Part 4 in a series of Burning Man-themed Photo Friday posts. (Links to the previous weeks' posts are below.)

some funky-ass Burning Man trash

And in the end, to paraphrase The Beatles, the trash you take [out] is equal to the trash you make.

The exodus at the end of Burning Man involves cleaning up every scrap of anything you brought with you, packing it into your vehicle, and hauling it out. One of the key principles, Leave No Trace, is taken verrrrrrrry seriously. Legions of volunteers remain behind, combing the Playa for weeks to make sure even the most minute bit of MOOP (Matter Out of Place) is removed. This is yet another thing that sets The Burn apart from most festivals.

But let's not think about the end when we've not yet even begun! This concludes my four-part Photo Friday series leading up to Burning Man, which means the moment is finally here! Tomorrow we initiate the liftoff sequence. (For further details on that, check out Monday's post.) Since we'll be off the grid for the week, this is the last you'll hear from me until after Labor Day. Stay tuned for LOTS of stories and pics streaming your way in September!

For those who will be at this year's Burn, we'll be camped with Great Balls of Fire at 8:00 & Athens. C'mon by and say hi!

Check out more fabulous travel photos at Delicious Baby's Photo Friday.

RELATED LINKS:
* week one: Ringing the Virgin Bell
* week two: Desert eats
* week three: Beyond the mmp-tss mmp-tss mmp-tss
* browse all 2008 Burning Man pics
* all Burning Man blog posts
* my BM photos on Matador
* my photos in the BM Gallery
* Burning Man website

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our living room as of about midnight on Saturday


and on Sunday morning

Whew! This weekend we managed to pack up about a dozen boxes and send them on the road with a fellow DC Burner who is driving cross-country.

Thus officially begins the logistical complexity that is Burning Man. The first step is shipping out furry costumes, inflatable furniture, bike decorations, and other essentials. Check! Early Sunday, we'll hop a plane (carrying as little as possible) and land in Sacramento, where we'll spend a day collecting other supplies like groceries, booze, and our bikes. Then on Monday we'll pick up the Mothership of Love & Justice -- aka a Cruise America RV -- and lumber our way out to Nevada. With any luck, once on the Playa we will be reunited with our gear, and the festivities can begin!

Word to your moms.

RELATED LINKS:
* Photo Friday: ringing the Virgin Bell
* Photo Friday: desert eats
* Photo Friday: beyond the mmp-tss mmp-tss mmp-tss
* Burning Man

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Part 3 in a series of Burning Man-themed Photo Friday posts. (Here's part 1 and part 2.)

Everybody's going to the party have a real good time.
Dancing in the desert blowing up the sunshine.
- System of a Down, "B.Y.O.B."

Pringles IS Guitarzan!

We all know there's lots of rave music at Burning Man. Ditto for drum circles. After all, this festival is the equivalent of Holy Week for hippie-ravers the world over.

However, there are alternatives to the standard mmp-tss mmp-tss mmp-tss! Many camps offer open mic events for musicians of all genres, and one of our favorites in 2008 was The Golden Cafe. Self-described as "a casual sidewalk bar offering exotic cocktails and live music," this camp was a great place to visit during the late afternoon hours. Mark went there to jaminate more than once, and was even bestowed a Golden Cafe VIP medallion.

the Golden Cafe

This year, we'll no doubt be hanging out at the Cafe, but in addition Mark & Keith have been working on their own musical act: Mystical Shit, a King Missile cover band! (You remember King Missile, don'tcha? They're best known for "Detachable Penis.") I've heard them practice a few times -- OK, once -- and can attest that Mystical Shit will be a spectacular addition to the Playa festivities at our camp.

For those who will be at this year's Burn, we'll be camped with Great Balls of Fire at 8:00 & Athens. C'mon by and say hello, and join in the Mystical Shit sing-a-long!

And for those who aren't Playa-bound but still want to bask in the glow of Mark's shred-a-licious guitar skeelz, stay tuned for announcements about his latest band project, AquaSpank.

