BURN.LIFE
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Year by Year HIstory
    • 1986 -1990: The Early Days
    • 1991-1996: Hypergrowth
    • 1997-2000: Maturation
    • 2001-2010: Graceful Aging
    • 2011-2015: The Age of Scarcity
    • 2016-2020: The End?
  • Preparing/Attending
    • Getting Tickets
    • Preparing >
      • Tents and Shade
      • RVs
      • Food and Water
      • Clothing & Costumes
      • Bikes
      • Cameras
      • Lag Screws 101
      • Burning on a Budget
      • Packing List
    • Getting to Burning Man (Entry)
    • Being There >
      • Adventuring on the playa
      • Art
      • Music
      • Poopin' on the Playa
      • Leave No Trace
    • Leaving Burning Man (Exodus)

The Blog That Burns

A Visit to Burning Man's Fly Ranch

9/18/2016

 
I woke up one day in August and, to my surprise, discovered the Org had invited me to come visit Fly Ranch during the Burn. Obviously, it wasn't something I was going to pass up, and so on Tuesday afternoon of Burn week, myself and 13 other people headed out in a van from First Camp to Fly Ranch. 

What is Fly Ranch?

It's a 3800 acre property near the playa that hosted Burning Man in 1997 (just a few miles past the turn-off you make every year into Black Rock City), though only for that year, and back when the event was 10,000 people. You can read more about the event in 1997 here if you'd like. 

The Burning Man organization has tried to acquire it four times-ish over the past 20 years, finally succeeding this year, with $6.5m in funding completely gifted by wealthy Burners. 

The ranch has a diverse ecosystem, with one part of it dominated by swimmable hot springs that are pretty amazing. They're huge! The first thing we did on getting there was to strip off our dusty clothes and hop into the water, which is, I'd guess, between 99 and 101 degrees F. The bottom is delightfully muddy in a good way, and my god it was a pleasure to be there, soaking with other Burners. 
Picture
An aerial view of the hot springs part of Fly Ranch. Photo: Burning Man's site.

Why did they take us out to the ranch?

​Our group of 14 (out of about 200 they took out to the Ranch in total during the week) included the regional contact for Burning Japan, artists like Bryan Tedrick who has built things like the giant boar sculpture on the playa this year, a meta-regional coordinator for the Midwestern regionals, someone leading a theme camp whose name I can't recall, me, and so on. It was a pretty diverse group of people in terms of what we do at and around Burning Man. 

They explained that though they'd love to invite everyone, it's just not possible, which was clearly evident. There's simply no infrastructure there. There was one temporary shade structure, a couple porta-potties on a trailer, and a wooden pathway/viewing structure around the Fly Geyser. That's it. Plus, there are ecological concerns around the health of the pools and the surrounding grasslands. It's just not set up to deal with a flood of people.

While we were there, they just wanted us to get a feel for the surroundings, in order to get an idea of the kind of property it is, and start the creative juices flowing as regards what we might do with Fly Ranch.

We were also told a few things about their intentions for developing a plan for the ranch...
Picture
Bathing in one of the large hot spring pools. Photo: Me.
Picture
The shade structure we talked under. Photo: Me.

Why did Burning Man buy Fly Ranch?

Well, interestingly or recklessly (take your pick!), what was driven home to us while there, and what's been further emphasized in private conversations with people in the Org since then is that they do not have a plan for the land yet because they don't feel it'd be in keeping with Burning Man's mission to dictate a plan. Instead, they want to involve the community - us - in figuring out what should happen with it. 

There are, however, some concrete reasons to have purchased it. Two, in particular, stand out:
  1. ​Burning Man uses something like 12 million gallons of water as an organization during the event, largely for dust abatement via watering the roads from the back of those trucks you've seen. (Unamusingly, that is about the same amount some jackass homeowner in Bel Air used in a year.) They've been purchasing the water from the previous Fly Ranch owner for some time, but now they've secured the rights to that water permanently. Interestingly, the water is actually potable (drinkable) but the trucks that are used to transport it aren't rated for that, turning the water unpotable.

