Wandering through Time and Place

Exploring the world with Curtis and Peggy Mekemson
  • About This Blog
  • Bios
  • Chapter from The Bush Devil Ate Sam
  • Five Reasons to Travel
  • Meet Bone: World Traveler, Fearless Adventurer, and Sex Symbol
  • Tag: Photos

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

      Posted at 2:50 pm by Curt Mekemson
      Mar 21st
      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.

      El Pulpo

      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.

      Posted in Burning Man, On the Road US | Tagged humor, mutant vehicles of Burning Man, Never Was Haul at Burning Man, Photos, Rabid Transit at Burning Man, travel blog, Vase mutant vehicle
    • Bush Devil Ate Sam

      The Bush Devil Ate Sam is an important record and a serious story, yet told easily, and with delightful humor. This is one of the most satisfying books I have ever read, because it entertained me thoroughly AND made me feel better informed. —Hilary Custance Green: British Author... Click on the image to learn more about my book, the Bush Devil Ate Sam, and find out where it can be ordered.

    • Special Thanks to Word Press for featuring my blog and to my readers and followers. You are all appreciated.

    • Top Posts & Pages

      • The Starfish of Harris Beach State Park, Oregon
      • A Close-Encounter with a Train... Plus
      • On Facing Nuclear War... The Cuban Missile Crisis
      • Truth Is Beauty: A 55-Foot Tall Woman... Burning Man 2013
      • Meet Bone: World Traveler, Fearless Adventurer, and Sex Symbol
      • Chapter from The Bush Devil Ate Sam
      • About This Blog
      • A World War II Blimp Hangar, a Guppy, and a Cow Escape Route… The Oregon Coast
      • Ancient Petroglyphs in the Valley of Fire State Park… The Desert Series
      • Out and About in Black Rock City: The Esplanade… Burning Man 2013
    • RSS Feed

      • RSS - Posts
      • RSS - Comments
    • Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

      Join 8,556 other followers

    • Thanks for stopping by.

      • 612,831 Visitors
    • Categories

      • At Home in Oregon
      • Burning Man
      • Essays
      • Genealogy
      • Memoirs
      • MisAdventures
      • Miscellaneous
      • National Parks
      • On the Road US
      • Outdoor Adventures
      • Peace Corps
      • Uncategorized
      • Wandering The World

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×