave things to do.
Road trips - seeing new things while driving to whatever destination, stopping for yummy food, peeing outside, exploring, hiking and going to hot spring - that's when life is good!
I have many future road trips planned.





Once at Burning Man I used my brand new Fjällräven (which means arctic fox) backpack every day. On it I attached the wooden Burning Man and the vial of Playa dust I got last year plus some other trinkets. So when I came across Deery Lou, a Sanrio character that is super KAWAII I just had to stop and take a pic of my backpack right there. I was really excited!
Yes, all things KAWAII make me excited.





On the way home I really traveled in style once I got to the airport in Portland. My backpack was dusty so I put it in a WalMart bag, that was my carry on. Very stylish! I actually thought that was rather funny. And my hair was total Playa hair (more on that subject later).



Leaving Burning Man (also known as Exodus) was surprisingly easy this year. I left around 7 am Monday morning and basically drove straight out, that was great. Last year I waited in line to get out for at least six hours if not more, I can't remember exactly now.
Tonight I have some serious Burning Man withdrawals. I miss it terribly. I'm bored and I wish I was back at the Playa, dancing somewhere.......here is a pic of the sun coming up while I was packing and somberly getting ready to leave.

The bikes at Burning Man are amazing.....well some of them. I am fascinated and very appreciative of the bikes that some very creative people made.
Like this one.....I think this was my favorite. Her name is STAR and the eyes light up and so do the long wispy eyebrows, this bike was soooooo cute! I fell in love with STAR!



And here are some other bikes that I came across and took pictures of. There were many more. And I HIGHLY recommend that you bring a bike to Burning Man, without one you will be kind of removed from the things that there are to do and see. And trust me, you will want to do and see! Sure you could walk but the distances on the Playa are long, walking takes up valuable time and biking is so much more efficient. There are community bikes but finding one of those can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. So yes, absolutely bring a bike to Burning Man. There is at least one place in Gerlach (the closests by town) that rents bikes if you don't want to buy your own or transport it.......or abandon it on the Playa.













My bike. I did not decorate it because I didn't have the time and I did not get any supplies for decorating. I only got a Hello Kitty basket to hang in the front and it definitely came in handy, that too I recommend. So you can put your stuff there instead of carrying it all in a backpack at all times. I got the bike on the drive to Burning Man at a WalMart for $80 and it worked GREAT! The only complaint I have is that the seat was rather uncomfortable and made my butt ache, so I have to get a better seat for it so my poor butt won't be in pain. Now the bike is at my friend Sarah's place in Vegas where I will pick it up at some point and use it at the next Burning Man I go to.









I enjoy biking at Burning Man.....I miss it. Yes, it can be hot (it's the desert so it's hot during the day), dusty and windy but it's part of the experience. Sometimes you have to put some effort into pedaling through some deeper sand and other times a dust storm engulfs you but it's Burning Man and you are one of the lucky ones that are there! Enjoy and embrace it while you are there!