The event had opened on Sunday night. Okki had dropped strong indications that it was good to arrive early in the week, to enjoy as much of the event as possible. I wanted to do it right.
On my relaxed pace, I arrived on Tuesday afternoon. It was in the midst of what would turn out to be the fiercest windstorm of the week. Driving on the playa, the dust was so thick that I could not see farther than one or two car length in front and behind of me, and hardly into the neighboring lanes of the dozen or so that snaked in parallel fashion towards the ticket booth, something out there in the thick of the brown swirling fog.
Fortunately there weren't many of us trying to get in at that unfortunate hour. I got within sighting distance of the entrance booths before I noticed immediately the strong smell of coolant. I looked down at my temperature gauge and saw it was pegged into the red.
There was no one behind me in my lane, so I cut the engine and just waited.
In the dust I couldn't see whether there was steam coming out of the hood of the car---indicating a boilover of the radiator.
There was nothing to do but let it cool down. At worst, I could nurse the car through the gates and towards the compound. I wouldn't be using it for a week in any case.
1 comment:
Keep writing. I've always heard about Burning Man, but have never known anyone who went.
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