Burning The Temple - Part 1

A Fictional Recollection In Four Parts

The dry lake bed glowed and swirled under the dust from hundreds of vehicles, countless feet and bicycle tires. Boy Scout had been waiting for about an hour as the long line of cars slowly crept toward the main gate to Burning Man. It was hot and the sun was starting to set. As the light faded, the glow from propane powered Playa art installations started to illuminate the fog bank of dust. Scout starred off into the distance at the surreal nature of it all. He had never been to Burning Man before, and despite his research into the festival, nothing could really prepare him for the size and the magnitude of the legion that he now found himself a part of.

The tap from the horn of the converted school bus behind him, prompted Scout to move forward in line. He still didn’t know what to expect once he got in, but in a way, that is what he wanted. He sensed a need to find the unknown and the unexpected. His life up to this point had been a series of disappointments. Bad jobs, failed relationships and a growing frustration about where his life was headed had led him here. He needed a vacation far away, not only in distance, but in mindset. He needed a new perspective.

Miss Bliss slumped on the dust covered sofa that had been set up around the propane fire pit at her camp. She had been working since the first day of the burn to erect some of her camp's art on the Playa. She had done all this before and she always came back. Neither the heat, or the dust, or hard labor could keep her away from the community that she loved so dearly. She popped the top on a beer and leaned back to look at the 40 foot high steel sculpture of the nude woman that adorned the front of ‘The Steel Forge’ camp.

She hadn't helped in the forging of the statue, but she was one of many that had a hand in its creation. Her day job was in the warehouse, moving large strips of steel and iron with an overhead crane and doing inventory. She was not an artisan like some of the welders, but she was learning. The metal figure loomed over their camp and was stunning in its beauty.

As she sipped the beer and allowed herself to relax, her mind wandered back to ‘Nob’. Nob couldn’t make it to Burning Man this year. Nob was dead, killed in a car accident 3 months earlier. He had been her lover at three previous burns, or so she had thought. He had been witty, good looking, hard working and full of energy. She also learned after his death, that he had a 5 year old son and a girlfriend in Sausalito. She wondered how many other secrets the world had hidden from her. As the wind started to rise and the dust started to swirl, she took one more gulp of beer and then covered her nose and mouth with her bandanna. Hard work kept her mind focused, so she returned to the semi-trailer to continue unloading the camp stores and setting up the kitchen.

It all seemed like total chaos, but there was electricity in the air. Scout continued to unload his SUV in a camp site on one of the outer rings of Black Rock City. Activity swirled all around him as old friends in neighboring camps greeted one another. New vehicles inched down the avenues that encircled the Playa to set up their camps. He struggled to erect the small geodesic dome that he had created in his garage back home. The on-line guides had warned him about flimsy tents and sand storms, so he hoped this solution would work. A dome had long been his dream of alternate housing to break the norm of the ticki-tack dwellings he had come to despise. As he worked in the growing darkness, the sounds from the center of the Playa grew louder and he could sense the fever pitch of the party atmosphere out on the expansive dry lake bed. He yearned to finish his structure and go exploring.

....to be continued

Burning The Temple - Part 1
Burning The Temple - Part 2
Burning The Temple - Part 3
Burning The Temple - Part 4

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Writers Note: The imagery and some of the events represented in this work of fiction were taken from my recent trip to the Burning Man Festival in 2009. To see more of my photographs from the event check out my Flickr Collection. To view my video documenting our trip to Burning Man, check out my You Tube channel. You can also check out the Burning Man Video Guide on my You Tube Channel as well. If you want to learn more, visit the Burning Man Website.