Sunday, September 6, 2026
Time to pack up. The city was already emptying; Exodus had begun. The day was bright and sunny, not too hot, with barely any dust and wind.
We spent the day packing up, putting the art car on the trailer, storing everything in its place, and getting ready to go.
Later in the day it became windy, but since we’d positioned the RV semi-carefully, it took the brunt of the wind. The camp across the road from us had a terrible time packing up their tent and tarps as the wind blew.
The temple burns at 8 PM, an hour earlier than the Man, and there’s no ceremony ahead of time. Also, while some mutant vehicles make the trek out there, most don’t, so there isn’t the same party ring that the Man gets. We put the art car on the trailer and cinched it down, and took our bikes out instead.
We brought our camp chairs and sat behind those sitting in the dirt (about 10 deep). There are very few photos of this burn, as this is a solemn occasion. Many people still do take photos and videos, and I’m sure they are available online, but the vibe is definitely not of spectacle.
As the temple is lit, everyone quiets down, until there is silence. All music is turned off (especially from the mutant vehicles), and all of the spectators in the giant ring around the temple are silent. It’s so quiet, it is very easy to hear the snapping and crackling coming from the fire.
Throughout the week, the temple is plastered with posters, writings, and offerings to people or pets or whatever people want to remember. Much of it is for people who are dead, some are for traumas, or for hated people. The burning of the temple is the cathartic release of those memories and those pains. In 2022, the year my mom died, I attached a photo of her on the temple.
When the burn died down enough that it was deemed safe, like the Man burn the ring was collapsed down to about 15 feet from the fire. This year, we decided to move in with the crowd. We patiently waited in the standing ring, probably 20 people deep to start, until we moved to the front of the ring. Many people were walking in a loose circle around the fire, some were sitting singly or in groups, and some people (like the Man burn) were naked, but not as many. It was still mostly silent, but occasionally someone would scream out at the fire, or otherwise express themselves. It’s all very hard to describe. But without exception, as far as we could see, everyone there, the thousands of people, respected the burn and respected the quiet.
We headed to our bikes, and then straight back to camp. We didn’t bother looking if there was anything left in the city, as this wasn’t the night for it. Many art works were still on the playa, and folks still wandered around but it was a different vibe.
I cooked some late-night soup right in the cans, and we had that for dinner.