Day/Night Three on the Playa (Wednesday)

Wednesday morning was pretty uneventful. We woke up had some coffee and breakfast and checked the schedule for any events that we were interested in doing. We decided to go the Black Rock City post office and get a postcard and mail them to ourselves. It is the ONLY time that the post mark will actually say: Black Rock City. We also decided that we wanted to get a massage. Thats right, you can even get a massage on the playa for FREE! After days of riding our bikes on less than smooth roads, we were in serious need of some TLC. So we dressed, (if whatever matter of dress that consisted of) and headed out to find Silicone Camp to get a massage.

As we were leaving, I noticed that our neighbors
camp was taking form.
They now had the scaffolding up and the bar was up
and serving!
Time to party on the playa!
and the best part was that the bar was stumbling
distance from our camp! ;)

As we traveled around the city looking for our massage tent
I came across this sign...
it just struck me as funny!

Once we found the massage tent and waited for about an hour, we both were on the massage tables getting massages. Magic had Raj and I for the life of me cant remember my massage therapists name. Just as well because he wasnt even a licensed therapists, just a guy who like to do it as a hobby. I could tell when he started that he didnt really know what he was doing, but he tried hard and it was enjoyable all the same. Hey, really, what can you expect for free? It still helped my aching muscles and enabled me to ride my bike the remainder of the week, so I am NOT complaining.

After about and hour and a half of getting the kinks worked out, we headed to Center Cafe and the post office. Of course, Center Cafe is a normal stop for us and our Chai Tea Latte was what was ordered. Now, you have to keep in mind that everyone who works the Cafe is a volunteer... some know what they are doing and some do not. This morning we got the do nots. When we asked for our Chai Tea Lattes, the gal looked at us like were crazy. She says, "but that is two different drinks"... uh, NO.... its simply a chai tea with steamed milk... she couldnt grasp the idea.... we ended up with chai tea and a splash of milk... oh well, it still tasted great! :)

There is always something going on at the
Center Cafe. This morning they were
giving hula hoop lessons....
I wish I had known about it sooner, it would
have been fun to join in.

We headed to the Post Office, and trust me when
I saw, they give a whole new meaning to
"going postal"! LMAO!
Since no money is exchanged, you had to figure out
what the postal worker that you were in front of
wanted in exchange for doing their "job"!
Some times it was as simple as giving them a hug
or a kiss. Sometimes you had to dance a jig
or tell a funny story. It really is entertaining and
loads of fun. Magic and I sent each other post cards
and made sure that we rubbed them with
playa dust.

Can you imagine this sign in front of your local
post office? LMAO!

Of course, we HAD to go back to the Cafe for another
attempt at a real Chai Tea Latte...
This time we got a real barista! and a real chai tea
latte! LOL

Magic went to the community information
center to register, in case anyone was
looking for her. As I waited, I began talking to
some guys who were in this art car.
One guy was from Australia
He was wheelchair bound and the art
car was built for him by a friend so
he could get around easier.
They were great fun and full of laughter.

Some people have the best imaginations when
it comes to decorating the mutant vehicles.
I thought this seahorse was great!

This was near the Post Office
I am still not sure what it was all
about other than a skeleton at a
work cubicle... LOL

This is one of the most famous and incredible
mutant vehicles on the playa.
This "robot" was made by the guy sitting in the front.
It has 8 legs and he revs the engine to make them
move forward and then uses a brake to slowly
let them hit the ground. Every time the feet hit
the ground you can feel the ground shake.
It takes a lot of time for it to move and well
turning is a whole different situation.

Rear view of the "robot". I have video that
I will load, once I get to that point.
It really is an incredible thing to watch.
The crowd along the sides, love to put cans on
the ground for it to crush!

Back at camp to rest and have some lunch.

As always the colors were flying....

Behind us was a tee pee.
I loved the picture that was painted
on the side. There are quite a few
people who put up tee pees for
their shelters. Most seem to
hold up pretty well to the wind storms.

Hanging out at camp, provides its own form
of entertainment. We get to watch some
interesting vehicle drive by.
Not sure what this one was all about, but it was
entertaining all the same.

Of course, I had to get a pic of the dragon vehicle.

On the playa, every citizen is required to give at least two hours of their time to help keep the playa clean and free of MOOP. MOOP = Matter Out Of Place. In otherwords, if it isnt something that would "naturally" be on the playa, then it is MOOP. It is the duty of all citizens to stop and pick up MOOP as they travel around the playa. Sadly not all citizens live by this rule of the playa.

