Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 12:23:28 EDT
Reply-To: RAlanen@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Frank Condelli <RAlanen@AOL.COM>
Subject: Trip to Buringing Man Part 5
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>>Attention Long Story Ahead<<
Coming to you live on the Wifi from our Westy now in the Circus-Circus
KOA Campground off Las Vegas Blvd overlooking the needle sky ride and roller
coaster far atop the Stratosphere. From Burning Man north to Burning Man
south. Nevada is nothing but bizarre carnivals interlaced with lunar like
landscapes. But before I digress on the now let me go back to Salt Lake City where
I left off the previous report.
We left the Flying J west of Salt Lake City by 7:30 am on the final leg
of our journey to Burning Man. Stopping a few times to pick up final
supplies. The trip across the I-80 was total bore. Nevada is nothing but desert and
Casinos........boring! We eventually get to Wadsworth where we leave our
dog Joubie with Evie who is part of a family of Indians who are selling Tacos
by side of the road. We have a Taco diner with them and discuss the dog and
do another gas fill before turning up the road and 76 mile ride up to Gerlach
where we will find the entrance to the Playa where Burning Man is held.
It was 7:30 pm now and sun beginning to set as we set off for Empire and
Gerlach. Driving through the desert with the sun setting to our west
heading north was an eerie sight. By the time we reach Empire it's dark and the
headlamps of the string of vehiles in the procession behind us are stretched
far back the straight flat desert road as we can see. We stop for gas at a
small gas bar where we encounter many others filling up their tanks one last
time before heading out onto the Playa which is now visible as radiant light
emitting from out in the desert. The gas station attendant is trying to sell
anyone and everyone a pair of antelope legs with hooves for $10, no takers.
There are two Chinese girls in a minvan who speak no English, a girl in a
cowboy hat the size of Texas and a young fellow from Vancouver with a red late
model Vanagon Westy. We all have a chat and head out for Gerlach and the
Playa. The procession is now building and it takes as good half hour to make the
11 mile ride to reach the entrance. As we approach the main gate it is
apparent that bizarre things are afoot here and we are certainly not the first to
arrive ! The line divides into six or eight lanes, all vehicles are
eventually searched by costumed, alien like creatures looking for contraband and
stowaways. We get by with a greeting of "Have a Good Burn" and head off into the
Playa and lights of the nite to meet the "Greeters" where we have an
informal session of do's and don'ts and directions around the immense Playa. We
follow the procession reading weird signage as we pass and we eventually see
what looks like a never ending field of campers in every imaginable and
unimaginable type of rig. We were going to go to the VW camp but the "Greeter" we
met did not know where it was, neither did we so we thought it useless to try
to find them in the maze that's before us. We eventually find an open spot and
decide to make that our home. Now quite late we pop the top and make ready
for some sleep but it's immediately evident that's gonna be tough. The music
is loud and everywhere, flashing lights are calling our attention. We set
off on a short exploratory walk and find we are at the corner of Pluto and
2:30, good, remember that and we go off and see many wild and wondrous sights.
Explanations of what we see at Burning Man will be left up to the pics I will
eventually post on the web and your visit to the _Burning Man_
(http://www.burningman.com/) website. I cannot ever imagine how I could explain in
simple words what goes on at Burning Man, all I can say it is awesome and
indescribable.
Back at our campsite we meet a couple from Nevada looking for a spot and
they decide to become our neighbours, Phil and Jo, I have added you to my
report mailing list, hope you enjoy reading. You already know about our trip
thus far after conversations while emptying the rum bottle, yahoo !
Thursday morning we go off exploring the Playa and see we are in a huge
maze laid out in circles named after the Planets, intersected with roads for
time at one-half hour intervals. "The Man" is at the centre. Travel is best
by bike or some motorised device that is supposed to be registered by the
DMV, "Department of Mutant Vehicles" of which we eventually learn there are
about 400. I will certainly have one if I come back. The English style
telephone booth on a Segway is one I enjoyed. We find the BMR, "Burning Man Radio"
station has 24 hour coverage of happenings, music and constant reminders of
our responsibilities as citizens of Black Rock City. There is a temporary,
official FAC, airport set up with all sorts of weird aircraft coming and going.
