It’s July 31, and I’m still seein’ posts on Facebook about “Lake Lahontan” on the Black Rock playa. I grew weary of the “Better bring your kayak to Burning Man this year!” comments back in April.
Here are the facts.
The playa is dry. Lake Lahontan has evaporated to the heavens. The final conclusions drawn from dozens of soil samples taken and months of scientific data collected is that ultimately, conditions of the playa surface and integrity are no different than any year in the past, regardless of the close-to-record-breaking rain and snowfall of this last winter. The water is gone, and the fairy shrimp have left the building.
Pack your bags. Black Rock City 2017 awaits!
Granted, it was a nail-biter for a while. But, personally, I think this is a healthy thing. I can almost hear a “gotcha!” blowing on the breezes as the playa smugly smiles.
A much-anticipated meeting happened on July 21. The experts and deciders at the Bureau of Land Management, guardians of the beloved Black Rock Desert, assembled with the experts and deciders for Black Rock City. One thing we all shared was the desire to see the Burning Man event transpire as normal — normal for us, anyway. And it shall. Our event has always had a rugged front, and we’ve slogged through the dust and mud before. When Black Rock City gets a white-out dust storm, people fly kites.
So grab your blinky lights and goggles, your box wine, beer and bacon, and spin the steering wheel toward the high Nevada desert. And always remember what the Grinch said when he gave back Christmas —
“It came! It came just the same!”
Top photo by Audrey Whaling
by gum, I wanted to come pan for gold…heard there was a rush!!
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Don’t know about gold, but I bet you anything there’s still silver in them hills. Bring your pickaxe, I’ll meet you at Old Razorback.
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That’s great! We can take this to mean the water table level has been tested, and if we have a couple days of downpour the playa will absorb it (as usual) and 70k people won’t be stranded for an addition week or weeks.
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The old “brownie top” is back!
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Was hoping we didn’t have to bring our own water this year. #HopesShattered
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Does anyone else read this and hear Coyote’s voice? I read it with every pause and emphasis I’m sure he would make. Love his entries into the journal.
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I suppose there might even be a little less dust because of it. Thanks for the eloquent update!
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Coyote you filthy reptilian salt in the wound cunt.
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yeah box wine! – in order to think out of the box – sometimes you just gotta get rid of the box – it’s so simple…hang that bladder from your nearest hangy thing – instant space saver – make sure you get every last drop of that delicious nectar of life though
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cant wait!!!
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Too bad the dirtbags couldnt go to like Iraq and play in the desert and befowl them instead of the Reno area
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Haha! That’s a good one! When we artists and lovers and musicians and dancers have finished our week-long fun, we leave the beautiful desert in a manner that not even a no-fun, nitpicky, judgemental troll (guess who I’m talking about) will ever notice a trace of our former presence. We take that seriously because we love that land, and we’d love you too… if you weren’t such a dick.
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DARNED! I wuz lookin’ forward to a swim on the Playa. Guess I’ll have to put my pants baak on … See ‘ya there.
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