Hey there sports fans, MOOP maniacs and line sweepers extraordinaire! The Hun here, reporting from Gerlach where the Playa Restoration season is coming to a nail-biting finish. The BLM is in town, and we’ve scheduled our site inspection for tomorrow morning. Will the weather hold? Will the playa be passable? Will Burning Man happen next year? It all comes down to tomorrow!
Today, I’ve got the last scores from the 2011 MOOP Map. In Day Nine, your DPW Playa Restoration team swept through Center Camp, then began systematically cleaning some of Black Rock City’s busiest and MOOPiest spots. We covered the inner playa and the art sites, work camps and roads, and kept working until this Tuesday when the weather closed in, and we had to leave the desert behind.
Today’s score is a mixed bag, and the results may surprise you:
NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE FINAL MOOP MAP FOR 2011. We still have a few hot spots to map, and we’ll be double-checking all the data before we release a full, complete and high-resolution map for you to review. At that time, we’ll tell you how to get in touch with us if you have questions. That’ll all be in a few weeks, so keep your shirts on ’til then!
You MOOP Map experts will notice immediately that Center Camp scored extremely well this year. It’s over 90% green: greener than ever before! However, you’ll also see a new black spot where the Temple of Transition once stood. That’s unfortunate, especially considering that both sites had equally high levels of traffic. Yet Center Camp gets greener and greener, while the Temple is traditionally one of the MOOPiest areas.
What’s the difference? It all comes down to the LNT plan. Representatives from the Temple crew came out to help Restoration workers clean their site, but ultimately they just didn’t have the resources and people to manage all the MOOP themselves.
Makes you think, MOOP lovers: How much did the Temple mean to you this year? How about your favorite sound camp? Will YOU chip in and help your favorite installations clean up next year?
All in all, the city scored very well this year — nearly as well as 2010, which was a record-breaker. 2011 saw an increase in Yellow zones, which is a bit of a disappointment considering the hard-packed playa surface this year. If your camp was marked Yellow or Red, work on your LNT plan for next year! There’s always room to improve, and every hour you spend MOOPing is one less man hour for the hardworking Restoration team.
The Golden T-Stake
On Tuesday, with a dust storm at our backs and dark clouds on the horizon, the Restoration crew gathered around Black Rock City’s last remaining T-stake. Coyote kicked off the ceremony with a few remarks about DPW’s history and honor, and then D.A. thanked the crew for kicking ass from August 1 to the bitter end.
D.A. handed a stake puller to Weldboy, Line Boss #1 (and #1 Cool Dude), who attempted to read the Restoration crew the Ten Principles…
…until he was attacked by dogs.
So he pulled the stake, and made a little speech instead.
Then we all passed the stake from person to person, and we each said our piece, and all of us thought about how close we’ve become and how our lives have been changed by the incredible people around us.
Such as. Cobra Commander, DPW’s fearless leader…
The kitchen staff, who kept us fat and sassy with hundreds of pounds of bacon…
Fluffer Nipps, who delivered water and snacks to the work crews with a heapin’ helpin’ of attitude and the occasional nip slip…
Mr. Blue, who organized our recycling effort. We all helped by throwing cans at him…
And then it was all over, and there was nothing left to clean up but our own crazy lives. Another season complete, another Restoration won, and we all sally forth in victory.
Before we can proclaim this year a clean win, Playa Restoration still needs to pass the championship round with the Bureau of Land Management refereeing. Show your home team some love, and tune in tomorrow to hear the results of our site inspection! ‘Til then, this is The Hun signing off.
I look at that yellow ring around Center Camp and wonder what we could do more to lighten the load for next year – we loved it there and would come back to do our thing if there is a Black Rock City and Placement shows the love. I’m curious if there is a story about that Center Yellow ring and if there is, we can get an update. Otherwise I will be hunting down D.A. and others to get the scoop.
It’s been great following along from afar with the updates. Made me feel like I was there sometimes. Hat’s off to the Hun for keeping us informed, amazed and amused. And for sharing the knowledge. Thanks to Playa Resto Team for cleaning up after us.
All the best on inspection and transition to the default world!
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Yay, green where I lived!!!
Hey this burn blog has been sooo good. From early August til now, Thanks, please do it again next year!!
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durgy.. my guess about the yellow line around the inner circle of center camp is TRENCHES.
there was some big ones this year right along that spot in my camp…
when i saw the yellow ring i figured it was this.
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lemur . . . that makes a lot of sense that it might be the power line trench. I hope it’s that.
After re-reading some posts, watching and listening to the interviews, thanking the crew for restoring the playa would have been a better choice for my words above which mentioned ‘cleaning up’. It’s a matter of focus and perspective. And this string of posts has certainly provided a fresh perspective and I hope focuses people to not let sh*t hit the ground and otherwise LNT as they go. The one that I heard loudly that was not already drilled into my head was put down some playa protection for wood piles at burn barrels or if you are cutting wood for construction.
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Thanks everyone for the hard work!!!!
Much love to the whole crew <3
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I’m glad to see my camp was left green but am disappointed that my neighbors ( 9 o’clock Medic Station) was left yellow :(
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All the LNT efforts, and the hard work of the playa restoration team are very inspirational, but I have a question: When you fill in a hole, where does the dirt come from? Another hole somewhere else? If we dig out (and carry home) a couple of gallons of dirt where someone’s truck leaked oil, where can we get clean dirt to fill it? We don’t want to make things worse.
Gaia Bless the Playa, and all who dwell there!
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It seems a little too convenient that the restoration logo is over the other biggest build site, the Man, which is probably just as MOOPy at the Temple site, just say’n
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Thanks for all your hard work and playa love! Playa restoration & DA rocks! Long live LNT! We all thank you for keeping our event going with all your work! Most excellent blog and videos.
lorax clear
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We were camped next to Fern Camp and they are all YELLOW! :-(
We aren’t part of their camp and I can’t tell if this was us or just them or both. I felt like we did a great job on our site but obviously we need to do better and help Fern Camp to do better!
Is there a report that tells us what we did wrong? That way we can work on a plan to do better next year!
Thanks for all your hard work!!!
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after seeing the map im not happy with my self the camp i was with did a good gob cleaning our spot at 9:35 and c but we could have done better and next year i will and my camp will to love you and miss you all see you soon
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It’s always wonderful when a successful event is ended like this. Everyone was satisfied and happy with the outcome.
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A beautiful thing to see! Congrats from far away.
Cheers
Igneouss
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Thanks for posting the Moop Map. I’ve been watching for it. It’s a great confirmation of our efforts to see the scores of our campsites… and to appreciate the scope of the work the restoration crew was left with. Thanks for all your hard work!
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