Saturday, after meeting many weird and wonderful people, seeing unbelievable
sights the "Burn" is approaching and just as Rita and I are about to leave
our home on the Playa up pulls Ina ! Rocky rebuilt a motor, installed and
sent her on her way Friday at 1 pm. She arrived on the Playa at our site at 6
pm. You do the math ! What a drive on a new motor. Rocky told her to just
drive it, don't lug it and don't run past 4000 rpm, go figure. Anyways she
made it in time for the "Burn". After feeding her and filling up coffee mugs
full of wine we headed out on the Playa with our new friends Phil and Jo, who
had by now knowledge of the story of Ina, to participate in the burning of
"The Man". Somewhere between 35,000 and 40,000 persons, costumed, nude,
adorned with flashing neon lights, in and on mutant vehicles, on bicycles and
every device conceivable with wheels and some type of motive power all heading
for the "Man". There are fireworks going off everywhere, Flame throwers
shooting huge blasts of propane gas into the night sky, a man on a bicycle comes by
with a silhouette of a pedalling man on fire attached behind him, the smell
of burning butane is strong. How he gets through the throng without setting
someone on fire is beyond me. He passes us a few times more before the gas
fizzles out. He must go somewhere for refueling as later on we catch a
glimpse of him again.
The furry hightens and the man is set ablaze. A fire so intense the sky
is filled with burning embers and all cheer as the "Man" falls while there
are still a few running around yelling "Save the Man". Too late for that now
! All that's left now is to watch the fire burn long into the morning. Back
to camp and more Rum. Sunday we recuperate and prepare for the "Temple"
burn. Rita makes "Breakfast Burritos" for us any passerbys, I have a hard time
trying to eat from the "Rum" head I have but Phil tells me eating will be
good. He was right, thanks ! We get through the day, bid farewell to Phil and
Jo as they need to get back to work on Monday. We get through the day slowly
and as evening approaches we head off for the "Temple". I bike over, Rita &
Ina get a ride on an 50's era bus with a fellow from Spain at the wheel and
a dance floor at he rea champagne is served to guests on board. The bus
meanders through the crowd picking up those looking for a ride the two to three
mile ride from Centre Camp over to the Temple. I sort of follow the bus not
to lose Rita Ina. The Playa dust is filling my nostrils, forgot the face mask
again ! As we approach the Temple we are early and as close to it as
permissible, looking behind as the sky darkens we see the entire population of
Black Rock City heading our way. Again there are people and music everywhere.
Three shimmering silver streaming kites come across the night sky as someone
takes aim on them with laser lights that make them look like surreal burning
objects flying over us. As the Temple is set on fire the crowd becomes quiet,
probably thinking on the countless messages inscribed and left in and on the
Temple throughout the week. Rita and I had made the journey over to the
Temple previously and I did walk through it but Rita retreated as the height
became too much for her. It was an immense structure built of plywood and wooden
beams and metal skeletons towering above the Playa and stretching some half
mile in length. As the fire crescendos a wall of heat hits us as swirls of
flame rush upwards sending ash and smoke across the Playa. The structure
eventually falls, the crowd and music resume activity. Slowly we all make are
way back toward Centre Camp stopping to see the many art structure placed
haphazardly over the expanse of the Playa. I bike, zigzagging here and there to
capture whatever attracts my attention. Rita & Ina go off with their new
found friends in the old bus. Back at camp we relax and try to sleep with usual
sounds of disco, rave and whatever music from the huge speakers located in
all corners of encampment. Tomorrow we will try to leave.
