Burning Man is at the top of the list of Labor Day activities, but we chose quieter, less peopley adventures. We just didn't realize how un-peopley it would be.
Trish and I went to Burning Man in 2015 when I was a board member of the Nevada Arts Council (a perk). We didn’t last 24 hours, not our cup of tea. We both thought the art was mostly very cool, but the event sucked! (So fun being around ageist children on drugs). Labor Day excursions like yours is what makes us happy. What they have done to the Playa is unspeakable, we used to camp out there before Burning Man, now I never want to see it again as it would make us too sad.
Jeff and I have never been to Burning Man or knew anyone who did until we met our son-in-law. To know him today, you'd never imagine he was the bearded, long-haired, "Jesus" hippie of seventeen who went out with his parents to the event. It cracks me up to think about it. But I think the people that go now are a totally different breed from the earlier participants. "It's all about us and being seen there," etc. The people at Middlegate that day, I'm positive, were Burners, but my oh my, they were clean and well-dressed, and somewhat out-of-place in the Outback... and pissy! ("I can't believe they ran out of electricity and water.") And while Jeff and I are definitely suburbanites who can barely put up a tent, we feel more at home out there than in a crowded festival. I'd love to get to the level of comfort out there than you and Trish maintained. Bravo!
"The desert was so verdant this year, but it held its little mysteries." Love this, Sue, and especially that beautiful line -- thank you for this journey into the desert 🤍
Thank you, Candace. It was indeed a beautiful day. Perusing Facebook last night, I saw posts from people who did much the same thing. I'm surprised we didn't bump into one another, but then, Nevada is a big desert.
My mother, who grew up homeless, wandering in eastern Colorado, loved the desert passionately. She spent years in Las Vegas, where I never visited her, expecting her to drive to Portland to see me. I didn’t understand, and now that she’s gone, it’s too late. Your descriptions brought her back. Thank you.
I can understand her love of the desert, but why Las Vegas? YAK! Perhaps there were services as well as many others in her situation that gave support in many ways. I'm sorry you lost her. Oh to see what life was like for our mothers as we finally learn to do when older. I'm glad you saw her again in the essay. Peace.
Good Read, Sue. I love the high desert. Our daughter and her family live out South of Albuquerque so when my wife and I visit, we like to take short hikes on the nearby trails. Just beautiful and so "wide open". Althought, last time we were caught out in the open in a very sudden and dangerous thunderstorm which also produced hail. That was a little scary, but made for a couple of Stubstack stories, of course. LOL.
Thank you, Cork. Glad you liked it. I wrote it in a hurry after we returned home, and it's kind of a non-eventful piece. But I figure we writers in the Purple Sage need to expose urban folk to the wilds now and then. It was a beautiful two days I wanted to share. Your hailstorm adventure does sound harrowing. Desert storms are crazy sometimes. The weather we ran into yesterday was all over the map, literally and figuratively. There was even hail on the ground as we drove through Fallon. Looked like it had been snowing. Gee, it wasn't that cold, was it? heehee
What an adventure.... for ME! I felt like I was right out there riding along in your jeep. Loved the photos of the wild flowers. Thanks for the link, Sue.
Thank you, Sharron, glad you had fun with us ... and no arachnids. Nevada is just one of those places where you can point your car down any dirt road and go to wild places. Sometimes too wild. But it's always unique.
alt. is an ancient computer chat room term that would precede the name of the chat thread: alt.work problems; alt.cookie recipes; alt.subversivetonicwateruses; alt.whatever! By ancient, I mean 1970-80s pre-Apple IIe computers entered the domestic market. Jeff bought one with money he got from a wedding gift from my Dad. He learned to program on that thing and started his career, so it wasn't a waste of money.
Thanks for the explanation. It is sort of like #, then? My first computer was an Apple II back in 1982, I think. Such a sweet little machine. Dial up, but still magical in those days.
That was the year they came out (and we got married). Jeff got one and our friends got one and between the two houses, Jeff was always playing whatever game they had then (Pong?). The menfolk would be huddled around their Apple IIs and we women would be cackling in the living room. I'd already used a CRT connection to the printshop at the Deseret News when I worked there, so the bluh was off the rose for me, but Jeff was enthralled. And he's kept us fed and houses because of that little machine. So I'm not jealous about it invading our bedroom.
