Mono Lake Redux and some Burning Man Photos

There are still a few more openings!
Mono Lake in the Autumn

The eastern Sierra Nevada is glorious in the fall, the air is crisp, the sky so blue. The aspen groves will be shimmering in brilliant shades of burnished gold and orange as we explore the wonders of Mono Lake and environs. This body of water is over 1 million years old - a remnant of a much larger inland lake. Its wildlife, unearthly scenery, and life-sustaining streams  released from hostage to the water needs of Los Angeles will fill our hearts with joy (corny, yes, but true). Our recent very wet winters have given new hope to the continuing recovery of this gorgeous lake. Bizarre tufa towers, fantastic cinder cones, spooky lava caves, gurgling hot springs, and dramatic mountain canyons are its backdrop.

We will get intimate views of California gulls, coyotes and the nearly two million eared grebes that stop here in the fall. American Avocets, Western and Least Sandpipers, Snowy Plovers, White-faced Ibises, and Dowitchers are stopping to feed on their journey south. We have a gentle hike up Lundy Canyon, once the site of frenetic gold and silver mining including by John Muir's daughter. Beavers are making a spectacular comeback in this canyon. In the photo below, I am actually hula hooping on a beaver dam. While this is not a photography seminar, bring your camera because the photo opportunities are incomparable. While there are some camping opportunities, most folks opt for a local motel. A list of accommodations is sent upon registration. 

To register just send the total amount (check made out to Footloose Forays) to 1275 4th St. #311, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Questions? 707 570-2187.  

COST: $450 per person.
DATE: Tuesday, October 1 to Thursday, October 3, 2024 or Friday, October 4 to Sunday October 6,  2024

This year’s Burning Man was really fun with relatively good weather for most of the time. Not the mud of last year just a little bit of rain before it opened while we were building. Toward the end of the Burn, there was one really intense dust storm. I missed it.

I was at the 3 o’clock post office again. Which, just to be clear, is a real post office at least for one day. We receive mail from the outside which we then distribute to Burning Man citizens. Folks visit us and we offer delightful postcards and even stamps and will send it anywhere in the world for them. They can even send a postcard to their future self, which we will mail in six months. Our camp was composed of 50 people - a delightful multigenerational mix. Guess which side of the graph I’m on? 

And this year, apparently there were more females in attendance than males and a lot more diversity. It’s still pricey and a bit obscene use of resources to be honest. Definitely a guilty pleasure for me.

I arrived early to build and saw  the waning moon between THE MAN'S legs 

It rained on Saturday (before officially opening) and the entrance was closed for awhile. Shades of last year but it dried quickly. Everything is still being built in this photo. 

My home sweet home for 11 days.

This piece was to commemorate the October 7th Hamas attack. The wooden DNA strands had the names of victims on it. Tragedy all around. 40,000 dead in Gaza, mostly civilians.

This huge piece reminded me of Bhutan -  the wild and fierce local deities in Buddhist tradition.  

The Playa dust is highly alkaline and you should ALWAYS have decent shoes and socks on at all times. Or not. 

Guess what this molecule is? Yep, lysergic acid, you got it. 

Hard to really tell how large this EYE is. But trust me it is large. 

More of the EYE

??????? is right.

Wildlife on the Playa

The Temple was so beautiful this year

Inside the Temple.

So due to the rain and mud last year some mail from 2023 did not get delivered. It was so fun to track and find the recipients this year. I even delivered one piece from 2022! The PO at 3 0’clock  may be late but we strive to succeed. 

This is an art car which tools around the Playa. The city of San Francisco plays THE prominent role in Burning Man.

We had a wedding of our campmates. So sweet

Thunderdome, my fav. Contestants battle with foam weapons to thumping music. It can get serious.

Me and Dan Miller. Dan with Larry Harvey founded Burning Man back in the mid-1980’s. We are buddies.

More wildlife... black rhino. 

If you look closely at this art project, you will see it’s made up of Cyrillic  words, various road signs, satellite dishes, and it’s all brought from the Ukraine. This is a very powerful statement about the Russian invasion of that country. These are the artifacts of that war. The  Ukrainian sense of humor shows through in the ironic message – I’M FINE.

So Wednesdays are WHITE days at BRC. So why not wear my nice linen suit? It matches  the dust anyway. 

more photos here. https://www.sfgate.com/travel/burningman/article/burning-man-2024-best-photos-19739647.php