Tuesday morning is like the others only less populated as many have
already departed. We make coffee and slowly start to break camp, shake the dust
from ourselves and belongings and pack up for the trip outa here and new
adventures. Covered with days of wind blown Playa dust the tents, flags,
windsocks and other miscellaneous items are packed back into the Westy. Around
10.30 we make our way over to Centre Camp where I get on the Wifi Internet one
last time and send you my previous message. We meet Ed Shaw from TO who went
to high school in Almonte. Ed we will look up you Mom in Pakenham. I have
added your address to my Trip Reports so you can follow our journey back home.
Weird and wonderful meeting you as it was the countless others we meet while
"Burning". The proud smiling couple from Calgary in their 1955 Ford four
door station wagon puling an antique travel trailer, Jeff with his Plyagon
handing out popcicles and beers as he and his friends cruse the Playa in the cut
down Vanagon, Tim with his newly stretched Vanagon Westy which was newly
created only a few week prior by he and his capable friend Otmar which many of
you know with one of the original stretched Westys, Tim said it suited him and
his growing family just fine and was working well with the newly installed
golf motor. Jim from San Diego with his newly acquired Westy whom I meet in
the long line up as we all try to leave Black Rock City. I was walking up and
down the rows and rows of cars handing out BusFusion fliers and chatting
with the occupants. Helped two with starting problems, hope they made it safely
home. Met four from Denver in a bus that was lent to them by a friend with
tickets that could not go, Santa Clause is alive and well in Denver. The
ride out onto the pavement and into Gerlach took us about two hours I guess as I
did not spend much time looking at the clock but meeting new people while
Rita and Ina kept our buses moving forward. Out on the black top we wind our
way down to Wadsworth amoung the hundreds of others on the road. We meet up
with the Indians who kept Joubie, have a Taco diner and chat with them and
other travellers on their way home from "The Burn". After refuelling in Fernly
Ina's van starts having an intermittent running problem. She cannot get it
outa the station. This seems to be the same problem it had back in Illinois
where we changed the ignition cables and has been perfect since. Unload the
bike, unload the back and open up the engine compartment and wiggle some wires
and it all seems fine again with no indication of what is the problem. At
the same time I notice the alternator is moving around. The bracket is loose
and the one stud that can be seen has no nut on it. The other stud is not
visible. We decide we can go on to our destination for the evening like it is
and deal with it in the morning. Load up again and off we go toward Las
Vegas. Since it's late now, about 5 pm, we decide to head for Indian Springs
where we see a state campground where we can spend the night and take a shower.
We get there just as the sun is setting, no one at the gate, payment is
s drop box. Some folks tell us there are only showers at beach three and
they are cold. Another fellow coming out says there are hot showers at beach
seven but it's a long way, three miles and we should be careful of the deep
sand. We look at the directions and head off. Beach five, beach six, we see,
driving further the pavement ends and after some time we see a sign with beach
eleven and seven marked in opposite directions. We go toward beach seven,
see a brick building which we presume to be the showers, they are outhouses
and we find ourselves hopelessly stuck in the sand and it's dark. We dig and
push and pull for a while, get angry, get tired, give it up, decide to pop the
tops and get some sleep. Rita's having a conniption and to make matters
worse the cell phone rings around 10 pm after we are all tucked in the upper
bunk and the cell is stashed away in her purse somewhere down below. By the
time she retrieves it, the caller hangs up and there is "Unknown Caller" on the
display. She yells "I hate being these situations" ! Back to sleep but it's
hard, too hot, too many problems, coyotes howling, owls hooting, what next ?
The morning arrives, I make coffee and go for a stroll along the lake.
I find the showers, not so hot water, we made one wrong turn, that's all.
