Burning Man - 2009

Ok, since you can't really explain Burning Man to someone that hasn't been there, pictures are at least an easy way to get some of the story, so I'll mostly focus on that.
General overview - a great and amazing time. It was windy and dusty this year, so several days we were more inside than last year. That didn't stop us from having all sorts of adventures just the same! The event was smaller (both physically and attendance - I think I heard 45k this year, vs. almost 49 last year) largely from the economy. We still managed to have a vibrant and fun camp. We spent a bit more time around our camp also, because we had such fun camp mates - and such great food!

A few particular memories -
* A giant slide made of Astro-turf that you could slide down on cardboard
* A 60ish foot tall, '50s vintage rocket that you could actually climb in. It was slated for take off Friday night, but they had, um, technical problems (on a colossal scale)
* Hammocks on the playa - napping in the shade
* Jazz camp at 2 AM, one guy in a Scuby Doo suit that was the best trombonest ever, another nude guy playing as well on the alto sax, his oiled rear gleaming oddly in the light, as they took shots of absynth and played on into the night
* Tom Kah Guy Soup, Salmon, Brockely Salad, Margaritas... Did I mention we ate well?
* A gal named Molly wandering into our camp in a wind storm
* Cowboy hats, bandanas and goggles

The line heading in
Windy/dusty, but still so amazing
Welcome "home" :)
Our camp mates on Monday.
Evening Adventure on the Pedi-Trike - with B in back, and me peddling... oh my aching knees! :)
The temple at the far side of the playa. We circumnavigated the playa that night along the esplanade.
The Playa at night.
Giant Rubics cube (Like 20 feet across) and othe camps
A panaroma of the Playa

Cube close up. It "digitally" rotated - by changing colors on the panels.
Flower ball tea - Bob's signature tea
A stilt camp/party
And a Super Stilter!
The Man during the day
Giant legos - made from wood... they made over 300 of them...
The 6 o'clock path to the man.
One of the MANY art cars - this a giant, 6 wheeled Cady cruiser...
.
The theme was "Evolution" - so a platypus works well...
Ok, this one is for any gear-headed gal, that works on her own car... (Laura R, where are you? A wedding???)
7:30 road where we were camped was a hotbed of Playa Culture!
Cooking at Bacon Camp. Turns out Bacon is great with Beer... I don't even usually like beer, but man did I cook some fine bacon!
Our entire camp with fine food (one of many lovely meals we shared).
Pinky, Barbara, Patrick, Naughtia, Bob, Marietta, and Lourdes.
A giant dragon boat the size of, well, a boat!

A full size '50s vintage rocket, ready for blast off
And the same rocket, 2 hours later, still ready for blast off! Wind storms et al.
The wings - yes i finished them, but they were so big and unwieldy (they kept unfurling) I didn't wear them much. Need to pasivate them better, and - next year... Some tail action there
Wings spread
With friends (less Patric who was adventuring)




And an ultra short video - wind and wings. Don't blink!

On the way to Burning Man - 2009

This year's Burning Man trip had a few kinks in the planning, but all worked out in spades in the end. We had a last minute change of plans regarding who was going to watch Delilah, but Dianne, B's mom, was able to do the watching on short notice, and Julie drove her down from San Marcos, literally hours later. Different plan next year!

But, once we got on the road, good times happened as always! We met up with Yen, Marilee and Alicia, and with Delilah in tow, spent a few days in the central coast, before Joe drove up and picked up Yen and all the kids, and returned them home.

Some picts from that part of the adventure follow;
Montanya De Oro State Park, near Morro Bay.

Yen hanging out
Ranger Judy with the kids and gals
Adventures at the beach
Nice thing with an RV, is you can change out of those wet clothes...
California Sea Otters. You Otter Sea em! :)
Barbara's beloved thistle
With a thistle condom on it... That thing blew fluffies everywhere!

Delilah's 6th Birthday

This year, a low impact Birthday for Delilah at Chuck E Cheese. Just her and a handful of friends - about as big of an event as wanted to manage in the week between Sedona and Burning Man!




A family moment...

Sedona, August 2009

With the economy as it is, pay cuts, and slow business building, we've minimized big trips this year, but have been able to enjoy a few smaller ones along the way - occasional camping and weekend adventures, and a week trip to a Timeshare in Sedona, Az (one of our favorite drivable places).

Sedona is a place of many facets. It was named after the wife of the postal clerk there way back when, but long before that, was inhabited by several American Indians including the Paiute, Anasazi and Navajo. It is a magical place for many, with dark red stone from the iron in the earth giving it a classic "South Western" look, and its "vortexs" which some atribute to the iron, others to earth spirits, and others to the smart travel planning folks at the local chamber of comerce.

It has become a Tourist Mecca, with so many two-bit psychics, chotsky dealers, and make-a-buck stores, mixed with a big new-age community (with both its up and down sides), some rugged adventure sorts, along with spa-centric and enlightment seeking (often tied in with any number of the above).

Highlights of our trip included a talk by a Navajo guide, a "critter petting", a lovely rain-sunset, a Pink Jeep Tour, and swiming in the lovely pools.

Picts below, in a reverse order (blogger annoyances!)

Visit to Arcosanti on the way back - a designed community, supposed to be low impact, green, etc. Problem is that the archetect designs buildings, not communities. It doesn't have a life of its own - no soul. Part of the problem may be the very name which is translated as "Archetecture against the system" - which feels like a fight the whole way... This is the courtyard
Pool with 50 ton crane
A strange place - they are trying to attract 100 people to start a 5,000 person villiage, but it doesn't have anything to attract folks with... They should have talked with us - make an eco-spa destination, with retired residential, artists lofts - run with the Sedona theem... They missed out big time...
They do make great use of space - this is the area above the stage.
Outdoor stage area - note the moat around the stage that fills with water. Our guide was an odd bird as well, with memorable quotes such as "We have a summer concert season here. Some of the folks are actually ok sounding..."

Also went to some indian ruins.
This is an aqueduct dug over 600 years ago by indians to irrigate the land around the area of the spring.
Lake front indian property...

A lovely sunset in the rain
Pink Jeep Downhill ride...
Young driver
View from the Pink Jeep Tour near Two Nuns.
My favorite gals
A lovely vista near Bell Rock
B with a snake at the critter play
More indian ruins
A brunch at an opulent resort there - Enchantment. Awesome buffet, lovely views. Oh, and the suite is only $3,300 per night...
Delilah with a volcano she constructed
And B with her rock ring

Lovely rocks