Lovely Burners

They’re here…


And just like that,

it happened.

It was overnight, literally.

Friday night was just another silent night in the desert, the wind rocking me to sleep… but by Saturday night the hills were echoing with the sounds of techno music and screaming people.

The burners have arrived in force to claim their city. They’re beautiful and terrible.




Other DPWers had warned me about it before, and now I think I understand: after living out here for a month, working all the time to build this city, you start to have a sense of ownership. You really do own the place, for a while. Everyone knows each other; everyone contributes; everyone hangs out together and explores the skeleton of Black Rock City; but the horizons are still clear and the dust minimal.

And then suddenly, you are besieged by headlights, cars bearing excited people playing loud music. Before long, a man with a shirt and no pants walks by, and the next thing you know you’re wandering through a crowd of total strangers.

But they’re the best kind of strangers, really. At least, I like them pretty well. In fact, I like them enough that I just volunteered to build a city for us all to play in.

Welcome to the playa, Burning Man 2005…

photo by marc norland

PS! If you have any clear epoxy, bring it out to the installation at 6:15 and 600 feet (approx.) They need help.

About the author: The Hun

The Hun

The Hun, also known as J.H. Fearless, has been blogging for Burning Man (and many other outlets) since 2005, which is also the year she joined the BRC DPW on a whim that turned out to be a ten-year commitment. Since then she's won some awards for blogging, built her own creative business, and produced some of the Burning Blog's most popular stories and series. She co-created a grant-funded art piece, "Refoliation," in 2007, and stood next to it watching the Man burn on Monday night during a full lunar eclipse. She considers that, in many ways, to have been the symbolic end of Burning Man that was. The Hun lives in Reno with DPW Shade King, Quiet Earp. You may address her as "The Hun" or "Hun". If you call her "Honey" she reserves the right to cut you.