Burning Man - Wrap Up

The experience of Burning Man was amazing for me, but it did have it’s difficulties. Tom and I knew it was probably the last time we would go. It was physically demanding on us. I’ve had problems with my knees and spent the whole week with my knees swollen and in pain. I didn’t let it get to me. Everyone was kind and I did lots of things sitting down.

While we were there I found out that my mom broke her hip. It was two days after the fact. Connection to the internet was a bit rough. She had an operation while I was in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing I could do for her, but she was constantly on my mind. After I had a good cry on Tom’s shoulder, I decided there was only one thing I could do – leave her in God’s hand. I was powerless but not hopeless. What helped was going on the offensive and doing what I was there to do. Being engaged in encounters helped me to focus on others rather than myself. My mom is recovering, but it’s a slow road because of her Alzheimer’s. She keeps forgetting where she is and why she’s there.

One of the ladies on the team was helping her brother do a photo project called, “Why Do You Do What You Do?” It was fun to be part of this project.

Tom’s answer.

My answer.
Tom and I got to participate in a documentary on long term marriage. His name was Vision Air and he wanted to explore long term successful marriages. He was in the camp next door and there to interview couples on camera. A part of the documentary had to do with Burning Man and if it had an effect on long term marriages. He had interviewed some of the people from our camp and they told them about Tom and me. On the last day we filmed for about half an hour. He asked us questions about marriage and what we thought made for a successful marriage. We signed releases and gave him our information. If he uses our footage we will be part of his film named “Glue.”

Burning Man was an incredible experience. It was good even though at times it was hard. It moved me and changed me. I loved it and I’m grateful to the team for their kindness and their love. (The entire team is pictured above.)

Thank you for joining me on my journey.

© Nadine Zawacki 2010

Burning Man - Part VII

This was Tom’s third time going to Burning Man. In the past I was unable to go with him because of work. I always felt like I sent a part of me with him when he went. When he came home he would tell me stories about being there. I felt like I was there with him because my heart was with him.

When we got there one of the first questions Tom asked me was, “Is it what you imagined?” It was exactly as I imagined it to be. I felt like I was there before. I looked around and it looked familiar and felt right. It was amazing.

It’s not all fun and games on the playa. There is the fact that as team we agreed not to shower. When you have 40 members and only two RV’s either some shower or none at all. Body wipes are very helpful.

The other thing was the port-o-potties. They didn’t bother me. Mind you port-o-potties are gross, but you can wrap your mind around anything for only a week. There should be an unspoken rule when using port-o-potties - cover your poop. It appeared that there many who were proud of their creations. It doesn’t take much to throw extra paper in there to cover it up. I’m just sayin’.

The team worked hard during the day and at night after dinner, we got to relax and spend time with one another. It was great to get to know new people and spend time with folks we don’t get to see often. We laughed and then laughed some more. We told each other stories about ourselves and it was great. Some of the team members would go for a ride on the shopping cart.

My favorite part of the week was when James bought me an ice cream cone. That’s right – on Thursday, I had ice cream in the desert. It was glorious. I heard the angels sing. Thanks James, I love you. I want to thank Dr. Seuss for letting James know how much I wanted ice cream.

Here are some art work that was on display. My favorite is the Dancing Lady (pictured above and below).
The Human Ant Farm.

Art work at night.

Random pieces I enjoyed.

© Nadine Zawacki 2010

Burning Man - Part VI

Once our camp is set up the best part of Burning Man began – encounters. There are many theme camps at Burning Man. Our camp is called Spirit Dream Interpretation and Café.

In the Coffee Dome we offer free mochas, espressos and lattes. It’s run by a man named, Ron and his wife Cookie. Outside of the Encounter Tent we give away free water. Inside we offer dream interpretations (someone tells us their dream and we offer an interpretation), life readings (we ask Creator for an encouraging and uplifting word for the person), spiritual cleansings (we ask Creator’s light to come and remove the darkness), etc.