  2. Fly Ranch is adjacent to two notable pieces of property.

    First, it's adjacent to Black Rock Station, a 200 acre property that DPW has long used to store their equipment, and which has also been used by theme camps and art car groups for storage for the last few years.

    Second, it's adjacent to the Hualapai Flat, a large piece of property that includes the Hualapai Playa, a flat playa large enough to hold Black Rock City at its current size.​ One problem with that would be that it's a much smaller space than the Black Rock playa, so the same feeling of expansive everness wouldn't be there when you gaze out in deep playa.

    Burning Man claims that they have no plans to hold it there, but given their up-and-down relationship with the BLM (Bureau of Land Management, a federal agency), which controls the Black Rock playa, it's an interesting thought experiment. It's potentially leverage when negotiating with the BLM on fees (the Org pays several million per year to the BLM), and it's an escape route in case the relationship goes completely south and the BLM tells Burning Man to get out. That's purely my speculation though. The Org officially insists they have no plans to move Burning Man there, and I believe them. The Black Rock playa is more suited to the event anyway, due to its larger size. 

  3. There are a huge range of possibilities beyond that, and that's where we, the community, get involved! 
Picture
Black Rock City superimposed at scale on the Hualapai playa. Across the mountains to the southeast is the Black Rock playa, where Burning Man has been held every year except one since 1990. Image: Simon Gold.

How Can You Help?

Think about all the questions and potential Fly Ranch brings up. We now have a 3800 acre permanent home very close to the Mecca of Burning Man - the Black Rock Desert. Literally, just down the road.

The BMORG plans to take this slowly, and is taking inspiration and advice from multiple groups, like Esalen and the Long Now Foundation, with a focus on long-term thinking, but ultimately, the answers will come from all of us - the Burning Man community.

I have my own thoughts, but I'd really love to hear what you think. The Org seems serious about doing this with heavy community involvement, so let's take put that to the test. I'll funnel your feedback to them and do another post talking about the feedback I got, so please, share what you think.

  1. What can we do with Fly Ranch to make the experience that we go through during our time on the Black Rock playa better?

  2. What can we do with it to make the experience of those burning at regionals around the world better?
    ​
  3. Are there things we can do on that property to create new, interesting, and potentially more long-term sustainable experiences? Consider that Fly Ranch could, in the not-very-far-future, accommodate more Burners over the course of a year than go to Black Rock City for Burn week, for instance.

I don't ask these rhetorically. Please, think about them and leave feedback either in the comments below, or in the reddit thread about it: 

Below are some videos and photos I made of the landscape there, to give you a sense of what the portion of the property I visited feels like.
Those white dust clouds across the low mountains in the distance? Yep, that's Burning Man!
Picture
Picture
Margaret Kiegel
9/18/2016 01:24:09 pm

The eco system looks very fragile. The diversity is beautiful.

Dr Yes link
9/18/2016 01:47:32 pm

Well, keep in mind that I was only one a small portion of Fly Ranch. At 3800 acres, it's large, and another part of it did host 10,000 Burners for Burning Man 1997.

The portion I was on definitely seems fragile though. I can't imagine they will ever be able to responsibly just open that part up to whomever wants to go there.

Barbara MV Scott link
9/24/2016 03:58:03 am

My advice is to maintain the biodiversity of this fragile desert ecosystem in the manner of the first peoples of America that had an impeccable and holistic stewardship. Yes a place for artists and writers as well as stewardship, which is our responsibility and major ecological ethic in these times. There could be a collaboration with people that practice etheric stewardship as true spiritual scientists while reaching out to surrounding ecosystems to return the life force and biodiversity to desert landscapes…Consultation with other communities might be with Findhorn and others that are actively practicing a stewardship of consciousness, landscapes and nutrient dense and spiritual agriculture. Esalen and the other community that are mentioned would have been great to consult with back in the day of Gregory Bateson, Charlotte Selver and Dick Price and those who introduced the tried and true perennial wisdom teachings. There are new communities and initiatives springing up that embody New Earth principles, such as Findhorn while many of the old are more corporate and not so community or cooperation oriented.

