Heading into Black Rock City for the Carnival of Mirrors.
Showing posts with label Burning Man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Burning Man. Show all posts
Friday Teardrop Photo
Here is a very messy Sunflower at last year's Burning Man. For Burning Man we have some very specific items that we bring for shade, comfort and fun. These items don't usually come with us on regular camping trips.
Both our day and night clothes are kept in storage tubs and I scored a funky mirror at a garage sale that we hang on our heavy duty shade shelter.
Yes, those are watermelons under the trailer. They stay pretty cool in the Sunflower's shade and we give away watermelon slices as gifts.
Friday Teardrop Photo
Believe it or not, now is the time we have to start purchasing our tickets for Burning Man. We go to the wild event in the desert every year and the Sunflower comes along. This photo is from 2012 when we went with our Stargazers friends. Our camp looks crazy but it was cool and comfortable, and we even had a quesadilla and margarita party for the neighborhood.
Friday Teardrop Photo
The Sunflower in line to get into Burning Man 2014. Timing is everything when you arrive at the event. We tend to go later in the week after most of the crowd has gone in and try to get there early in the morning so we have time to set up camp before having some fun. However, we still find ourselves in line for about an hour.
Burning Man Teardrop Camp Setup
The Sunflower is heading out to Burning Man this week for her 6th year out on the Playa. There will be several teardrop campers out there this year including my friends from Trailer Trash Camp. I wrote a post last year about how to bring your teardrop trailer out to the desert event.
This took a while, but we finally got a video of us setting up our camp for Burning Man 2012. Our teardrop friends, the Stargazers, joined us and we took a timelapse of what it's like to set up camp at Burning Man. Our camp configuration changes every year, but that year it was nice to have two "bedroom" teardrop trailers and a central living room and lounging area.
This took a while, but we finally got a video of us setting up our camp for Burning Man 2012. Our teardrop friends, the Stargazers, joined us and we took a timelapse of what it's like to set up camp at Burning Man. Our camp configuration changes every year, but that year it was nice to have two "bedroom" teardrop trailers and a central living room and lounging area.
Friday Teardrop Photo
A shot of our neighborhood in Black Rock City (3:30 and John Frum) at Burning Man 2013. Can you see the Tiny Yellow Teardrop?
Photo by Harry Thomas
Friday Teardrop Photo
I'm sure my husband is not going to be too thrilled with the photo, but this is the Sunflower and our REI Alcove being used as a crash pad after a margarita party at a neighboring camp during Burning Man 2010. My husband had partaken of too many of the yummy drinks and decided to sleep right on the ground in the desert heat.
At Burning Man we need to keep our cooler up off the ground to preserve the ice as long as possible in the hot desert. The kitty litter boxes are makeshift gray water and trash receptacles since there are no dump stations or trash cans at the event. What you pack in, you have to pack out.
Friday Teardrop Photo
Burning Man has made the announcement for its 2014 theme and ticket sales, so I thought I would put up a photo of the Sunflower and my car all loaded up for the 2013 event. The sky looks really gray and nasty and that was from last summer's Yosemite fire that dumped smoke right into our area. The "Man" symbol on the hatch was made with blue painter's tape.
Friday Teardrop Photo
This weekend we are off to San Francisco for some fun and food. We have a tight schedule, but I'm hoping to make it to the Treasure Island Flea Market where there will be some teardrops on display.
This photo was taken at a teardrop gathering last year on Treasure Island by Stacie Tamaki of the Flirty Blog. Treasure Island just might be one of the most beautiful and unusual places to have a teardrop gathering. The island off the Bay Bridge in San Francisco Bay has a great view of the city and you can camp underneath a 40-foot naked statue of a woman named "Bliss Dance." We first saw "Bliss Dance" at Burning Man 2011, but now she has a permanent place on Treasure Island.
Friday Teardrop Photo
This is on Highway 447 just outside of Black Rock City at Burning Man. When we leave the event (usually around 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning after the Burn) we drive straight home through the dark desert. Not this time. We were so tired, we decided to pull over on the side of the road with a few other dusty Burners to sleep for a few hours until daylight.
