Camp D’Nile

Black Rock City ~ Burning Man

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A Brief History:

Burning Man started as a beach party at Baker’s Beach in San Francisco, in 1986. It moved to the Black Rock Desert in north western Nevada in 1991. Steven and Sean, the first pioneers of our group to attend Burning Man, did so in 1995, early in it’s growth and evolution—back in the days of near total anarchy and chaos (as opposed to the somewhat controlled anarchy and chaos of more recent years). What started with 2 people slowly grew… By 2003 or so we were a dozen or so… By 2006 or ’07 we had reached two dozen or so, where we hope to stay.*

The name “Camp D'Nile” was coined by Sally Schultz in 2003. The idea was an Egyptian theme, due to our wonderful shade cloth pyramid. We have yet to do much to expand upon the Egyptian theme, but that’s ok…

Here’s a brief history of our little camp, along with some general BM history (see burningman.com/whatisburningman/about_burningman/bm_timeline.html for a nice BM timeline):

*    This is a perfect paradox: we want to be inclusive and let all our wonderful friends join us at Camp D’Nile; being exclusive just doesn’t fit with the friendly atmosphere of our camp… Yet we also want to keep it small; around 15 people was a really nice size… So there is no solution to this paradox: welcome everyone and magically stay under 20 people… ain’t gonna happen…

• 1995:
  • No theme yet…
  • Fourth year Burning Man is held in Black Rock Desert, Nevada; first year it’s called Black Rock City
  • BRC Population at peak: 4,000
  • Sean and Steven attend Burning Man for the first time!
• 1996:
  • Theme: HellCo. (First year with a theme, we believe)
  • BRC Population at peak: 8,000
  • David joins Sean and Steven.
• 1997:
  • Theme: Mysteria
  • BRC Population at peak: 10,000
  • Steven skips BM, so it’s just David and Sean.
• 1998:
  • Theme: Nebulous Entity
  • BRC Population at peak: 15,000
  • Steve returns, and Ted and Michael join them, so we are 5 people now. Sean has his “wheelchair art bike,” a prototype of sorts of what’s to come. Ted brings PVC pipes and a tarp, so we have our first shade structure that’s more than a tarp off the edge of a pickup truck.
• 1999:
  • Theme: Wheel of Time
  • BRC Population at peak: 23,000
  • In addition to Steven, Sean, David, Ted & Michael, this is the first year Karin joins David and the rest of us. Ted’s friend LLan flies out from the east coast to join us. This is our first year with the shade cloth pyramid, and also the first year of Sean’s awesome art bike, “Il Polpo”—the octopus.
• 2000:
  • Theme: The Body
  • BRC Population at peak: 25,400
  • Dubbed “Freezing Man,” this was a year of very cold temperatures, wind and rain. Ted, Michael and Steven all missed this year, but Jim, Carolyn and another David joined us. (MORE here soon)
• 2001:
  • Theme: Seven Ages
  • BRC Population at peak: 25,659
  • We camped near the Esplanade with Harolddd (“3D Harold”), Karl, Lexie & Bob, Darryl, Trey, et al. David & Karin missed 2001–2003 due to Ian’s birth, but Camp D’Nile manged to survive without them. (MORE here soon)
• 2002:
  • Theme: The Floating World
  • BRC Population at peak: 28,979
  • We camped near the Esplanade again, with Harolddd, Karl, Lexie & Bob, Darryl, Trey, et al. (MORE here soon)
• 2003:
  • Theme: Beyond Belief
  • BRC Population at peak: 30,586
  • Jody joins us for the first time. Sally and her friend (who broke her ankle) were also there, and our camped is dubbed “Camp D’Nile” for the first time. (MORE here soon)
• 2004:
  • Theme: The Vault of Heaven
  • BRC Population at peak: 35,664
  • (MORE here soon)
• 2005:
  • Theme: Psyche – The Conscious, Subconscious & Unconscious
  • BRC Population at peak: 35,567
  • (MORE here soon)
• 2006:
  • Theme: Hope & Fear
  • BRC Population at peak: 38,989
  • (MORE here soon)
• 2007:
  • Theme: The Green Man
  • BRC Population at peak: 47,097
  • Philip takes the record for traveling the furthest to attend: from Zurich! (MORE here soon)
• 2008:
  • Theme: American Dream
  • BRC Population at peak: 49,599
  • By 2007–2008, we have grown to 15–20 people—getting much larger than the “early days” and changing character accordingly. More organizing and pre-planning are in order… Craig comes for first time, