L-R: Alegra, Sean, Scottie, Dan, Katie, Rose, Brandon & Neil
It’s been a few weeks since we left Black Rock City, NV and I’ve been holding off on writing about my experience until I’ve had enough time to reflect and digest all that transpired. I think I have just about reached a point of understanding, however it’s probably not what you’re going to want to hear. I’ve realized that there I an unable to put my experience into words. Everyone I had talked to prior to the event said that each person has their own “experience” — and I never quite understood what that meant until now. But the most important thing I learned out on the playa is is how great our group was.. Camp Emosewa1, the best Playa family I could ask for.
Going into Black Rock City, I knew a lot about the event and what to expect. And now, after I’ve had a chance to think about my week, I can say that it was exactly as I had expected and nothing like I had expected. I knew that thousands of people come to the desert to build a city, a self-sufficient community of art and expression, in a place in a beautifully desolate environment.
Prior to heading to The Playa, we spent two days in Reno, NV staying at the Peppermill — the most amazing hotel & casino I have ever seen. We spent much of our time with my friend Carrie, who lives in Reno, and gave us the insider’s guide to the city. After much anticipation, we finally departed Reno around 8pm on Sunday with a goal to arrive at Black Rock City around 12am — exactly when the gates open — so that we can set up and get a good night’s rest. While it’s true that we got in line around Midnight, however we did not actually find an open area to set up camp until around 3am. After spending two hours in the dark setting up a very complex shade structure and car port, we were informed by our neighbors that we could not set up camp there because they had claimed it. About 15 minutes of drama ended with them telling us “you’ll need to talk to our camp leader in the morning.” It all ended up working out, and they were extraordinarily nice neighbors, but this highlights one important point about Black Rock City: The only resource that anyone is defensive about is land. Once your camp is set up, everyone is a loving, sharing resident of Black Rock City.
