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Burning Man Part 1: The Trip Out
9/13/2006
Have RV Will Travel
Ready to Go |
Sleeping Stanleys |
Ryan With Barbie |
"The road trip is half the fun." I was advised by a couple of my new travel companions: Mindy, Eric, Ryan, Ryan and Sean. On this point they were exactly right. The trek to and from Burning Man was just about as fascinating as the festival itself. The novelty of riding and driving an RV, the camaraderie and good conversation, and the well-chosen stops along the way made for quite an excursion.
Atop the Misty Mountain - Summit Rest Area
One of my favorite nights of the whole trip was the first one I got to drive the RV. I took the helm just after dinner in Iowa. We'd spent the day transversing that State's scenic flat country side with me marveling at how "big" the sky had become. I'd always assumed the "big sky" description of the west was some cliche exaggeration but, in fact, the sky really does look larger out there. "Just wait till we get to Wyoming" Ryan promised.
It was odd driving a house down the highway, learning it's space on the road, adjusting to its sluggish responsiveness, and acquiring a deep faith in one's mirrors. Ryan appropriately described the effort as: "Driving a giant marshmallow down the road". Indeed.
So I drove, Ryan navigated, and the rest of the gang slept. For over 300 miles Ryan and I shared bits of our lives with each other as we climbed ever higher into the mountains. The air chilled as we ascended and a fog set in. Denser and denser it grew till we were reduced to a 25 m.p.h. crawl at one point. Finally exhausted, we pulled into rest stop at the very summit of our entire journey. For the first time on the trip no one else awoke when we stopped. We pulled down the small bunk sleeper and curled up together against the cold. I took a moment to consider just how fantastic this trip was turning out and how much I was enjoying this bit of platonic intimacy. I pulled him close and we slept like stones.
Dusk Driving |
Summit Rest Area |
RV Misty Morning |
Lincoln Statue |
Giant Skies - Laramie Wyoming
The next leg of our trek swept us past some of the most staggering landscapes I've ever seen. Sweeping vistas of primordial foundations that evoke enormous dinosaur remains or the exaggerated covers of fantasy novels. No one slept for this stretch of the drive. The front passenger seat became coveted spot that was switched out often. We stopped in Laramie for a bit to do some chores and eat. As these pictures show: the place is just plain gorgeous.
Laramie |
Laramie Rail-yard |
Laramie-2 |
Gay Hat |
Walking On the Moon - The Bonneville Salt Flats
I've never experienced anything quite like the Bonneville Salt Flats. We arrived in the middle of the night via a long lonely road that terminated into a sizable culdesac. Stepping outside I was surrounded by the most alien landscape I've ever seen. Nothingness stretched for miles across a crunchy bed of pale rock salt. The stars positively burned overhead and sound traveled for surprising distances. We all ran about like kids at a park. The sheer strangeness of the expanse was exhilarating.
The next morning we arose at dawn and slipped onto the salty playa to catch the sunrise. We spied another set of trailers parked way out on the flats that we'd never noticed during the night and got some great group shots in the morning light.
Bonneville Salt Flats |
Salt Flats Group |
RV Salt Flats |
Salt Playa Wandering |
Salt Flats Mountains |
Salt Flats Group 3 |
Salt Flats Fitz |
Truckin' On
On and on we went. The miles never wearing on anyone spirit as I had expected. Perhaps it was the excitement of it all. Maybe it was the roominess of the RV. Maybe we just had a good crowd. Whatever the cause, no one got crabby. At this point I realized no one had consumed any alcohol on the trip so I opened a bottle of wine (no easy feat to uncork a merlot in a moving RV). Before long we were all dancing in costumes in the RV much to the amusement of other drivers.
Mindy - dynomite |
Pornmeister |
Ryan Driving |
Rainy View |
Western Sunrise |
Mindy Fur |
Red Hat Ryan |
Bird Head Ryan |
Winnemucca - Last Bath Before the Burn
Winnemucca was our last stop before burning man proper. We holed up in a quaint RV park that was part of the Model T Casino. The place offered a tree and park bench to every camper and was cute in a 1950s sort of way. We all took long showers - our last for a week, and stocked up on water and supplies.
Winnemucca |
RV Winnemucca |
Eric Eating |
Western Vista 3 |
9/13/2006 | Permanent Link
