Rabid Transit, Never Was Haul, a Vast Vase and Other Mutant Vehicles… 11 Years of Burning Man

March 21, 2019 / Curt Mekemson / 22 Comments

The Rabid Transit mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — This scary/wonderful creature called Rabid Transit is another creation from the fertile imagination of Duane Flatmo, the same person that brought El Pulpo Mechanico to Burning Man. In fact, Rabid Transit is built on the same Ford chassis that El Pulpo was built on.

Duane Flatmo lives in Eureka California, a short 3 plus hours away from where I live and a million miles away in imagination. Wanting to create a new creature, he struggled with a concept that would live up to his fantastic El Pulpo Mechanico.

Rabid Transit was his answer. Like El Pulpo, Rabid Transit was created from items gathered at a local junk yard in Eureka. Note El Pulpo’s legs made out of abandoned barrels.

Rabid Transit mutant vehicle at Burning Man — A full view of Rabid Transit. Various animals are situated around the vehicle. Note the sharp toothed fishy hood-head.

A side view of the Rabid Transit mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — A side view of Rabid Transit.

Rabid Transit shoots out fire. — Rabid Transit in full fire! As you might imagine, you can feel the heat and hear the roar.

Never Was Haul comes as a Victorian home on wheels with a cow catcher on the front. (Cow catchers are what trains use to put on the front of their engines to remove cattle, moose and buffalo from the tracks.) Born in Berkeley as part of the steam punk art movement, Never Was Haul has been to Burning Man many times.

Never Was Haul mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — A photo taken of Never Was Haul by Tom Lovering. When Tom first saw the mutant vehicle, it was love at first sight.

Photo of Never Was Haul at Burning Man by Tome Lovering. — Another photo by Tom.

Never Was Haul mutant vehicle at Burning Man closeup. — A close up side view.

Front view of Never Was Haul at Burning Man. — And a front view.

For sheer fun, I’d have to list the large vase mutant vehicle shown below as a top candidate. I was even more entertained when I discovered it changed colors at night.

Mutant vehicle vase at Burning Man. — Settled into camp, this is what the vase looks like during the day time.

Vase mutant vehicle at Burning Man at night. — And here it is at night.

Mutant vehicle vase at Burning Man during twilight. — In twilight’s glow.

Nighttime view of mutant vehicle vase at Burning Man. — And a final night time view.

Several trains have appeared at Burning Man. There has even been a caboose, the Dust Bus, which proudly claims it is part of the Nor Cal Black Rock Railroad..

Train mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — One of the trains, complete with cow catcher.

Side view of mutant vehicle train at Burning Man. — A side view…

Mutant vehicle train at Black Rock City. — Another train.

Burning Man mutant vehicle train at night. — Here it is at night with its cow catcher lit up.

Before trains, people got across the US in Conestoga wagons. The Oregon Trail passes through the Black Rock Desert not too far from Burning Man and would have seen many of these wagons carrying pioneers west, among them, my Great, Great Grandmother.

Conestoga Mutant Vehicle Wagon at Burning Man. — This giant rendition also transported many people across the desert, or at least the Playa.

Conestoga wagon mutant vehicle at Burning Man. A side view. — A side view.

Conestoga Wagon mutant vehicle at Burning Man at night. — At night.

I’ll finish today’s post with four individual mutant vehicles:

Kilroy mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — I’d go with Kilroy, here.

Phone mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — Needs no introduction for those over 40. It’s a phone. (grin)

A brain mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — A brain.

I will conclude today with Walter, the giant VW van from Arizona. I think they used an airport firetruck as its base.

NEXT POST: Peggy’s perspective on our hike on the PCT this past summer.

When a Vehicle Mutates… 11 Years of Burning Man

March 18, 2019 / Curt Mekemson / 29 Comments

Having trouble persuading your kids to climb on the bus and go to school? I bet they would climb on this Burning Man mutant vehicle in a flash. When they arrived at school they could exit via the slide! Woohoo!