Trish and I went to Burning Man in 2015 when I was a board member of the Nevada Arts Council (a perk). We didn’t last 24 hours, not our cup of tea. We both thought the art was mostly very cool, but the event sucked! (So fun being around ageist children on drugs). Labor Day excursions like yours is what makes us happy. What they have done to the Playa is unspeakable, we used to camp out there before Burning Man, now I never want to see it again as it would make us too sad.
Jeff and I have never been to Burning Man or knew anyone who did until we met our son-in-law. To know him today, you'd never imagine he was the bearded, long-haired, "Jesus" hippie of seventeen who went out with his parents to the event. It cracks me up to think about it. But I think the people that go now are a totally different breed from the earlier participants. "It's all about us and being seen there," etc. The people at Middlegate that day, I'm positive, were Burners, but my oh my, they were clean and well-dressed, and somewhat out-of-place in the Outback... and pissy! ("I can't believe they ran out of electricity and water.") And while Jeff and I are definitely suburbanites who can barely put up a tent, we feel more at home out there than in a crowded festival. I'd love to get to the level of comfort out there than you and Trish maintained. Bravo!
"The desert was so verdant this year, but it held its little mysteries." Love this, Sue, and especially that beautiful line -- thank you for this journey into the desert 🤍
Thank you, Candace. It was indeed a beautiful day. Perusing Facebook last night, I saw posts from people who did much the same thing. I'm surprised we didn't bump into one another, but then, Nevada is a big desert.
My mother, who grew up homeless, wandering in eastern Colorado, loved the desert passionately. She spent years in Las Vegas, where I never visited her, expecting her to drive to Portland to see me. I didn’t understand, and now that she’s gone, it’s too late. Your descriptions brought her back. Thank you.
I can understand her love of the desert, but why Las Vegas? YAK! Perhaps there were services as well as many others in her situation that gave support in many ways. I'm sorry you lost her. Oh to see what life was like for our mothers as we finally learn to do when older. I'm glad you saw her again in the essay. Peace.
Wonderful description of a landscape that is so foreign from my VT Green Mountains! Thanks for the post!
You're welcome, Jordan. We live in an amazing country filled with all kinds of landscapes and people of many different cultures.
Good Read, Sue. I love the high desert. Our daughter and her family live out South of Albuquerque so when my wife and I visit, we like to take short hikes on the nearby trails. Just beautiful and so "wide open". Althought, last time we were caught out in the open in a very sudden and dangerous thunderstorm which also produced hail. That was a little scary, but made for a couple of Stubstack stories, of course. LOL.
Thank you, Cork. Glad you liked it. I wrote it in a hurry after we returned home, and it's kind of a non-eventful piece. But I figure we writers in the Purple Sage need to expose urban folk to the wilds now and then. It was a beautiful two days I wanted to share. Your hailstorm adventure does sound harrowing. Desert storms are crazy sometimes. The weather we ran into yesterday was all over the map, literally and figuratively. There was even hail on the ground as we drove through Fallon. Looked like it had been snowing. Gee, it wasn't that cold, was it? heehee
Ah, Fallon! Played softball at the Naval Air Station there several times when I was stationed in the Bay Area back in the day.
What an adventure.... for ME! I felt like I was right out there riding along in your jeep. Loved the photos of the wild flowers. Thanks for the link, Sue.
Thank you, Sharron, glad you had fun with us ... and no arachnids. Nevada is just one of those places where you can point your car down any dirt road and go to wild places. Sometimes too wild. But it's always unique.
What does "Alt." refer to when speaking of Burning Man? I'd not encountered that before.
alt. is an ancient computer chat room term that would precede the name of the chat thread: alt.work problems; alt.cookie recipes; alt.subversivetonicwateruses; alt.whatever! By ancient, I mean 1970-80s pre-Apple IIe computers entered the domestic market. Jeff bought one with money he got from a wedding gift from my Dad. He learned to program on that thing and started his career, so it wasn't a waste of money.
Thanks for the explanation. It is sort of like #, then? My first computer was an Apple II back in 1982, I think. Such a sweet little machine. Dial up, but still magical in those days.
That was the year they came out (and we got married). Jeff got one and our friends got one and between the two houses, Jeff was always playing whatever game they had then (Pong?). The menfolk would be huddled around their Apple IIs and we women would be cackling in the living room. I'd already used a CRT connection to the printshop at the Deseret News when I worked there, so the bluh was off the rose for me, but Jeff was enthralled. And he's kept us fed and houses because of that little machine. So I'm not jealous about it invading our bedroom.