Blazing man festival

[Simpon]

Hi all, I am planning with my family a trip hopefully to include Vegas,Grand Canyon,California Pacific Coast Highway and maybe if we get the time Monument Valley. My initial enquireies seem to indicate that there is a big festival way up in Nevada called the blazing man which I have been told sucks up all the RV rentals in the wider area. We are not quite in a position to book yet but the only available dates we can go are whilst this festival is taking place.Am I just being pressured into booking by scare selling or is this a valid piece of advice? any info would be much apprecited.Thanks in anticipation

BTW this site is a great resource for planning our trip!

ian liz mollie and tom

[glc]

Welcome!

This does appear to be valid. Book as soon as you can.

[Foy]

Hello Simpon,

The bacchanalian gathering "Burning Man" is held on a dry lake bed north of Reno, NV in late August/early September annually. It normally culminates on the Saturday night of the Labor Day weekend so runs from the beginning of the prior week through Labor Day. In 2012 that would coincide with something like 27 August through 3 September. It often draws 35,000-50,000 revelers.

Ever appreciative of a good spectacle, and having a growing interest in desert exploration, I've done a bit of reading on Burning Man. It is said that many RV rental outfits refuse to rent their equipment to Burning Man attendees due to the pervasive effects of the alkaline dust which inevitably coats ever inside and outside surface of the vehicle. Still, I would assume West Coast rental outfits, particularly the San Francisco Bay area and the LA area, would see heavy use during the Burning Man time frame.

Foy

[Simpon]

Thanks for your quick replies, much appreciated.

I have been doing some reading up on it ( it will take me from now until August just to go through their website!) and it looks to be quite a spectacle- there is also a great birds eye view of it on google earth. Not sure if it is entirely the right thing to take the kids to!

We shall get on to sorting out our rental as soon as we can in the light of this, we think we are flying to Vegas so it may be just as affected by this as in SF and LA. Dont want to miss out, you only turn 50 once!

[Mark Sedenquist]

Not sure if it is entirely the right thing to take the kids to!

There's a good deal of nudity and crazy behavior. Spectators are not really encouraged, all attendees are expected to participate in artistic expressions. I have friends who love going -- some take their kids -- but you'd have to decide how much "out there" behavior you want to introduce your kids to.

By the way, the Black Rock Desert, which is the playa where Burning Man is held, is one of my favorite places on earth -- several land-speed records have been set there. Really a fun place to drive!

On the edge of the play is Guru Drive -- check out the photos!

Mark

[Simpon]

Thanks mark

We did take the kids to the glastonbury festival in england a couple of years back (which has its moments and opened our childrens eyes to a world they did not know existed) but Burning man looks like something else altogether!Quite fancy going now to be honest.


we are going to be a little limited on time so prioritisation may preclude is getting to everything we want to get to but thanks for the suggestion about Guru Drive, its just the kind of left field , out there place we would love to see. I guess the 'dooby' in his name is a clue .we will see if we can include it on our trip.any other suggestions more than welcome

ian

[Foy]

Hello Ian,

The reading I've done on BM tells me there are "G" rated sections of Black Rock City (BRC) where less risque behaviors may be expected. My sister, long a resident of Santa Cruz, CA, took her son to BM as a single mother when he was around 7 years of age. That was almost 20 years ago, however, and much has developed with BM since then.

The homework required of those contemplating attending BM involves bringing every single item you might need for however long you plan to stay, as virtually nothing in the way of supplies is available at BM, owing to its wholly non-commercial environment requirements. The drinking water transport requirements for a family are a major effort considering the volume needed in a desert environment. You must also plan to take out 100% of your garbage and sewage, but recognize that RV sewage tank pump-out services ARE available, but at a considerable price.

The official BM website forums are good sources of planning tips, plus they're hilarious to read. Sometimes I think the entire nut-case population of the Western States empties out onto the play annually, at Labor Day.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is just getting to and away from BRC during the entrance and exodus time frames. It appears the arrivals are scattered somewhat and rather easy after the initial surge when the gates open, but the departure (exodus) is legendary in terms of the time-frames involved. Apparently the endless train of sleep-deprived and/or hung-over drivers leads to a plethora of accidents and breakdowns enroute back to I-80, as well.

Best of luck and enjoy the planning and participation!

Foy

[Mark Sedenquist]

The Black Rock Playa Tri-Geysers are worth seeing -- but it can be tricky to get there. Take a look at these photos!

And like Foy says, this is quite an adventure to embark on -- there are very limited resources out there. And some years the dust is very challenging to deal with. I've never been inclined to visit it myself -- but some folks really do enjoy it.

hopefully to include Vegas,Grand Canyon,California Pacific Coast Highway and maybe if we get the time Monument Valley.

What is the time frame for this adventure? How long will you have in the USA? There is another resource that you might find helpful. Tracks and Trails is a RV-outfitter that does a really good job planning family road trips. And you might also find some of the tips in this article useful.

Mark

[CalOldBlue]

Burning Man is having some issues, partly due to its success.

The have hit their permit limit, and have had to go to a lottery system. The way that panned out has caused bad feelings, as the scalpers took many of the early allotment.

AP Story on SFGate

[Simpon]

Thank you all for your advice.Looks like we probably will not be able to get tickets for BM by the sound of it so probaby will work around our original idea assuming we can get an RV. if not I guess we're staying in Vegas and renting a car for day trips!