Burning Man 2007 - Dust Storms to Double Rainbows

This was my first Burning Man experience. We arrived on Thursday evening; the city was already in full party mode and appeared to have been that way for awhile. 45,000 people gathering in the middle of the desert to create the 3rd largest city in Nevada which vanishes after a week of art, architecture, design, music, debauchery, explosions and dust storms.

It is definitely a survivalist's guide to the biggest party you've ever been to. At times I was having flashes of Mad Max mixed with Flash Gordon. The night of the burn definitely felt like the last scene of Flash Gordon when he becomes king and the entire universe and all its beautifully bizarre creatures come out to catch a glimpse of the new ruler. Here, of course, we gathered to share in a ritualistic, tribal expression of one's freedom and release. This was by far the most fireworks I've seen in a weekend. Though I am not typically a fan of fireworks, somehow I managed to get caught up in all the build up before the burn. The sky was so bright I almost felt like I was in a sports arena dome until I looked around and noticed all the thousands of people decked out on art buses and tripped out bikes all around me.


The dedication and commitment for the purpose of art was inspiring. Some art installations were assembled on the playa up to a month prior to the week long party. I can't even imagine surviving in those conditions for a month let alone being able to take a month out of my life for the purpose of installing art.

The intricate details on the temple amazed me as well as the substantial size of the structure and emotional value that the temple offered to the community. Unfortunately, we did not stay to see the Temple burn. I hear that this is a more somber and spiritual experience for the week.

The "Crude Awakening" installation and experience was by far most the impressive explosion that I will ever see in my life...I hope. This was a creative, political expression demonstrating our addiction to oil. I intended to take lots of photos, but the first click of the camera at the moment the propane ignited was the only photo I could take before getting sucked into the slow-motion reality of a fire ball coming at me with such force that it made me shuffle back. The intensity was amplified by the magnificent reclaimed steel sculptures of seven people all at least 20 feet tall frozen in prayer positions facing what was once a 4-5 story-high oil rig. The silhouettes of the sculptures came alive with the raging fire behind them. It was quite a statement.

As this year's theme was "Green Man" I was excited to see the creative uses of sustainable principles. My favorite was the human powered monkey-go-round. A number of citizens were peddling on stationary bikes which would then generate enough energy to push the monkeys in a circle and flash a strobe at it. The spinning monkeys looked like they were actually swinging from tree branches. Someone else had a carbon-eating algae machine that was hooked up to one of the generators to clean the carbon emission so they did not go in the air. I didn't totally understand how it worked but applauded the effort.

However, the most amazing thing of the whole weekend was the crazy weather. At one point we had a huge dust storm with fast winds creating total white out. Then after the storm passed a double rainbow that shined brightly from end to end wrapped Black Rock City up into a wonderful colorful ribbon. It was spectacular.