You might wonder why it’s all free. At Burning Man there is a gifting culture that fits perfectly own philosophy of gifting. Whenever we do these types of outreaches, we never charge money for it. Freely we are given and freely we give. We also don’t use religious language. Some people come to Burning Man for a spiritual experience and so using non-religious language fits better. An example would be we use the word Creator instead of God or Creator’s Light instead of the Holy Spirit.

Watching someone’s life change or their life encouraged made it all worth it – the heat, the port-o-potties, the dust, etc. Some people come there and they haven’t been told positive things about themselves. They are changed when we say the things that reveal who they truly are. When burdens are lifted and their spirit is refreshed – it changed them. Some people come back with their friends and others come back every year.

I have many stories about these wonderful encounters, but it is a private thing that happened between us and I want to respect the privacy of those we ministered to. The team members come from all over the United States and one gal came from Scotland. Their various churches made gifts for us to give out to the Burners we have encounters with. It’s a way for them to remember their encounter. We gave out hundreds of necklaces and bracelets during the week.

I can tell you about an encounter I had when I came out of the port-o-potty. It appeared the hand sanitizer was empty and I forgot mine in the RV. A young lady asked if it was empty and when I replied that it was she said she thought she might have some. She shared hers with me. I was wearing a bracelet that looked like jewels to me. I took it off and said, “I would like to give you something. This bracelet reminds me of jewels. When you look at it I want it to be a reminder to you that you are a treasure to the Creator.” It was a quick word I heard when I looked at my bracelet. She was so touched and gave me a big hug. The smile on her face was priceless.

Stay tuned for more stories and pictures from the playa.

© Nadine Zawacki 2010

The picture above is Dr. Phil and Tom during an encounter.

Burning Man - Part V

Once the initial tents were put up, the only thing left to do on Monday was decorate. By the afternoon the Encounter Tent was open for business. (More on that in the next post.)

The Encounter Tent


Bracelets and Necklaces we use to gift the Burners are lined against wall to help with the decor.

The Coffee Dome

Chairs line up around the inside of the Coffee Dome. Pillows and blankets in the middle so people can gather.
Drums are also available for people to play.
Open for business.
Monday was a massive rain storm. It didn’t rain for long, but what was left was this double rainbow. It was beautiful.
The rain also left behind “clay.”
Look at my shoes. I’m glad I wore my old shoes.
The next day Bear took advantage of the rain caught on the roof of the shelter.

© Nadine Zawacki 2010

Burning Man - Part IV

It takes a lot of preparation to take 40 people into the desert for a week. Part of the reason the team meets up in Carson City is to get everything ready. I volunteered to help with the kitchen staff. The couple who was in charge of three meals a day for our team (Watering Eyes and Amphora) did an awesome job getting things ready beforehand and cooking while in the desert.

We stored the cold food in coolers. But some things had to be prepared before going. For example, brownies were made, bacon was cooked, and vegetables were cleaned and packed. I was impressed how organized they were. Not only is there food prep, but the tents have to be checked, cleaned and packed.

With the trailer filled with food, tents, chairs, barbeques, etc., we started our two hour trek from Carson City to Black Rock City (BRC). There is a long road to enter BRC, with these signs that line along the road. (Pictured below)

At the next check point your tickets are checked and then you proceed to the “Welcoming Station.” Greeters welcome you with big hugs and by saying “Welcome home.” If you are a first timer they make you roll around in the dust and ring a bell. (Dr. Phil below at the Welcoming Station.)

Welcoming Station
Dr. Phil rolling around.
Dr. Phil ringing the bell.
You are probably wondering if Momma Bear rolled around in the dirt. The answer to that would be no. It’s not that I’m not a good sport. I have really bad knees. They were swollen and I can’t lie on the ground. It’s too hard to get up. So Momma Bear lied through her teeth and said I was there before. Don’t judge me until you walked a mile with my knees.

The playa is set up with roads that have names and time. Our location was 4:30 and Detroit. The team worked very hard to set up the coffee dome, encounter tent, area where we cook and eat, and the personal tents for the team to sleep in. Tom and I were blessed to sleep in one of the RV’s.

Enjoy the following pictures of the set up.

The RV's.
Encounter Tent being set up.
Overhead shelter for our cooking area and our meals.Coffee dome frame being put in place.


