On September 7, 2005 Tom Jennings wrote: > Took the ole Rambler up to Black Rock desert (N. of Pyramid Lake) > in Nevada this past week, to Burning Man. Got the A/C charged the > day before -- totally worth it! Not only was the trip cooler, the > 600 miles up from Los Angeles, it was quieter -- the traditional 4 > by 60 is deafening. The belt makes a slight chirp when the > Sanden's clutch kicks in, and the car is underpowered enough that > you can feel the compressor impulse load going up hills. > > Basically the Burning Man event is camping with 36,000 people > (this year) on a dry salt lake. There aren't even insects -- > nothing. You gotta carry in water, food, everything, and the site > is left utterly, absolutely, spotless. Not even fuzz from > clothing. > > So the Rambler is pretty much set up for standalone deep desert > camping (sleeps two, 60 watts solar, ton of tools, parts, etc) > plus we added one of those "instant canopies" that the next day > became instant junk when it failed under side-loading wind. > > I was surprised that old cars were a total rarity. Out of some > 10,000? 15,000? vehicles driven in, the only old cars I saw at > all (though I doubt I saw more than 2% of the place) was a few > 70's Broncos, some old panel wagons, an early 80's Spirit, my 63 > Classic, and a 53 Nash wagon! Now that was a sight to see -- > driven in from California no less. > > http://wps.com/BM/2005/images/53-nash.jpg > > Picture taken while driving in; I never found it again (couldn't > remember the street address.) > > (In the res on the way up the road was a sportabout and a spirit > in someone's yard; plus a yellow 70 hornet further down 395.) > > Rambler ran just fine. Took 12 hrs to get there, 13 to home. Car > camping in the desert is always dirty and dusty, but the A/C > allowed us to drive with the windows up, a big boon. > > However, the more-than-24-hour-long sandstorm forced sand (alkali > silt, really) everywhere. Bicycles are mandatory -- it takes most > of an hour to follow the perimeter of the city -- and the > sandstorm got so bad at times that we had to simply stop > pedalling, we couldn't see 10 feet in front of us. There's no > showers, or washing, but somehow you get used to that. (Still > haven't shaved.) > > http://wps.com/BM/2005/images/sandtstorm1.jpg > > I'd heard of Burning Man for more than 10 years, but somehow never > went. Big mistake on my part. It's umm probably not for everybody > but it changed everything for me. Man that is one totally reliable old Rambler. I hope my orange Hornet will be as reliable. "Doc" ============================================================= Posted by wixList Archiver -- http://www.amxfiles.com/wixlist