Once again I am returning to Burning Man on my blog and posting photos from the 11 years I have attended the event: 2004-5-6-7-9-10-12-13-14-15 and 17. As I have over the past couple of weeks, I am focusing on mutant vehicles today.

I’ve featured some pretty wild land and sea creatures in my past several posts. Today and Wednesday I’ll be introducing mutant vehicles that are closer to their cousins in real life. For example, a number of retired school and city busses make it to Burning Man. While their look has changed, they more or less maintain their original form like the school bus featured above and below.

Orange mutant vehicle bus at Burning Man. — Here’s another view of the school bus with its intricately carved exterior. This bus has always been a favorite of mine.

This school bus has been decorated with orange somethings. What, I’m not sure. Writhing beetle grubs are about as close as I can come.

A psychedelic paint job and horns served as disguise here.

The silver bullet hides the bus, sort of. Think of it as a see-through outfit.

Bus mutant vehicle at Burning Man — This fellow added a neon top knot and cutouts.

Mutant bus with tail feathers at Burning Man. — And finally, a bus with tail feathers. It had a beak on the other end.

Do you remember the cult film Mad Max where Mel Gibson and a cast of seedy characters went at each other with souped up, modified vehicles? Well, there is a whole genre of mutant vehicles at Burning Man that look like they belong in the movie, or a demolition derby. These vehicles are not among my favorites but I find them interesting and they belong in any compilation of Burning Man mutants. Besides, some of you might say, “Wow, that’s my dream car!”

This one was prepared for battle. It came with a missile and a coffin! What kind of bad dude carries a garbage bag for his trash, however? And the empty bottle and mattress suggest the 60’s mantra “Make love, not war.”

Feelers swept back from the hood of this vehicle. And maybe it had legs.

I think these these seven toothy heads also shot out fire.

Was she glad to see him or was it a hold up. It appears that the guy is high on something.

Tom Lovering took this photo at night. Playa dust was reflected by the flash from his camera creating a desert ‘snow storm.’ Is that an alien piggybacking on the vehicle?

One of Burning Man’s tribes, The Death Guild, likes to decorate its mutant vehicles with skulls. Not surprising.

Art cars are different than mutant vehicles. They are simply highly decorated cars. Therefore they aren’t allowed to roam the playa and have to be parked. None-the-less, some of them make their way to Burning Man and are on display. Here are a few examples.

Art car featuring Kilroy at Burning Man. — Kilroy was here.

Art cat VW bug with aliens at Burning man. — The aliens have landed and they are running around in a VW bug.

Art car with glasses at Burning Man. — Here’s looking at you.

Highly detailed hood of an art car at Burning Man.

I think of the following vehicles as modern day ‘hot rods,’ so I googled ‘hot rods at Burning Man’ and what did I find? My photos of ‘Burning Man hot rods’ from earlier posts. Oh well. Here they are again for those of you who haven’t been following me for several years.

Modern hot rod at Burning Man. — Speeds are limited on the Playa, and maybe that’s a good thing.

Gears on top of modern day hotrod at Burning Man. — All of the gears, shown here in black and white, suggest a touch of steam punk.

Exhaust pipes on mutant vehicle hot rod at Burning Man. — Exhaust pipes?

Side view if mutant vehicle hot rod at Burning Man. — A side view. Not sure about the camel’s role.

Mutant Vehicle hot rod at Burning Man with attractive woman. — The few hot rod magazines I thumbed through in my youth featured attractive women. Given my interest in cars, I suspect that may have been my reason for perusing the pages.

Hot rod photo session at Burning Man. — It turns out I had walked in on a photo session, which always presents an opportunity I am more than willing to take advantage of. That’s it for today.

NEXT POST: More mutant vehicles including trains and planes!

Mutants from the Deep… 11 Years of Burning Man

March 14, 2019March 9, 2019 / Curt Mekemson / 17 Comments

Octopus mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — I doubt that there has ever been a mutant vehicle at Burning Man more known and loved than El Pulpo Mechanico, the steam punk octopus. El pulpo was born in a junk yard in Eureka, California.