Matt Sundquist link
9/16/2018 03:29:31 am

Good ideas. You might like the research here: https://journal.burningman.org/author/scirpus/.

Aaron Golden
9/18/2016 02:04:57 pm

Sounds like you're getting there with question 3. A fully permanent community seems to run into all kinds of problems - who gets to live there? How could the community support itself outside of those who are so wealthy they don't need to work? But what about a longer lasting/smaller year around community where people come and go for a week or two at a time? All the same rules apply to regular burning man - week-long fees/bring water/leave no trace/art/gifting, etc., just this way it opens up the experience to more bodies and those who can't make the trek at that time of year. It would have a different energy, surely, a tangential experience to the Burn at Black Rock. Maybe some administration would make it their year-round home. But the main purpose would almost be like a year-round BM experience. It would be amazing to roll up there for Christmas, maybe, or other times of the year...

Dr. Yes link
9/19/2016 12:53:18 pm

Great comment, thanks! Rolling up there for Xmas would be pretty amazing. :)

Buena Chica
9/18/2016 02:33:56 pm

We should hold the next GLC on the Ranch!!!

Jungle Jim Gibson link
9/20/2016 12:09:14 pm

I love the idea of GLC there - SF is so expensive. We in Reno have been wondering how and where we can have our own Regional, and this might be the perfect spot...

Leah
9/18/2016 02:40:58 pm

Looks like a decompression point, similar to what we trying to find by Tahoe lake after the burn.

HeathenWorld
9/18/2016 09:33:50 pm

this could host a large scale maker space / teaching facility, serve as artist retreat, self sustainable living experiments, limited primitive camp spaces, perhaps preferring multi day stays and contribution of labor and skills instead of cash payment, etc etc.

Dogwood
9/19/2016 03:35:48 pm

I agree. This is pretty much what I was thinking. Host "burner summer camp" where we can go to learn skills like welding, carpentry, soldering, how to build a fancy as shade structure. All the classic burner crafts.

Clay chivers
9/19/2016 04:30:21 am

Sounds like such a wonderful area that most of us will never get to see. Why not place all of the ultra fancy, plug and play camps out there and leave the rest of the playa to we real burners.

Wick link
9/19/2016 04:46:26 am

Is it possible to build a utopian burner city that experiments with alternative systems of government and economy? When do we stop Burning the Man, and start building a new one?

Carbon Buildup
9/19/2016 08:35:39 am

I think the Fly Ranch should be a kind of mitigation site for Burning Man. Let's face it, no matter how much we try, Burning Man isn't really a very "Green" event because of all the hydrocarbons we expend there. The Fly Ranch could be managed to maximize its CO2 absorption and wildlife benefits.

Lisa Bertschi
9/19/2016 10:24:49 am

I propose a small visitor center (maybe as part of the friends of Black Rock !?!) as a start. I live in Gerlach and I met a lot of visitors from all parts of the world, but especially from Europe, that drove here to see Fly Geyser. Some hop the fence, but that's really not what anybody wants. Most drive away disappointed and not understanding why there is no access.

Jane Maru link
9/19/2016 11:06:52 am

The most important first step (if it hasn't already been done) is to have regional/local ecologists scope the lay of the land. To have an understanding at this level is essential in moving forward.

Nicolas stadler link
9/19/2016 11:43:01 am

I think Fly ranch should be, as La Villa Médicis in Roma, a place where painters, sculptors, writers , designers ( of all kinds) , architects, filmmakers ... artists and maybe scientists can do and try what they want.

