If you find a convertible that has morphed into a cat, the odds are you are at Burning Man.
If you wish to drive a vehicle at Burning Man, you have to obtain a permit from DMV. I am not talking about the Department of Motor Vehicles here; I am talking about the Department of MUTANT Vehicles.
Cars, golf carts, trucks, and busses have to change into something completely different and unrecognizable to cruise through Black Rock City and out on the Playa. Only bikes are allowed to roam free. And even they are known to morph into dragons, horses, camels and a multitude of other creatures. (Check out my next blog.)
The same creative energy that goes into art, costumes and performances at Burning Man goes into the production of mutant vehicles. A tractor pulls a false-front house and bar across the playa while an outhouse trails behind. An old bus changes into a riverboat, the Lady Sassafras, courtesy of Fractal-Nation. A convertible morphs into a cat. Dragons, polar bears, bugs and pirates roam the playa with impunity. There is even a vehicle for the couch potato.
A closeup of the cat car that prowls the nighttime streets of Black Rock City.
Out on the edge of Burning Man’s Playa we found a false front house and bar being pulled by a tractor.
Dragons are common themes for mutant vehicles at Burning Man. As for the dancing lady on the left, who knows?
This River Boat, the Lady Sassafras, was created by Fractal Nation, one of the major theme camps at Burning Man. (Photo by Tom Lovering)
A mutant vehicle for couch potatoes. Note the license plate.
I am not sure whether this Praying Mantis or her shadow was more frightening.
A human-powered mutant vehicle? Note the fuel in the engine’s left hand.
Like the man pulling the piano, I am not sure Mama Bear qualifies as a mutant vehicle. (Actually I am sure they don’t, but I have to put these wonderful images somewhere.)
This Conestoga Wagon seems appropriate for the desert. Pioneers once made their way through the Black Rock Desert on their way to Oregon following the Applegate Trail. The device on the side of the wagon is for shooting out flames at night.
My all time favorite mutant vehicle is the Neverwas Haul, a three-story Victorian house with the characteristics of a railroad steam engine including a cattle catcher. Horse-Bone Camp member Sailor Boy, AKA Tom Lovering, likes the Haul so much that he donated an antique ship-telegraph last year. The telegraph was designed to allow the pilot to communicate with the engine room.
The Neverwas Haul.
Wandering through Time and Place 