As noted in my last post, I’ve been sorting through and categorizing my Burning Man photos from the 11 years I have attended the event: 2004-5-6-7-9-10-12-13-14-15 and 17. I’ve created 15 categories and will do posts on several of my favorites from each category over the next several weeks.

Burning Man’s home, the Black Rock Desert, wasn’t always a desert. 15,000 years ago it was part of the huge, 500 foot deep Lake Lahontan. Given this, it isn’t surprising that many mutant vehicles take on an appearance of having once swum in its murky waters, or boated across them. Creatures range from an octopus to a hermit crab; Boats from a sailing ship to a yacht. Today’s post features some of the more fishy things about Burning Man.

Brown fish mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — Big teeth seem to be a requirement of the fish that swim across the Playa on wheels. This one resembles an angler fish that dangles what appears to be a tasty morsel right in front of its mouth.

Mutant vehicle fish at Burning Man with large teeth. — This one has great chompers. Is that blood on its teeth? (Photo by Tom Lovering.)

Another perspective of the fish showing its scales. (Photo by Tom Lovering.)

Large angler fish mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — Another angler fish. This one seems to know what Burners want, a disco ball, and appears to have been successful at attracting dinner. Is a little pole dancing in order?

A fish eating fish mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — No people on the menu? How about another fish? The tongue seems to promise an interesting ride.

Shark mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — Not surprisingly, a shark was roaming the Playa at night. Should we break out in a Jimmy Buffet song?

Crocodile mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — More like a crocodile. But it has the large teeth.

Big city people will be familiar with articulated busses. This is a Burning Man equivalent: an articulated fish.

Pin eyed mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — Small teeth, perhaps, but a fancy pink eye.

A guppy mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — A guppy, perhaps?

Squid mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — I decided that this might be a streamlined squid, but I could be wrong. Land speed records, BTW, have been set on the Black Rock Desert.

Narwhal mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — Do you know what this is? It’s a narwhal.

A closer look. A narwhal’s tusk is made of ivory. I like the eye.

Hermit crab mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — No question about this fellow. It’s a hermit crab.

Sailing ship mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — I never expected to find a full scale sailing ship at Burning Man.

The yacht Christina mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — Or a yacht. This is the Christina.

River boat mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — How about a river boat plus mermaid? (Photo by Tom Lovering.)

Another sailing ship of yore. Nevada Burners created this ship.

Reed boat mutant vehicle at Burning Man. — Ready to float down the Nile, perhaps.

I’ll finish this post off with a couple more photos of El Pulpo.

NEXT POST: Peggy provides her perspective on our hike down the Pacific Crest Trail last summer.

The Land Where Mutants Roam… Burning Man 2017: Part 6

September 23, 2017September 24, 2017 / Curt Mekemson / 34 Comments

When a 30-foot-tall dragon comes at you out of the night, you find another place to be. This was one of many impressive mutant vehicles at Burning Man 2017.

I was riding across the Playa when I spotted a giant, multi-colored dragon making its way over the desert. That’s a photo I must have, I thought, and climbed off my bike. It must have spotted me as well, since it changed directions and headed straight for me. I assumed it would stop, that I had the right away, that running over a Burner was a no-no. But those weren’t assumptions I was willing bet my body on. I’d make a small bite, a tidbit, an hors d’oeuvres. I climbed back on Horse with No Name and got out of the way. Fortunately, the dragon didn’t change directions again. That would have been scary.

A close up of the dragon’s head. The man on top gives you an idea of just how big this mutant vehicle is.

Mutant vehicles come in all shapes and sizes at Burning Man, from humongous to petite. You have to have one if you are going to drive out on the Playa or in Black Rock City. Otherwise, you are required to park at your camp and walk or bike. To qualify as mutant, your vehicle has to be radically altered; the instructions are clear. You can’t just take a red ball, stick it on the hood of your car, and call the new creation Rudolph. Safety rules apply as well. It’s expected that you will be able to stop and not run over a Burner, that your vehicle can be easily seen at night, that passenger accommodations are safe, and that fire-breathing dragons, or other fire producing vehicles, meet stringent fire safety standards.

