A monk sitting completely still, meditating on an ancient dried up lake bed, his red ropes accentuated by the burning heat of the desert…this was an image that would fuel my longing to experience the Burning Man festival, so years later I took the opportunity to join some friends.
The journey to the Black Rock Desert, like most things in life, was all part of the adventure.
It started with a 14-hour plane trip to Los Angeles, a full day of costume sourcing, a road trip to Nevada and an exhaustive full day of shopping for supplies at Wal-Mart.
Driving through the night we arrived at the festival site early hours of the morning, waited patiently in line and finally passed out for a brief sleep in the car. Awoken by the mid morning light we began to set up our camp. Battling dust storms and a burning sun, the hostile environment had come to welcome us.
Through my sleepy haze I began to glimpse the weirdly wonderful world creating around us. Eager to discover more I asked my friend Pete what was to be found out on the playa (the ancient lake bed). He grinned the smile of a Cheshire cat and told me to take a ride out there. As the heat subsided and the light turned golden I rode out there, completely enchanted. This is a little of what I saw over the next eight days….
