Burner Baby

Anjali went to Burning Man!

Burning Man is a week-long festival of "radical self-expression and self-reliance" in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. There were about 50,000 people there this year from all over the world, from tiny babies to great-grandparents. Art of all kinds including huge statues and paintings, rolling "art cars" that create a moving party, lots and lots of music ~ from barbershop quartets to dj's spinning and mixing records and electronic sound. Circus performances, yoga classes (any kind of class you can think of), coffee shops, bars serving homemade beers and sodas, pancake houses, and even a camp who served fried bologna sandwiches! All of this voluntary ~ given and received for free (after paying to enter) and much of it extremely ingenious and creative. Oh ~ and after entering and getting camp set up, everyone must either walk or bicycle ~ no motor vehicles. Most people costumed to some extent. And it is extremely hot in the daytime. Oftentimes very windy and very dusty. To beat the midday heat many people sleep, and then stay up into the night enjoying the nighttime spectacles and wonder of things lit up beyond a Christmas tree's wildest dreams, fire arts, and dance music that makes the whole desert thump.

Papi, Anjali, Brian, and I camped in a large organized "village" called Kidsville, which had 100 families ~ about 600 people. The rest of our friends ~ Josh, Tiffany, Stella, Austin, and others from Kentucky ~ camped down the road at Kentucky Fried Camp ~ that camp I spoke of that served fried baloney sandwiches, and shots of bourbon, to over a thousand people over the course of a few days. Papi was integral in the set-up of KFC, working every day for the month leading up to the event, and then building and taking down that week.

Our camp in Kidsville, almost all set up. Uncle Brian in the corner.

Anjali's week was spent playing in the shade with friends. She played with Stella at her camp while she was there, and then most of the time at Center Camp, which is a relaxing tent in the middle of town where there are two stages for music performance, and a cafe' with coffee drinks. Hundreds of people sit on couches and pillows, sip drinks, and listen to music, look at art, make art, receive massage, do yoga. . It is a very soothing environment. Anjali really enjoyed all the friendly people and children there. We spent hours on the floor as she crawled around, inspected artwork, danced to music, and mingled with people.

One toddler, named Bella, and her mom walked up to us and Anjali crawled over to Bella immediately. She pulled herself up so that she was standing face-to-face with Bella, who was almost a head taller. Then she grinned a huge grin.

Playing with Stella in the Short-Sauls van.

With Stella and Uncle Josh at Kentucky Fried Camp.

Making a friend at Center Camp.

The heat and intense sun are a lot for any person to deal with, so I was especially focused on making sure Anjali was well hydrated and in the shade. Her body adjusted in a couple of days, and she learned to love ice! In the hottest part of the day, she would play with cupful after cupful of ice ~ sucking on it, letting it melt on her, and playing in the melted water in the cup. Chilled fruit was another hit. To combat the unavoidable alkaline dust we had a ritual bathing and lathering down with two different kinds of oil every night. She did manage to get a light sun or wind burn underneath her chin (but who would have thought of that?!) so I felt pretty good about our skin care for the week.

Anjali plays in her chariot.

Dirty! The playa dust turns to paste when wet.

With the intense sun beating down, Anjali very quickly learned to distinguish shade from sunlit earth. In the daytime I could count on her staying in the nearby shade because as soon as her crawling hand would cross onto the sunlit dirt, she would whimper and back up. She didn't have to do that very many times to learn to love the shade.

We went out after dark a couple nights to take in the lights and sounds (Anjali wore headphones for the noise, when needed). We also woke up the last morning to greet the sunrise on the playa. It is a picturesque place to see a sunrise, for sure.

Papi and Anjali under the rising almost-full moon. Kidsville in the background.

Mommy and Anjali under the magical lights of nighttime.

Magnificent sunrise.

I think the funniest story to tell of Anjali's first Burning Man is about music. Anytime she hears any kind of beat ~ even a cellphone ring ~ Anjali starts to bob up and down on her knees dancing. In Black Rock City, there is sooo much music. And lots of it loud. The art cars that roll by on the streets have huge speakers that send their music for blocks. So Anjali was doing a lot of dancing. The music does not stop once the sun goes down, and in some places it gets louder. Even though we were in Kidsville, which *did* get quiet at sundown, the art cars still rolled by on the street outside its perimeter. One night, hours after we had fallen asleep, one of those art cars rolled by *blaring* disco. Without making a sound, Anjali rolled over upright onto her knees and ... started bobbing up and down dancing! Ha! As annoyed as I was with that art car, I couldn't help but laugh. She went right back to sleep.

Learning to clap with Erica and Tiffany. Friends and nice people ~ the best part!