To assure that all of this will happen, Burning Man requires that you apply for permission to bring a mutant vehicle to Black Rock City. Alterations have to be described in detail. Deadlines have to be met. A committee reviews each proposal. A limited number are allowed and there are no guarantees that yours will be one. Upon arrival at Burning Man, you are required to stop at the DMV, the Department of Mutant Vehicles, and have your vehicle checked for safety before driving on the Playa or around Black Rock City.

The Department of Mutant Vehicles at Burning Man 2017. The clearance was needed for the multicolored dragon.

I look forward to checking out the new vehicles each year I attend Burning Man. They are an important part of the event’s creativity and art. Following are some of my favorites from this year.

A possible new meaning for ‘helping hand?’ Or ‘hand out?’ I was intrigued by this mutant vehicle. Theres a face lurking behind the outstretched arm.

Another perspective. An eye has opened in the face.

Shh, don’t tell. There are undocumented aliens driving around at Burning Man.

I’m not sure, but I am going with frog on this one. The palm trees are a nice addition.

Creatures of the night? I couldn’t quite figure out the puppet woman as a mutant vehicle, but she was statuesque.

Here’s a closer look. I was hoping that she would dance.

The blue fellow looked much more mutant. I was trying to figure out whether it was an insect or an extremely irritated rabbit.

Mad rabbit mutant vehicle at Burning Man 2017

Speaking of irritated rabbits…

I loved this. I’m not sure whether it is a mutant vehicle, their home, or an artistic statement. Maybe a bit of all three. But talk about a desert drama.

I decided that it was worth dramatizing further with photoshop.

Face off.

Hot rod. But what’s with the camel? Must be a camp symbol. (One of my blogging friends, GP Cox, pointed out that I shouldn’t be surprised to find camels in the desert! Right.)

This dragon was living in the same camp. Maybe it ate camels.

Dragon’s head.

Playa dragon. There is never a lack of dragons at Burning Man!

This hot air balloon, riding above the clouds, is an example of a smaller mutant vehicle.

Judging from the tail, I’d say cat. But the ears and horns suggest something else.

I though this mutant vehicle had a bit of an aztec look…

And here we’ve traveled to India, where Ganesha, the Hindu Elephant God, lives.

And my favorite, Rabid Transit, brought to Burning Man by the same people who brought El Pulpo Mechanico.

This mutant vehicle could light up the sky…

And everyone around. Be sure to check out the video below to get a true feel for Rabid Transit. I usually don’t do videos, but this one is worth it. Check out his mouth and eyes.

NEXT POST: A return to Burning Man sculptures.

Steampunk, a Towering Octopus, and a Giant Rhino… The Mutant Vehicles of Burning Man

February 24, 2017February 23, 2017 / Curt Mekemson / 29 Comments

The sometimes scary El Pulpo Mechanico in black and white.

Peggy and I were out wandering around Black Rock City when we came across the steampunk mutant vehicles that I am going to feature today: El Pulpo Mechanico and the Beamer Steamer. A flaming duck was also present. The folks that created these vehicles came from Northern California and Southern Oregon— our territory, and at least two of the vehicles had connections with the human-powered Kinetic Sculpture Race that runs between Ferndale, Eureka and Arcata over the Memorial Day Weekend.

El Pulpo Mechanico sprang from the creative mind of Duane Flatmo. His parts were scrounged from the Arcata Scrap and Salvage Yard in Northern California. Jerry Kunkel designed his electronic and flame system. His crawdad attachment was once part of one of the Kinetic Sculpture race vehicles.

El Pulpo always draws a crowd at Burning Man, especially when he is flaming. He can go through 200 gallons of propane in one night.

This shot of El Pulpo by our friend Don Green also shows his crawdad front.