Too bad so sad. A chat with another camper out for a stroll with his dog at 6
am tells me the only towing is out of Fernly about 1/2 hour back the way we
came or maybe the ranger can pull us out when he comes by. Hike back to the
vans, Rita and Ina are up discussing what to do. Rita wants to enlist the aid
of other campers to dig and push. I say it's useless the van is too far
stuck and will only get in deeper and maybe burn the clutch. Ina and I go off
looking for the ranger in her van which is running poorly again. We find him
at the ranger station some five miles away out of the park after asking at a
nearby convenience store. Sure he will come by and pull us out, 10 ~ 15
minutes. Ina and I head back, her van is really acting up now, spitting,
coughing and jerking and she's having a conniption. When we get there Rita is
trying to burn up the clutch with some campers pushing and getting the van stuck
more, good show. I tell her to give it up the ranger is coming. The ranger
arrives, pulls us out bending my tow bar in the first attempt. Attaching the
chains to both rear tow hooks works and we are out. We drive out to the
main gate and begin breakfast, a clean up campaign of spilt coffee and dust from
Burning Man. I look into Ina's running problem and try to repair the
alternator bracket. I find one stud with no nut and one broken off stud. Humm,
dilemma, no way to remove the broken stud, no spare 8 mm metric nut. I steal a
nut from an exhaust hanger bolt and that I can replace with a SAE nut & bolt
I do have. With the alternator bracket secured with one nut on one stud and
the motor once again running smoothly we set off towards Las Vegas.
At a fuel stop along our way through the boring rock covered Nevada
landscape I notice oil leaking from Ina's engine. I check the oil level and
there in barely any visible on the dip stick. Ina says she has not checked the
oil level since she left Rocky's in Rapid City. Bad move ! She goes off to
purchase oil while I look under but it's hard to tell where it's coming from
as there is oil splattered everywhere. It takes two quarts to bring it up to
the top mark. Rocky whay is the engine leaking oil ? Off we go again in
trepidation. Coming into a small town I see Ina pull off and not following. I
turn around and head back to her. When I arrive the van is dead in thre
middle of the road. At least we're in some sort of town not out in the desert.
Bike off, luggage out again..........whew I'm getting tired of this. If I
ask her one more time why she didn't get the heavy duty struts for the rear
hatch I'm gonna explode ! She says the motor just quit coming down the hill.
I try to restart it and there are weird grinding noises. We all imagine the
worse as the oil level was low for we don't know how long and the gridngin
noise was not good. After a brief delay and another attempt to restart, the
engine fires up and sounds fine. The noise turns out to be the starter going
south probably due to Playa dust. The engine died due to the intermittent
cutting out problem which all of a sudden became non intermittent. I drive
Ina's van to then next fuel stop and it did cut out a few odd times but in
general ran fine. Coming into Las Vegas we see the lights of the city some 50
miles away as we descend into the valley from our lunar mountain road. The
desolate road turns into a three lane freeway, bright lights and traffic are
abundant, Rita has mapped out our course to the Circus-Circus KOA Campground and
we are trying to keep on course and find our exit. As we are approaching our
exit Ina pulls up along side and is waving wildly, I cannot pay much
attention and motion to her to just try to follow us. We make our exit, find our
way to the Circus-Circus and that's where I began this story. We're all off to
some fine dining and sight seeing soon as the sun sets as it hot as hell
here in the parking lot and we cannot leave the dog alone in the Westy under
these conditions. So the girls have been doing laundry and swimming in the pool
and I've been fighting with the computer on the Internet trying to get this
story out to you all and upload the pics of Burning Man and our trip there.
Enjoy ! We are !
Cheers,
Frank Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
_BusFusion_ (http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm) a VW Camper
camping event, Almonte, ON, June 09 ~ 12, 2005
'87 Westy, '90 Carat & Lionel Trains
Member: _Vanagon List_ (http://www.vanagon.com/) , _LiMBO_
(http://www.bcn.net/~limbo/) , _IWCCC_ (http://www.westfalia.qc.ca/) &_ CCVWC_
(http://www.ccvwc.ca/)
Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley_STEBRO/Vanagon
Stainless Steel Mufflers_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/stebro.htm) _Frank
Condelli & Associates_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html) or
_http://frankcondelli.comn_ (http://frankcondelli.comn)
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