Becka rex link
9/19/2016 12:21:37 pm

Permanent home for white ocean! 😆

Dr. Yes link
9/19/2016 12:30:27 pm

Based on their moop map from last year (all red and yellow), that's not a fate to wish on any piece of land!

eo
9/19/2016 12:38:17 pm

It seems a given that 1) it can not replace BRC, and 2) it must be sustainable. It is obvious, as suggested by the Esalen reference, that it should support conferences and other explorations of the possible. It could support a retirement community of old burners, who would in turn support it. It also seems natural that it would support a fair number of people in transition, but these I don't believe could be permanent residents. I think this is a key issue, the BM culture will by its nature attract a fair number of people that believe they want to stick. However, in order to stay vital sticking needs to be discouraged.
I think of BM as an experiment in post scarcity living, and I think this should be a focus or fly-ranch.

Dr. Yes link
9/19/2016 12:54:03 pm

I agree with your comments on impermanence, which I feel like is built into Burning Man culture.

jasonwentcrazy link
9/19/2016 12:53:43 pm

Ever hear about Arcosanti? It's an amazing place and Burning Man has always reminded me of it to some degree and just thought it would be good as info. https://www.wired.com/2013/04/arcosanti-paolo-soleri/

Dr. Yes link
9/19/2016 12:57:08 pm

I haven't, but that's really interesting, thanks. Seems like some lessons can be learned from Arcosanti.

Red Serpent
9/19/2016 01:12:08 pm

Some sort of year-round village could be set up. Partly to alleviate pressure on the main event, but also to have a permanent meeting place for burners. Maybe people could apply for residencies and come for shorter stays being part of art workshops.
And it should have a telescope of course.

gary mann
9/19/2016 01:43:57 pm

Art workshop studios

FE
9/19/2016 02:03:22 pm

If Burning Man is a kind of initiation, then Fly Ranch could be an integration. It could be a place where the lessons of Burning Man can be shared, internalized, made more concrete. Artist residencies, retreats, a place to host dialogues, a place for regional organizers to come together to share knowledge. Open to all who have attended at least one Burning Man.

Elizabeth
9/19/2016 02:07:06 pm

First, we should note that Fly is not a natural geyser, so that particular "ecosystem" around the spring is only about 50 years old.

Second... I don't think there's any easy answers here. It's a cool piece of land, and useful for staging, but it is so far removed from most people that it's use as a build site is limited.

Artist colony is interesting, but without nearby jobs, it would require GENEROUS stipends.
What I don't want to see is what I fear. A VIP area. A place for the ORG and select benefactors to retreat to before, during, and after the big burn.

Then again, hot springs have been known to harbor brain-eating amoebas, so maybe this is self-correcting problem.

FE
9/19/2016 02:14:21 pm

Also, always acting in accordance with the permission of the land itself. If the birds don't respond well to massive sound systems, take heed. Etc.

Krista kilian
9/19/2016 07:14:51 pm

Burner think tank. A place where all the worlds major problems are put on the table and great minds come and gift their ideas to solving them. Book time periods for certain problems. Minds from all fields and walks of life come and brainstorm in exchange for living there that week or month or whatever and being surrounded by everything that is the burn.

Fabricio link
9/20/2016 07:07:50 am

Do nothing let everything untouched!! create a self sustaining permanent city in 20 acres of land made with leftovers from BRC, cap the city population to 20000 doers, but only 2500 permanent citizens the other 17500 keep on take turns 3 months at the time or up to 3 years...

Chowski
9/20/2016 03:06:54 pm

Let's move the 747 there permanently, and plant stories in the Mainstream media that Burning Man is OVER, and that Fly Ranch is where all the important people go now to get away from the poors. It can become the new bucket list destination for the Parasite Class and their black-bikini, indian headdress Mistresses of Merriment to be served and catered to in the manner to which they have become accustomed. A whole week of Default World celebrity, Luxury RVs and MOOPing! Then we get our city back. Win! Win!

