Buring Man This Year: Mr. Information

My visit to DPW left me on a high from the insight of seeing Black Rock City on a whole new level.

I had told them I was out riding to do reconnaissance for my friends who were napping in preparation for leaving. The DPW clued me into a special way of accessing in the City that avoided both the 6:30 and 5:30 roads. It was the easiest way to get to the Merge Point. They couldn't believe other people weren't using it. I thanked them for their secret knowledge and rode off into the dark.

I had plenty of time to kill---all night. I just had to find a way to get my bags back to the Burner Express bus stop by 6 a.m. I bicycled up to 6:00 and G, looking for the stop in advance, and found exactly where it was, so I would not get lost in the dark later.

Then I went up to Center Camp, but I didn't go inside, since I knew it was closing down. Instead I rode around the circular road to other side and parked my bike. There were about a dozen other people around. Having no agenda, I walked over to the Information Center nearby. It was lit, but I knew it was closed (Ash had gone there earlier to the lost and found, looking for his lost driver license).

Nevertheless much of the info was an outside bulletin board that was stuffed with several thousand posters that had been put up over the week. Reading them I realized they were highly useful and informative. I made a mental note to make more use of the Information bulletin board next year---a daily stop in the morning.

There was also weather info for the coming day, with the warning about rain on Monday. Beside this was a huge map of Black Rock City showing all the camps. Suddenly I realized what an idiot I had been, not knowing about this map, which was incredibly detailed and easier to use.

It showed the true locations and sizes of every registered camp. From this I got a great view of where the least populated areas of the city were. There were several "hidden gem" areas that were near major attractions but which were not highly populated. On the other hand, it was obvious that our location at 7:45 and K was very poorly chosen, since that area was extremely crowded. Next year, I resolved, we will find a better location.

As I was standing there, contemplating the beauty of the map, I heard a voice call out towards.

"Hey! Excuse me!"

I turned around to a young woman coming toward me from the dark plaza.

As she got into the light near me, she said, "are you Playa Information?"

I took a breath and with my calmest voice said, "How can I help you?"

It turns out she had a sick friend who was wondering around the nearby plaza in the dark, with some kind of stomach pains, and somewhat less than coherent. They were looking for the Ranger HQ. I told her where to find it---go down to the Esplanade and then turn right. Then to make sure I led her down there until the little lighted window was in clear sight.