Early Wednesday morning (just a little past midnight) we achieved one of our Burning Man dreams: trying Poutaine, a gooey French fry treat from Canada. We’ve failed in several burns to reach the head of the line at Midnight Poutaine, a Quebec-based camp that serves up this totally unhealthful but delicious favorite of our northern neighbors. At previous burns, we’ve either been too impatient to stand in the long line, or too late to get a serving. Once we were near the front of the line when they announced “we’re out of potatoes.” But not last night. We spent at least an 90 minutes in line for the grease-laden goodies, but the time went quickly because we met a young couple expecting their first child in January and clicked with them. We’re going to have dinner at their place tonight. They live in San Diego, but their original homes are Serbia and France. It was so entertaining to talk with them that the time flew by and before we knew it we were eating our greasy fries. Midnight Poutaine even supplied the wooden forks and a burn barrel for the trash.
Leopard on Wheels: a new art car on the Playa
We ended the evening back at Lamplighters, renewing friendships and dancing to the mix-tape of 80s music blasting into the lounge.
All day Wednesday was glorious in terms of weather. Winds and the resultant dust were minimal, the temperatures were mild, and the air was crisp and clear. We don’t get that many such benign days out here so we exulted in it.
Hard-working Midnight Poutaine crew fries potatoes, then makes them worse for you with their delicious goo
Our camp is now complete in every way. All of the planned build is finished and all of the expected campers are here and settled into their tents and campers. The wedding party for tomorrow morning’s nuptials is also complete since my younger son and his wife have arrived and are staying with us in the RV. I’m looking forward to officiating at the ceremony, Universal Life Church of the Internet credentials (which also allowed me to marry or youngest a few years ago in Phoenix). Officiating at Carousel’s wedding seems only fair since he re-married us last year at the Burn for our 50th anniversary.
The wonders of Burning Man continue to amaze us. Art cars seem glitzier and more elaborate than ever this year and creativity runs rampant across the Playa with art installations popping up everywhere. We love being here because it makes us feel young, alive, and sexy.
Talk about a set of Big Wheels…
Because of minimal rain over the past six months, the Playa surface is smooth and well-packed, meaning bikes rarely get caught up in the mini-dunes that appear some years. Riding is a pleasure this year.
Tomorrow at dawn we’ll be celebrating my older son’s wedding to his new bride, returning to our camp for a 9 a.m. reception. We’ll be serving mimosas, waffles, and plenty of bacon – the “official” food of Burning Man. I’ll report on the event in tomorrow’s post.