It was completely different than I expected. In the first three days I'd have said it was horrible and sorry I wasted the time, effort and money it took to get there.
I feared a friendship lost or at least severely damaged.

My wonderful playa bike, gifted to me by a long time burner stopped working.

I was afraid to bare my skin and be compared to all the hot playa bunnies running around.

I bought plenty of fuel but somehow forgot a camp stove.

Being part of a theme camp was so much more work than I expected (despite all the warnings by more experienced burners, doh!)

On the other hand...

my relationships with most of my campmates were strengthened by the experiences we shared.

I learned a lot about myself, turned my focus outward and started noticing I wasn't the only one who was having a hard time.

A campmate I thought really disliked me fixed my bike on the second day.

I was humbled many times by simple but powerful acts of love and kindness, not only by people I know and care for but strangers as well.

I fell in love with hoop dancing and am making a hoop. I'm going to a hoop jam on Saturday to start learning.

Will I be back? On the last day I was 75% sure I wouldn't. Today I know I'll be back. With light up hoops.

I'll bring less food. I'll bring 5 fewer bags of corn chips and forget all those packages of bread no one wanted.

I won't forget the camp stove and the coffee. But I'm sure I'll forget something else.

I'll make sure my bike works before I leave. The rad new bike a neighbor gave me on the last day.

I'll wear sunblock EVERY DAY even if I think I already have a good base tan. Oh hell yeah.

I'll bring clothing in brighter colors and more socks. And more blinkies!

You can never have too many baby wipes.

I will not miss going into the deep playa to see the amazing art that was out there. I'm only seeing some of them now in the pics people posted.

I will take more naps in the hammocks near center camp. I'll bring them a bottle of good gin. I love them.

I will learn to hoop dance, starting tomorrow and bring that back to the playa with me next year!

I'll be back.

This has been my seventh year and I'm still in awe by the whole event. It changes along with you and you'll see different things every year that you go.

Because of what I do, I see a lot of ugly out there and I also get to see such amazing beauty of being in that environment for two weeks (pre, during, and post). Just keep going and it grows along with you. It's an amazing place that always keeps you saying, "Damn, is this for real?"

I was amazing.

I was different in that I was plesantly suprised constantly. I loved flipping through the book and finding random things to learn from really cool people. I learned how to Spin fire poi, I to do fire breathing, Rope bondage, how to wind surf in place while stopping to get a vegan hot dog. The art was amazing and highly inspirational. The fact that there was a parking meter in the middle of the desert made me so happy because Someone had that crazy and funny idea and carried it out. It made me realise that no idea is too weird and if you want to make/ do something to just go for it.

I will definately be back next year and what I will do differently is actually fight in the Thunder Dome instead of watching!

My favorite part of the burn is seeing people experience it for the first time. It's like magic!

I love how you guys are slowly rolling out of bed, picking your jaws up off the ground and trying to put words to your experiences...

Magpie, your highs and lows were poignant and powerful. Carla, that's amazing about your hubby showing up! Kristi, wow I love how you jumped in to learn all those new things.

I can't wait to see what each of you brings to contribute to BRC next year!!!

More stories????

This was my fourth burn and my husband's sixth. We had a really good time and enjoyed ourselves a lot, but I think we're done for awhile. The WOW! factor has toned down a bit in ratio to the work and expense, and I think we're just ready for other adventures. I'm positive we'll be back eventually.

That being said, we camped with one of our best friends who was a virgin and it was a kick in the pants to see the whole process through his eyes. The first time we went out at night, he just kept saying "Wow. This is so much cooler than I thought it would be." When we were tired and not motivated to do anything, we went out because we wanted him to see stuff and do stuff.

I love adopting virgins (and being on this tribe) because it just keeps the enthusiasm and excitement up!

Losing my virginity was everything I hoped it would be!

Actually, I went with very few expectations (I'm a go-with-the-flow sort of person) but I have to say my first burn was exactly like what little expectations I had, if that makes sense.

I had no lows whatsoever, it was all highs! I had a very, very good 9 days!

Being English, I did expect to find Americans would annoy me at some point (sorry, just being honest)... but I actually only met a couple of people who I found really irritating and I was actually a little pissed off that I had such a good time with you lot!

I am going to do everything in my power to make it back again next year. The only thing I will do differently is try not to leave all my warm clothes out in the middle of the Playa on my second night there! brrrr