Here’s a shot of his crawdad front during the day. This creature was once part of a kinetic sculpture that participated in the Kinetic Sculpture Race in Eureka. (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

Looking up at El Pulpo provides a view of his barrel tentacles.

This primitive fish is also a part of El Pulpo’s decorations.

As is this sea-horse! (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

El Pulpo’s head.

A final view.

Bob and Karen Thomson of Southern Oregon had been participating in the Kinetic Sculpture Race for several years when they decided they wanted a vehicle that they didn’t have to power with their own effort and sweat. They created the Beamer Steamer to go to Burning Man.

The Beamer Steamer mutant vehicle by Bob and Karen Thomson.

I am not sure of the history of the flaming duck but it can light up the sky at night.

The flaming duck during the day at Burning Man. Check out its head.

The flaming duck out on the playa at night waiting for the man to burn.

You have to travel south on Highway 101 from Eureka to come to the home of my fourth mutant vehicle today. The Rhino Redemption was created by Kevin Clark and the artistic group that works out of the Reared in Steel building in Petaluma. Kevin was also responsible for the creation of the Medusa Sculpture at Burning Man that I have featured in the past.

This wonderful rhino mutant vehicle has become one of my favorites at Burning Man. I was once charged by one of his counterparts in East Africa and have had a special appreciation for rhinos ever since.

A side view of Rhino Redemption. He can accommodate up to 20 people.

Rhino charging? It’s kind of how I remember it. (grin)

Rhino Redemption in camp at Burning Man.

A final view… (Photo by Peggy Mekemson.)

NEXT BLOGS:

I’ve decided to take a semi-break for my birthday next week when I will be in Las Vegas. I’ll see you back here on March 6. Well, I may put up a blog or two if things are slow, but I wouldn’t bet on it. (grin)

–Curt

A Giant VW, a Man-Eating Lion, a Blimp… and Other Mutant Vehicles of Burning Man

February 1, 2016February 1, 2016 / Curt Mekemson / 36 Comments

Walter the Bus zips across the Playa at 5 MPH.

Walter the Giant VW Bus zips across the Playa at 5 MPH with his flag flying proudly. In another life, he was a fire truck.

Having owned and wandered in a 1976 VW Camper Van from 1976 to 1983, I felt an immediate attachment to Walter, the giant VW Bus. I decided to look into his past. Most of Burning Man’s Mutant Vehicles have lived full and meaningful lives by the time they make it to Black Rock City. Walter, it turns out, started life in 1963 as a Walter Crash Truck at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. He took his name from the Company. The Crash came from the fact that he was supposed to show up at an airplane crash site before anyone else and spray flame retardant on the highly volatile jet fuel. It was “BOOM” and kiss your hose goodbye if he failed. Beyond that there was a lot of sitting around and waiting. That’s the life of an airport fire truck.

Next, Walter made his way to a less dramatic but still important role with the New River Fire Department north of Phoenix. From there he retired to the Gold King Ghost Mine just outside of Jerome, Arizona as an antique to be admired. Don Robertson, the owner of the mine, likes old things and, judging from photos, is something of an antique himself. Walter would have been happy to spend his retirement years rusting away there— and he would have except for one of those strange quirks of fate.

Numerous vintage VW Buses make their way up the mountain annually to the Jerome Jamboree and camp out at the ghost mine. Kirk Strawn, who was among the participants in 2003, had just read an article on Burning Man. He saw Walter and fell in love. He didn’t see an aging fire truck; he saw a giant VW Bus. Walter was about to be reborn. Kirk traded a 1979 VW Camper for Walter and moved him to an old lumberyard in Scottsdale where a crew of dedicated volunteers, Tribe Walter, began the transformation process. Six years later, Walter made his first trip to Burning Man, and according to all reports, loved the event.

I found this VW Camper Van in Jerome, Arizona when I was there two years ago. I wonder if it was the van traded for Walter? I’ve never seen more bumper stickers on a single vehicle. My favorite: “Heavily Medicated for Your Safety.”