Rebeka aka Belle Du Jour
9/20/2016 06:22:15 pm

I imagine great intentions will lead to great experiences and creations. So with that in mind, my hope for this experiment is it becomes a more permanent dusty culture that reflects and expands the temporary culture of BRC from where it all began. Namely,

Honor the land and nature.
Honor oneself and the community.
Honor the process of evolution.
Be open, kind and be love.
Now, how? My BIG wish is that the relating and teaching of all the above are integrated into the purpose and uses of FLY RANCH once it is up and running! (and blinking :)

For me, the ingredients of intention setting, participation, diversity, soul space, support, harmony and joy typically result in FUN and true LEARNING.
Like OCCUPY greatly explored, the starfish model of organization (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starfish_and_the_Spider) is based more on a circle than a pyramid for leadership. In my personal experiences of community organizing, participation and leadership, what typically acts as devolving force is the lack of harmony and understanding between competing voices and interests. So,

How will FLY RANCH be a safe space, a self-sustaining space and a space to grow LOVE in all its manifestations?
How to design it, partition it, build its infrastructure etc…will most likely spring from these answers.

I hope to be part of this process. Always willing to participate!
Thank you for this discussion and sharing your thoughts.


Sara MissConception Glass link
10/4/2016 05:47:46 pm

What I wish for most, is that I could head back to Black Rock City, TODAY, with all of the other die-hard sick-of-this-default-shit burner radicals and get settled on Fly Ranch as my heart imagines our community could be. If we gave it a real effort to colonize and revolutionize the way we envision our lives, image what we could do for ourselves, and as a model for the world? I’m not sure it is time for that yet, but I do know that I am ready. Are you? Should we? This is a group decision, not just for that of one or two people.

Maybe it’s too soon, for you personally and that’s okay! If so, then the task at hand is clearly upon us: to spread what I believe isa mutual love and respect all around the world, including within our own community, but specifically outside of our inner circle, and to be proud of this energy.

We are a hefty network. Think of the global mouthpiece we could amplify should we chose to deliver a message. What message is worth delivering, and how shall we say it? Perhaps we speak softly, with grace, radical inclusion and exquisite creativity; definitely not with exclusivity. Rather, the voice of this radical burner spirit that drew us all together in the first place.


Read the whole article here: https://missedconcept.wordpress.com/2016/10/05/split-hairs-the-lessons-of-burning-the-man/

Dee
10/21/2016 01:23:27 pm

So as a potential burner, I can't help but notice that one must "go thru the man" in order to "burn the man". What about a place that actually follows all the principles. How can a community of gifting really operate WITHOUT a default world where resources are obtained? Is the purpose to create a space without crown or ruler? For a permanent culture to exist, however, basic needs must be met. How that is done, I don't know.

starfish
6/23/2017 01:14:46 pm

I don't think its possible to separate completely, but it doesn't mean that it can't be done in the best way possible. Same way that the burn isn't completely decoupled from capitalism in the first place. Best we can do is probably the best we can do.


Comments are closed.

    Author

    I'm Dr. Yes. I run this site,  lead a theme camp called Friendgasm, and make Burning Man videos. Just say yes, folks, and help keep Burning Man weird!

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    September 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    December 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    September 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014

Please like the Burn.Life FB page to get BM info, news, opinion pieces, and more.
I'm Dr. Yes, a fan of Burning Man, Burners, and Burner culture.

Burn.Life is a non-commercial, hobbyist website  and no commerce, ads, paid endorsements are involved.  Any products mentioned or linked to are done so because I or people I trust have used them and I view them as reasonable recommendations. You can email me here: yes (-at-) burn (-dot-) life.
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Year by Year HIstory
    • 1986 -1990: The Early Days
    • 1991-1996: Hypergrowth
    • 1997-2000: Maturation
    • 2001-2010: Graceful Aging
    • 2011-2015: The Age of Scarcity
    • 2016-2020: The End?
  • Preparing/Attending
    • Getting Tickets
    • Preparing >
      • Tents and Shade
      • RVs
      • Food and Water
      • Clothing & Costumes
      • Bikes
      • Cameras
      • Lag Screws 101
      • Burning on a Budget
      • Packing List
    • Getting to Burning Man (Entry)
    • Being There >
      • Adventuring on the playa
      • Art
      • Music
      • Poopin' on the Playa
      • Leave No Trace
    • Leaving Burning Man (Exodus)