Check out more fabulous travel photos at Delicious Baby's Photo Friday.

RELATED LINKS:
* week one: Ringing the Virgin Bell
* week two: Desert eats
* browse all 2008 Burning Man pics
* all 2008 Burning Man blog posts
* my BM photos on Matador
* my photos in the BM Gallery
* Burning Man
* AquaSpank
* The Golden Cafe

If you enjoyed this post, please help us spread the word!

Part 2 in a series of Burning Man-themed Photo Friday posts. (Last week's post is here, in case you missed it.)

them's good desert eats!

Most who come to Burning Man camp in tents. They tend to eat things like jerky and trail mix and those godawful camping MRE packets that are loaded with sodium and some vague chicken-like flavorings. If they're lucky enough to have a camp stove or a makeshift camp kitchen, some might even consume hot food from time to time.

We are not like most. (Hardly a newsflash, I realize.) Mark and I arrived at the Burn in 2008 in a big honkin' Mothership of an RV, which was outfitted with a pretty decent kitchen. Being the ridiculous foodies we are, we'd stocked up on plenty of delicious culinary supplies, and ate pretty well throughout the week.

The last night of the festival, just prior to the Temple Burn, we held an impromptu dinner party for anyone remaining in our camp. Nothing too fancy, just a little clams marinara over some pasta, maybe some red wine thrown in for good measure. But after a week of grubby camp food, as you can see from the photo above, this meal qualified as the Best.Spaghetti.Ever.

For those who will be at this year's Burn, we'll be camped with Great Balls of Fire at 8:00 & Athens. C'mon by and say hello, and we'll likely gift you with some hospitality from our kitchen!

Check out more fabulous travel photos at Delicious Baby's Photo Friday.

RELATED LINKS:
* last week's post: Ringing the Virgin Bell
* browse all 2008 Burning Man pics
* all Burning Man blog posts
* my BM photos on Matador
* my photos in the BM Gallery
* Burning Man website

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Registrations are rolling in! I'm so excited to report that due to the overwhelming response, we've had to move to a bigger venue. (Woot!) Meet, Plan, Go! DC will now be taking place at the very hip Policy DC, in their upstairs Liberty Lounge. I was just there for a @Sisarina tweetup last week and can confirm that this is an excellent space, with plenty of room to mix & mingle, and a plethora of $5 happy hour food & drink specials.

Policy's Liberty Lounge

Special thanks to fellow DC travel blogger Matt at LandLopers for giving me the opportunity to do a recent guest post about Meet, Plan, Go!: Get Out & Go: Make Your Travel Dreams a Reality.

Have you registered yet for this free and fabulous event? Don't wait until it sells out a second time!

Not in DC? Not to worry, MPG is happening at over a dozen locations throughout the US and Canada.

RELATED LINKS:
* Meet, Plan, Go! site
* MPG Facebook fan page
* MPG Twitter feed
* LandLopers guest post
* DC registration
* all MPG locations

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...because sometimes it's nice to have a visual reminder that all your hard work really IS paying off.

In honor of our trip to Burning Man later this month, all of August's Photo Fridays will be related to The Burn. I've posted many of my favorites before, in various places (see below), but this is an attempt to dig a bit deeper into the experience.

Sonia & Andre ring the Virgin Bell

First-time Burning Man attendees have the opportunity to ring the "Virgin Bell" at the entrance and then roll around in the dust. When we arrived around 1am, it was freezing, there was dust flying everywhere, the whole thing was completely bewildering and yet strangely festive. And thus the week began.

Those who will be at this year's Burn, we'll be camped with Great Balls of Fire at 8:00 & Athens. C'mon by and say hello!

Check out more fabulous travel photos at Delicious Baby's Photo Friday.

RELATED LINKS:
* browse all 2008 Burning Man pics
* all 2008 Burning Man blog posts
* Photo Friday: purple people-eater
* my BM photos on Matador
* my photos in the BM Gallery
* Burning Man website

If you enjoyed this post, please help us spread the word!