Burners bask as temps rise in desert

It was a perfect day for Burning Man guests Friday as the winds stayed calm, the sun bright (and hot) and the apparent fun unending. There was not a hint of the high winds that trigger whiteouts and misery in the desert.

It was day of wandering the vast Black Rock playa, enjoying the hundreds of art exhibits scattered about. And the range was vast as cluster balloons lifted riders 100 feet above the spectators. Giant letters spelled out L-O-V-E, and Burners could climb inside the O and stretch out.

The Center Cafe is the ongoing center for free enterainment - singers, acrobats, yoga demonstrations, continue all day and into the night. This all take place in a vast net of panels held together by cables. The cafe is one of two places where anything is sold in Black Rock City. The other is the Arctic Ice House.

Probably the most visited structure iss the Temple of Transference, a building that's rebuilt every year with a new theme. This year's includes one tall minaret-shaped tower, surrounded by three smaller ones. The towers included niches where Burners could write notes in remembrance - most often to "Mom" or "Dad"and frequently to a lost pet or sweetheart.

Thursday night, 11 couples exchanged vows at the temple with an ordained minister performed the rites.

"A lot of people who have never attended a Burning Man don't get it," said Vince Johnson of St. Croix, Minn. "They think it's all dope and parties and undressed women. They don't see the serious side."

The overall mood at the temple, where cymbals and gongs rang out South Asian religious music, was quiet and respectful; when the nude yoga chanter rose, no one seemed to notice his nudity.

At the Burning Man's imposing edifice, Burners climbed stairs to view the playa, where more than a century ago pioneers braved the arid desert en route to California but sometimes settled in Nevada.

The Man's night is around 9 p.m. Saturday. After the burning of some smaller buildings and a salvo of fireworks, flames with crawl up his legs while 50,000 Burners sit in a wide circle around the man, cheering as he goes up in flames.

Sunday will be a sort of anticlimax as most of the scattered artworks on the playa are torched. And then it will be time for Burning Man staffers and volunteers begin the work of cleaning up the playa. That means nothing that belong there is left.