“Welcome home!” That is the phrase that most people shout at each other towards the beginning of the week in Black Rock City. This year, Adrian (of Piss Clear) wrote an editorial about the fallacy of this statement and also touched on how it was the one thing that made us the most cult-like. She said that we should stop saying “Welcome home!” because the Playa is not home. Burning Man is a fantastic vacation from home and what we should all be doing is taking as much of BRC home with us as we can.
I completely agree. The last day out there, all I could think about was home. Not home on the Playa, but home in my bed with my bathroom and my running water. That is home. Not some dusty place where I am cut off from the rest of the world.
So, why do I mention this? I am happy to be home. I had a great time at Burning Man this year, probably my best year in a while. I camped in two different locations and with two different camps at different times. I got along with everyone in our camp and couldn’t have ever imagined that I would be hanging out with the people that I was with. It was an eye-opening experience and I feel as though I am a better person for having done it.
The event itself was beautiful. You may come across a lot of people’s write-ups that aren’t quite as pleasant as mine, but I think that is the fault of those people having too many expectations that just weren’t met. I finally went into this year with no expectations whatsoever. That is something I have struggled with for many years and have finally discovered how to make it happen. I let myself go and I just allowed myself to have the best time possible.
The trip to Reno with Travis was as smooth as possible. We stayed at Circus Circus and the Golden West Travel Lodge for the weekend and then drove out to BRC at dawn on Monday. My car held up and only came back with minor damage.
The week was taxing and I may have left a few brain cells in a dust storm here or there, but the trip was a blast from start to finish. I have a lot of stories, of course, but I will save those for another post.
Now comes the week or two (or maybe months) of decompression.
