Fi & Me

As we were leaving the dragons, the folks next door waved. I went back to ask about the dragon's provenance and we met Fi, a Frenchman, a former motorcycle racer who's retired from Burning Man. It was he who knew from whence the dragons had come. He now operates a bicycle tour company using Specialized eBikes.

I took one for a test drive and was astonished at the power and control; it conveyed my bulk effortlessly. 

Fi charges $30.00 an hour for his guiding services. The bikes are used by donation as liability insurance is prohibitively high.

Contact Fi (pronounced: Fee) at 510-999-2023 

Carl and The Dragons

At the south end this sign welcomes you....

Touring the town, it appeared everyone was in one way or another either an artist, involved with Burning Man, or both.

This sculpture

led to the acquaintance of Carl,

who is also the official Burning Man gardener in charge of the botanical well-being of numerous properties.

Sculpture Detail

These splendid dragons, now yard decorations,

adorned a temple that was burned on the playa.

They were rescued by the trucker who'd ferried them to the pre-burn site.

Zach...of Bruno's Country Club

The day began with an impending crisis: tea-milk shortage! Urgency was imbued through the collective unconscious awareness of a single jug sitting, at risk, at the store in Empire, the only store for 60 miles. We arrived in time to be the chosen ones. 

Returning to Bruno's Country Club in Gerlach, we met Zach, the new chef. He'd just arrived from northern Indiana via Houston, Missouri and a couple of other places inbetween. Our veggie omelettes had us both sitting up and beaming like a pair of prairie dawgs.

And when a German sits down to eat, it's serious business.

Ole Sausage Fingerz,

he wuz knowed az in dem daiz

The Hub Of The Universe - The Playa

It reminded me of Maya Lin's sculpture, the Vietnam Memorial, but the other end of the spectrum.

I stood atop a hill overlooking what, in a few weeks, will be Black Rock City.

There're far too many people for me to handle, but just gazing out at the cloud shadows, seeing the mirages and the light making magic through the dust clouds, I got a sense of the wonder and joy the event engenders.

I got to visit with Karla, the new Office Manager at their field office in Gerlach. At the tender age of 42, after 15 years of living in a van, she now has a 13-month old daughter and recently bought a house in Gerlach in order to take the job. Her partner is helping with childcare.

I also stopped in at the Immigrant Trails Conservation Area Visitors Center. There I got to meet Sarah, the new Exec Dir. She gave me a whole *different* perspective. She told how Charles Dodd, guesstimated to be in his 90s, started advocating to set aside the area in the 1960s.

It was encouraging to meet these two women who are passionate about what they're doing and are in positions where their enthusiasm can make a difference in peoples' lives.

I'm near Lava Beds Nat'l Monument (California), a little south of Klamath Falls, Oregon.

(further details and corrections to follow)