Our neighbors thought it would be fun to "fish" for good citizens. They had a fishing pole and attached different types of MOOP to the end to see who would pick up the MOOP. I tried to tell them that they were using the wrong "bait". The were using empty water bottles at first, then cans, and even a little bag with a white substance in it... the little bag failed big time.

Later in the week, when we were on the Esplanade, I saw some MOOP, a glow necklace, as I approached it to pick it up, I noticed there was a string attached to it. I was NOT going to be "fished" so I rode my bike tire over the string and then picked up the glow stick. I was rewarded with a beautiful Burning Man patch for being a good citizen and picking up MOOP! YAY Minxie the MOOP picker! LMAO!

Here is the neighbor's attempt at "fishing" for MOOP pickers.
Even though they didnt have any "prizes" to give the MOOP pickers,
we made sure they got a big applause and hugs for being good citizens.

Pedal powered mutant vehicles do not have to
be licensed with DMV.

Sunset on the city

You can see the Man in the distance.

Thanks to the Loadie Camp for helping me up on the
scaffolding to take these pics... I dont do heights!

Our humble little camp viewed from the scaffolding.

Once again, night falls on the playa... and the playa comes to life with lights and sounds. There is really no way to accurately describe the playa at night. It is really something that you MUST see and experience for yourself.

There is always some form of art lit up at night
even on the streets of the city.

Last year we had heard about the Grand Hotel. It is a theme camp that puts together an incredible "hotel" like environment. They have specialty rooms that you can stay in IF you win a night. This year it was called the Ashram Galactica. It was VERY impressive. They had 6 or 8 rooms for guests to win a night in. The rooms were complete with queen size beds, Egyptian cotton sheets, lounging couches, mood lighting and more. I think they even have some sort of room service. It is quite impressive.
The Hotel is complete with Valet bike parking and the bartenders and servers wear the typical service uniforms. Inside the hotel lobby is grand ballroom, complete with large oriental rugs, crystal chandeliers, and enormous flower arrangements. Everything is lit with mood lighting and very well decorated. Unfortunately, my pics didnt turn out so well. But here are some that came out decent any way.

This is the hallway between the lobby and the dance area.
They had beautiful tapestries hanging from the ceiling and walls.

Magic and I loved the Ashram Galactica.

The front of the Hotel even had a
stone statue with water. It was very impressive.
Who would have thought that all of this could be done
in the desert?

A beautiful mutant vehicle that was valet parked
in front of the Hotel.

After having a drink at the hotel, we headed for Spike's Bar. The famous Vampire bar. Next to the bar is a fire stage and we were lucky enough to see the end of a performance there. Sadly, this was the last year for Spike's, they burned the bar to the ground on Saturday night....

This fire dancer was using a jump rope!
It was pretty cool!

Magic & Minxie taking in the sights and sounds
of Spike's Vampire Bar.
They were serving warm red wine. ICK.

The front of Spike's Vampire Bar

Spike's was hot and crowded.... so we headed out onto the Esplanade and the playa. I wanted to see the Temple at night..... so off we rode.... taking in all the sights and sounds as we traveled.

The lights on the playa....

I cant remember what night it was that we rode
our art car.... maybe it was this night...
time has no real meaning on the playa
and the days seem to run into one another.

The Temple
Basura Sagrada
Very impressive and beautiful day or night.
You can see the pics from the building of the
temple here!

The Temple was made from old and discarded materials.
You can see the materials that were used here.

The wind chimes inside the temple
were breathtakingly beautiful.
Truly, words cannot describe the Temple.
It is simply amazing to see what treasure someone can
make with another man's trash.

After some time and reflection at the Temple... we headed back to the playa, checking out different art installations along the way... and the wonderful lit up art cars. The playa really is like Disneyland's Electrical Light Parade on Acid with all the lights and cars!!!! There is NOTHING like it any where else on the planet!

This was one of my favorite art installations.
This is the Celtic Forest.
The metal structures blast flames on que from a computer
and I believe that they were some manual controls as well.

It was beautiful to watch it light up the night sky.

There was also a stage for the fire dancers to perform.
Again, I will have to load my videos at some point....

Another amazing day and night on the playa had come to and end... I think I got back to camp about 4am.... still amazed the way time has no meaning on the playa......

I hope you have enjoyed day/night three..... there is still much more to come.... please keep checking back.....

Missing the playa life,
Minxie