For those of you who crave details: Walter is 30 feet long, 13 feet tall, and weighs 19,500 pounds. He has a 330-gallon water tank for an on board misting system. His nights are lit up by some 10,000 plus LED lights. You can learn more about this interesting Mutant Vehicle at Walter the Bus.

Walter lit up with his LED lights.

Altogether, there were close to a thousand applications for Mutant Vehicles at Burning Man in 2015. It was too many for the event and the Burning Man Organization, BMO, limited the number of permits to 600. I agree with the decision. Biking and walking take precedence. Still, I can’t help but wonder what wondrous creations didn’t make the cut. On the other hand, I didn’t have time to even start to appreciate all of the vehicles that were there. Here are a few more before I move on to my next topic: There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, and other Burning Man sculptures.

6 King of Beasts 2 Mutant Vehicle at Burning Man 2015

My friend Tom tempts the King of Beasts by snoozing on his tongue. The sign says, “Burning Man, it’s ok I guess.”

7 King of Beasts Mutant Vehicle at night Burning Man 2015

The King of Beasts at night. Maybe Tom wouldn’t have been so ready to jump in his mouth…

4 Train engine mutant vahicle at Burning Man 2015

I’d get off the track for this giant train engine.

Caboose Mutant Vehicle at Burning Man 2015

What’s a train without a caboose?

Cheshire Cat Mutant Vehicle at Burning Man 2015

Where’s Alice?

Arachne Mutant Vehicle at Burning Man 2015

Spider woman?

11 Arachne face 2 Mutant Vehicle at Burning Man 2015_edited-1

How about a kiss? Come on, you know you love me.

12 Fish eating fish mutant vehicle at Burning Man 2015

The fish in front has a big problem.

13 Fish eating fish at night mutant vehicle at Burning Man

The fish at night. Still dodging his toothy pursuer.

Blimp ship Mutant Vehicle at Burning Man 2015

The airship (blimp) is ready to launch…

I decided this “Mad Max” vehicle deserved a World War II black and white photo look.

16 Horse head mutant vehicle 2 at Burning man 2015

Giddy Up!

17 Big Bug Mutant Vehicle at Burning Man 2015

Giant bug. Big teeth have always been “in” at Burning Man.

18 Giant Cow mutant vehicle at Burning Man 2015

I decided this is a cow but I could be wrong. Her herder is walking along beside.

19 Modern Art Mutant Vehicle at Burning Man 2015

Modern art in an urban setting.

Narwhal mutant Vehicle at Burning Man 2015

I’ll conclude with this big lipped Narwhal. (Photo by Don Green.)

From Furry Cats to Lurking Alligators… Burning Man’s 2015 Small Mutant Vehicles

January 29, 2016January 27, 2016 / Curt Mekemson / 32 Comments

The Cat Car is a perennial favorite at Burning Man. This year she had a makeover and was looking quite snazzy.

A Mutant Vehicle is a unique, motorized creation that shows little or no resemblance to their original form, or to any standard street vehicle. Mutant Vehicles are radically, stunningly, (usually) permanently, and safely modified from their base vehicle. Sometimes the whole vehicle is made from scratch… the mutation should aim to provide a level of “radical visual stimuli” or “wow factor” for the other participants of Black Rock City. When a person sees this vehicle, their reaction should be “Wow! Look at that!” —Burning Man Organization

Burning Man covers some seven square miles. It isn’t surprising that there are lots of folks who would prefer to drive rather than walk or ride a bike there. America’s love affair with the automobile is well established. Why walk when you can drive?

Early on, however, it was decided that Burning Man would be a walking and bicycling kind of place. It was a good decision. The event wouldn’t work otherwise. An exception evolved over time, though. You could drive around if your vehicle became an art piece. The challenge here, of course, is defining an art piece. Why not glue a stuffed bear to your roof and call it art? Such thinking led BMO to come up with the description quoted above.

While Eeyore might make a cute hood ornament for my Toyota, it doesn't make my truck a mutant vehicle no matter how cute Eeyore is.

