Dream Wheel Update & Burning Man Countdown!

15 days 'til blast off! Just two weeks left until we pull out onto the highway and start the pilgrimage to the Playa! I've been packing and organizing all week to try and get the bulk of the "usual" items loaded and ready to go. Sweet Pea's been away all week at Lark Camp in Mendicino, California and has an art show the first weekend she's home................ maybe, if we're lucky, the final week will be relaxing :)

The Dream Wheel project's been coming right along. The main wood frame is finished up. I drilled and installed the final bolts last night. When Sweet Pea's home, we'll figure out what kind of final jazzing up we'll do on the frame. I've got a pile of ideas and sketches, but this sort of project tends to be organic in nature and just sort of unfolds as I go along, so it's always a bit of a surprise to see how it all comes out in the end. The interesting thing is that the main frame is nearly identical to a sketch that I made as we drove home from the Playa in 2005, and not much like the sketch I made just before starting this project.............


I've assembled the wheel components and painted on the "wording" around the top and bottom of the main wheel. It's looking great! Again, when Sweet Pea's home, we'll decide on any final art for the wheel. I still have to build a holder for the 3" x 5" index cards and pens that will be used for folks to write their own dreams, prayers and wishes for the wheel. I'll also do a little philosophical / descriptive sheet that I'll install under plexiglass to explain the concept behind this wheel and how it relates to the community.

This afternoon's it's out to the boat to install running gear on top of the pilot house. Burning Man and boats all week! The Bernadine will be in the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival this year, the weekend immediately after we get back from Burning Man! Hope I haven't bitten off more that I can chew this year :) Here's the link to the vessel description page for the festival:

http://www.woodenboat.org/boats/Boat_Detail.aspx?processID=344

New Burning Man Shade and Art Update

Well a heat wave finally found its way to Port Townsend and with all that heat and sun, it was tough to ignore the final countdown to the burn! A flurry of activity ensued!
I set up the new shade structure......... success! It's going to work out great, but it's definitely a two person operation to set up. Tons of room inside and with the two zippered openings, it ought to get good air flow in a breeze. I can't wait to try it on the Playa! Here are a few of the first "yard shots" of the beast. You can see our little trailer that we take to Burning Man parked in the forefront, and to the left. The trailer's 10 feet long....... for a little comparison perspective.



The art project is also coming along........ "The Dream Wheel". The main wood frame is assembled and ready for "artification". The wheel is built, painted and ready for final assembly. I have plans for quite a bit of hand painted art that will be painted on the wheel and on the wood frame as well. More to follow!



(The wheel is actually upside down in the picture..... It will be turned over when it's installed in the frame)

Work Cruiser..... Old School Style

Well I'm back to the blog........... we've had a little "internet-interuptus" at the old homestead these days, so I'm blogging in the field. So....... here's a little catch up on the bike scene.


Without getting into all of the "bullshit" politics and and arbitrary decisions at work regarding bike parking.............. suffice it to say that we are required to park outside, in the weather, on an old, outdated, and unsecured bike rack and walk into work. Year-round! Just a tad screwed up! I decided that the GT was not going to be sacrificed to the weather gods just yet, so I parked it and pulled out the Burning Man bike for the first "protest ride" to work. One day was all it took to rethink that plan! I pulled out a vintage Specialized mountain bike that dates back to the first year or two they sold them, somewhere around 1982 or so! I fitted it out with my panniers and my good Brooks saddle with springs. WAY COOL ride! It's great riding retro-style....... even though I still miss the full suspension ride of the GT. With the suspension Brooks saddle, I can keep my butt planted the saddle as I bomb down the trail. The springs do a great job sucking up the bumps.


Too bad about the bike parking situation..........Oh Well....... in this case it's not worth "fighting City Hall".....