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In Search of Black Rock City - Part 2

April 2021 · 3 min read · Nevada

Part 1 - https://travelfeed.io/@eiafp/in-search-of-black-rock-city-part-1

Homecoming

The Black Rock Desert is a strange and unique environment. Before Black Rock City’s birth, the Black Rock Desert was known for its solitude and dark skies. The Black Rock Desert holds its place in American history as a split point of Emigrant trails going to Oregon and Northern California.

The Lone RV
The Lone RV

As I descend from the north end of the playa, it begins to narrow and funnel south. I have been following a well-worn track along the west side of the playa. As I near the outskirts of Black Rock City, more random camps appear. I slow down and am amazed at how the BRC has evolved this year. A large mountain on my left, Old Sawtooth Mountain, is coming into view. This is my landmark for my ideal camp spot for photographing the sunset, moonrise, and sunrise. I start setting up camp at 10 am. It is already 80/27 f/c and soon to be over 100/38 f/c, and I need shade.

Old Sawtooth Mountain. Jungo Road and Trego Hot Springs are located at the base of the mountain. A Jeep and RV just finished making their way over Trego Siding. People were using this route to access the playa all day.
Old Sawtooth Mountain. Jungo Road and Trego Hot Springs are located at the base of the mountain. A Jeep and RV just finished making their way over Trego Siding. People were using this route to access the playa all day.
North Camp, my closest neighbor camp.
North Camp, my closest neighbor camp.
West Camp. Somewhere in the dust were two large sound camps. I could hear them supplying the playa with non-stop dance music.
West Camp. Somewhere in the dust were two large sound camps. I could hear them supplying the playa with non-stop dance music.
South Camps. This is where most people were entering the playa and camping. This is the area where BM Org sets up a big orange fence and claims the boundaries of Black Rock City.
South Camps. This is where most people were entering the playa and camping. This is the area where BM Org sets up a big orange fence and claims the boundaries of Black Rock City.

Waiting For the Sun to Go Down

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It is 3 in the afternoon and 102/39 f/c. It is freaking hot. My film cameras are in the cooler with the bag of cold mandarin oranges and chocolate almonds, that are quickly disappearing. There is a breeze from the southeast, that is helping me to stay cool. Welcome to the part of Burning Man that does not get talked about.

Truck glamping. The playa is alkali flat and hard on the skin. It was too hot for shoes, so I hid out in the bed of the truck watching and waving to the people driving and flying by.
Truck glamping. The playa is alkali flat and hard on the skin. It was too hot for shoes, so I hid out in the bed of the truck watching and waving to the people driving and flying by.
Art Car/Truck. There were quite a few dirt moto bikes cruising around - something not allowed at BM.
Art Car/Truck. There were quite a few dirt moto bikes cruising around - something not allowed at BM.
Low flying aircraft. This little plane did a couple of low flybys.
Low flying aircraft. This little plane did a couple of low flybys.

The Black Rock at Sunset

It finally starts cooling off around 6:00 pm. I set my my iPhone on a small tripod, hooked to a solar battery. I have gotten into a habit of doing time-lapse videos of the sunset that I am photographing. I then set up my Nikon D750 on it tripod. It does great things in the dark. More on that in the next post.

Sunset on the Black Rock. There was just enough smoke from the California fires to create the color band in the sunset.
Sunset on the Black Rock. There was just enough smoke from the California fires to create the color band in the sunset.
Playa at Dusk. ISO 100 at 4 sec. f/5.6
Playa at Dusk. ISO 100 at 4 sec. f/5.6

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