While Eeyore might make a cute hood ornament for my Toyota, he doesn’t make my truck a mutant vehicle— no matter how cute he is.

And there’s more. You just don’t show up at Burning Man and check in with the Department of Mutant Vehicles. There is a detailed application process. Months before the event you have to describe the vehicle, safety considerations, and reasons for wanting to bring an art car to Black Rock City. A sketch is required. Numbers are limited, so you need to get applications in early. If you plan to drive at night or have your vehicle shoot out flames over the Playa, there are further requirements. Assuming you meet all the criteria and obtain a license, your first stop at Burning Man is DMV. BMO wants to make sure the vehicle is as claimed.

As you can imagine, the amount of work and time required to build a Mutant Vehicle becomes a self-limiting factor on the numbers of mutant vehicles at Burning Man. You need to be prepared to spend thousands of dollars and/or hundreds of hours of work for more elaborate creations.

And finally, you have to agree to follow the rules. You can’t drive over five miles an hour, you can’t drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you have to give way for bicyclists and walkers, and you can’t drive through Black Rock City at 3 a.m. blasting music out of your mega speakers. The latter is guaranteed to bring a truckload of complaints down on BMO. Breaking the rules can get you grounded or may even bring a ticket. Law enforcement is extensive at Burning Man and drunk driving is drunk driving.

I’ve mentioned before that Mutant Vehicles come in all shapes and sizes. I thought that I’d feature the smaller, more personal vehicles today. I will include the larger ones in my next post.

The Cat Car as seen from the side…

Check out her snazzy steering wheel.

And her colorful butt. (grin) Her Burning Man Mutant Vehicle license is on the left.

Theses Burners had the clever idea of decorating their car like a Converse tennis shoe.

Theses Burners had the clever idea of decorating their Mutant Vehicle like a Converse tennis shoe, a relatively easy task to accomplish, I imagine.

Not so easy this gorgeous hot rod.

A rear view of the hot rod mutant vehicle form LA.

A rear view of the hot rod mutant vehicle from LA.

Its companion. The Black Rock Desert has been used for setting vehicle land records. Maybe these guys should compete.

The big nose of this fellow was exceeded in size by his big tongue.

A close up of the nose. Nice nostrils.

Golf carts can make handy sized Mutant Vehicles for two people. (Photo by Don Green.)

A night kitty Mutant Vehicle.

And a skull couch that looks quite comfortable to me.

And a couch that looks quite comfortable to me.

I found this VW at the Art Car Camp.

And what I am going to call Kilroy— although it may be a relaxed leopard perched up on the roof.

I found this impressive alligator lurking next to the NOLA Camp, which seemed like an appropriate location.

For my last example today, I found this impressive alligator lurking next to the NOLA Camp (on the right), which seemed like an appropriate location, given that New Orleans is located in bayou country.

The Shadowy World of Burning Man

February 24, 2012January 24, 2015 / Curt Mekemson / 1 Comment

I loved the personality of this goat sculpture at Burning Man. Its shadow also has a great deal of character. Note the tail and ears.

OK, I admit to a slight play on words for this blog. What I am talking about is photographing shadows. At Burning Man, or anywhere else for that matter, focusing on shadows provides a different, and I think interesting, perspective. The bright sun combined with the light brown of the playa provides a unique opportunity for shadow photography. Following are some of my favorites.

The mutant vehicles of Burning Man provide great subjects for shadow photos. This one, obviously, was from the Praying Mantis vehicle.

Another mutant vehicle of Burning Man. The question here is which is more scary: the vehicle or its shadow?

Speaking of scary shadows, this guy is from a spider 'mount' on a Burning Man merry-go-round. Little kids might view it as a 'night-mare.'

I liked the complexity of this shadow reflecting a Death Guild Chopper. Is this the shadowy side of Burning Man?

Bicycles, rather than choppers, are the chosen mode of transportation at Burning Man. Out of respect for participants, I've never posted a photo of the CT parade where over a thousand women joyfully ride topless. This is my first. Was I discreet enough?