© Nadine Zawacki 2010

Burning Man – Part III

When you drive 44 straight hours, stopping only for gas, food and potty breaks, you realize how tired and dirty you are when you arrive at your designation. So what did I do for all those hours? For the first six hours I braided my hair (pictured above with my hat and shades). I did that for many reasons, but mainly I thought it was the easiest way for my hair to be without it being shampooed for the week we were on the playa.

Part of the Burning Man experience is creativity. People are very creative with what they wear. They color their hair and sometimes their bodies. Our team learned that it’s better not to stick out like a sore thumb when on the playa. So we have fun being creative.

We all have playa names (mine is Momma Bear and Tom is Godfather). Some of the men wear kilts or skirts (pictured below).
I colored Tom's goatee for him as well as his nails. I must say that was a first for me and I got to paint the nails of three other guys. I think I might open up a salon.
One day I had a mask and someone loaned me angel wings.
Here are some of our lovely ladies.
There is much work that goes into preparing for Burning Man. The team leaders work year around to set up for the week we spend in the desert. They make sure that supplies are ordered (food, water, etc). We arrive a few days before setting out for the playa as a team. They prep the tents (individual and encounter tents), prep the food and we participate in a protocol ceremony with our Native American friends. We ask permission to enter their land and receive a blessing from them to do so. We share communion and exchange gifts.

Until the next installment here are a few photos from the protocol ceremony.

Willow and Robb prepare to present our gifts from the team.
Our friends lead us in song.
Godfather and Momma Bear being gifted by our friend Dan.
We share communion together.© Nadine Zawacki 2010

Burning Man - Part II

Getting ready for Burning Man involves lots of prep work. You have to gather supplies (flash lights, hand sanitizer, sleeping bags, etc.). Our journey was to start on a Wednesday and since I would be gone for two weeks there were lots of things to do. Imagine what went through my mind when Tom said, “Hey Babe, do you think we could be ready to leave a day early?” Hmmm. Don’t panic. “Sure, honey no problem.” With Tom’s help we got everything done a day early and set out on our adventure.

Part of the Burning Man experience is “art cars.” People modify and build these cars to drive around in the desert. As mentioned in the last post Horizon built a giant shopping cart (pictured above). For those inquiring minds, he took a 1980 Chevy C 10 truck, cut the body completely off, shortened the frame to 12 ft. Installed a 1976 power glide transmission, kept the original straight 6 engine and ran all new JEGs parts. The basket was built with steel square tubes from 2" to 1", welded all with a MIG gun outside using argon gas mix, painted with real aluminum foil. He installed an 1/8 diamond aluminum tread plate for the floor, installed a stainless steel 12 ft. steering rod, upgraded springs and shocks, then added 16" alloy low profile tires.

Getting the shopping cart to Black Rock City would take over 44 hours of straight driving. When you’re pulling a giant shopping cart on a trailer you get many looks of awe and wonder from people. Suddenly people slow down in the lane next to you in order to get a good picture. People come up to you when you stop and ask such questions as, “What is that thing? Is that a shopping cart? What does it do?”

A couple of my favorites “We’re going to Costco. Where we come from everyone has one of these.”

One young gal out in the middle of night with a young man wanted to take a picture of the cart with Horizon. She asked (with the cutest little southern accent) “Mr. Inventor Man, can I take a picture of you with that thing. My boyfriend won’t believe me if I tell him about it.” Turning towards the young man she’s with she continued, “That’s not my boyfriend.” Hmmm . . . interesting.

The guys took turns driving and sleeping. They were awesome. It’s not easy driving a van pulling a 2,500 lbs cart. On the trailer Horizon had a generator and various tools incase there were any problems with the cart in the middle of the desert. We found out how much of a “Mr. Inventor Man” Horizon was on the way home when the van’s alternator was failing. He started his generator, ran an extension cord through the back window of the van to the front seat to a battery charger, and the wires went out the window and were attached to the battery itself. We were in the middle of the salt flats in Utah and about 30 miles from a garage. We spent the night and after the garage fixed the van we were on our way.

Additional photos of the cart.

© Nadine Zawacki 2010