We leave the city early every year to avoid what is called Exodus — the mass migration of nearly 60,000 people leaving the event. It can take up to six hours to get out of the city. It takes us about half an hour.
You CAN crash on the side of the road in a teardrop trailer — just keep the bed area free and clean of other items.
Four Tips for Bringing Your Teardrop to Burning Man
The Sunflower recently returned from another trip to Burning Man. This was a great year full of incredible art, amazing camps and some fun neighbors who all fell in love with my teardrop trailer. Camping in Black Rock City is not like regular camping. If you have been considering going to Burning Man, there are a few things to keep in mind when bringing your trailer to one of the most inhospitable climates on Earth.
1. In Dust We Trust
The Playa of the Black Rock Desert in Northern Nevada is a former lake bed that is flat and dusty. There's no sand like in most deserts, but the surface is a fine talcum powder consistency that normally stays fairly packed down. However during an event of this magnitude (60,000+ people this year), the dust gets kicked up and gets everywhere.
It's impossible to keep your trailer dust-free. However, you can minimize the dust getting in by parking your teardrop under a shade shelter with walls and keeping all the doors closed. The galley will get dust in it, but when you leave camp, be sure to close it up. Random dust storms and dust devils will blow through the city.
2. Safety and Neighborhood Watch
I received a question a few weeks ago from a reader who was concerned with potential vandalism of his teardrop during the event. I've been taking all my teardrops to Burning Man since 2007 and have never had anyone vandalize my trailer or steal anything from my camp. Burners are the best people in the world who understand the work and commitment it takes to make it to this event. We never lock our car or the teardrop and leave our keys just sitting on our bed shelf. We leave our stove, food, drinks, chairs and clothes out in our shade shelter as well.
A good thing to do when you arrive at your camp (unless you are in a theme camp, the spots are unassigned) is to make friends with your neighbors. This is a polite and very Burner-like thing to do. Ask if a space is being saved or is taken and as you are setting up camp, there will most likely be people coming around to ask if you need help or to offer you juice, fresh fruit or tips on special events. Neighbors will then watch after each other and their camps.
3. Sun and Wind
Burning Man is hot and windy. Not all the time, but every event I've been to has been in the 90s during the day and the wind always picks up in the afternoon. Some of the winds are strong enough to bring in some large dust storms that block out the sun. These don't last for too long, but it's a good idea to be prepared for them with good goggles and a dust mask.
Keep your teardrop and yourself protected from the heat by creating a shade structure with walls that block the sun and the wind which mainly comes from the South/Southwest. Some shade along the East part of your camp is nice too in case you want to sleep in.
4. Cleaning Up
The dust from the Black Rock Desert is very alkaline and tends to stain anything with black plastic or rubber. The best way to get your teardrop clean after Burning Man is to let it sit outside for a while so the dust falls off or flies away in the breeze. Then take a hose to the outside of the trailer to get off the worst of it. To get your trailer even more clean, use a mixture of dish soap and vinegar to cut the alkalinity of the dust. Use the vinegar to clean the inside of your trailer as well. Most likely you will have to remove everything from your trailer to give it a thorough cleaning.
1. In Dust We Trust
The Playa of the Black Rock Desert in Northern Nevada is a former lake bed that is flat and dusty. There's no sand like in most deserts, but the surface is a fine talcum powder consistency that normally stays fairly packed down. However during an event of this magnitude (60,000+ people this year), the dust gets kicked up and gets everywhere.
It's impossible to keep your trailer dust-free. However, you can minimize the dust getting in by parking your teardrop under a shade shelter with walls and keeping all the doors closed. The galley will get dust in it, but when you leave camp, be sure to close it up. Random dust storms and dust devils will blow through the city.
2. Safety and Neighborhood Watch
I received a question a few weeks ago from a reader who was concerned with potential vandalism of his teardrop during the event. I've been taking all my teardrops to Burning Man since 2007 and have never had anyone vandalize my trailer or steal anything from my camp. Burners are the best people in the world who understand the work and commitment it takes to make it to this event. We never lock our car or the teardrop and leave our keys just sitting on our bed shelf. We leave our stove, food, drinks, chairs and clothes out in our shade shelter as well.
A good thing to do when you arrive at your camp (unless you are in a theme camp, the spots are unassigned) is to make friends with your neighbors. This is a polite and very Burner-like thing to do. Ask if a space is being saved or is taken and as you are setting up camp, there will most likely be people coming around to ask if you need help or to offer you juice, fresh fruit or tips on special events. Neighbors will then watch after each other and their camps.
3. Sun and Wind
Burning Man is hot and windy. Not all the time, but every event I've been to has been in the 90s during the day and the wind always picks up in the afternoon. Some of the winds are strong enough to bring in some large dust storms that block out the sun. These don't last for too long, but it's a good idea to be prepared for them with good goggles and a dust mask.
Keep your teardrop and yourself protected from the heat by creating a shade structure with walls that block the sun and the wind which mainly comes from the South/Southwest. Some shade along the East part of your camp is nice too in case you want to sleep in.
4. Cleaning Up
The dust from the Black Rock Desert is very alkaline and tends to stain anything with black plastic or rubber. The best way to get your teardrop clean after Burning Man is to let it sit outside for a while so the dust falls off or flies away in the breeze. Then take a hose to the outside of the trailer to get off the worst of it. To get your trailer even more clean, use a mixture of dish soap and vinegar to cut the alkalinity of the dust. Use the vinegar to clean the inside of your trailer as well. Most likely you will have to remove everything from your trailer to give it a thorough cleaning.
The Sunflower Goes to Burning Man
The Sunflower has been going to Burning Man since 2009.
I bought my original teardrop trailer in 2007, a Little Guy Rascal, so my 75-year-old mother would have something to sleep in while accompanying me to the raucous, desert gathering. Yep, I took my mom to Burning Man and she loved it. However, I knew she couldn't sleep in a tent on the ground, so I started looking around for a tiny trailer that my Dodge Neon could tow. That brought me into the world of teardrop trailers.
After two years of camping in the Rascal, I knew I wanted something larger and with a full galley in the back. The Rascal was cute and light, but had no kitchen and only a full-size bed. So, about four months after purchasing the Sunflower, she took her first trip out to the Black Rock Desert of Northern Nevada.
My teardrop does really well out at Burning Man. She's been through several major dust storms with only a minimum amount of leakage into the bed area, and we've slept like babies when the desert night drops into the teens. The double doors also allow for some nice air flow during the day, so we can take a much needed nap after being out since 4 a.m.
Even at Burning Man, known for its crazy art, home made shelters and amazing RVs, the little, yellow teardrop still catches a lot of attention. I've had fellow Burners from all over the world come up to the trailer with squeals of delight.
Note: The other teardrop in the photo belongs to our neighbors. Stayed tuned for the story of their little trailer.
Photos by Christina Nellemann and Harry Thomas
I bought my original teardrop trailer in 2007, a Little Guy Rascal, so my 75-year-old mother would have something to sleep in while accompanying me to the raucous, desert gathering. Yep, I took my mom to Burning Man and she loved it. However, I knew she couldn't sleep in a tent on the ground, so I started looking around for a tiny trailer that my Dodge Neon could tow. That brought me into the world of teardrop trailers.
After two years of camping in the Rascal, I knew I wanted something larger and with a full galley in the back. The Rascal was cute and light, but had no kitchen and only a full-size bed. So, about four months after purchasing the Sunflower, she took her first trip out to the Black Rock Desert of Northern Nevada.
My teardrop does really well out at Burning Man. She's been through several major dust storms with only a minimum amount of leakage into the bed area, and we've slept like babies when the desert night drops into the teens. The double doors also allow for some nice air flow during the day, so we can take a much needed nap after being out since 4 a.m.
Even at Burning Man, known for its crazy art, home made shelters and amazing RVs, the little, yellow teardrop still catches a lot of attention. I've had fellow Burners from all over the world come up to the trailer with squeals of delight.
Note: The other teardrop in the photo belongs to our neighbors. Stayed tuned for the story of their little trailer.
Photos by Christina Nellemann and Harry Thomas
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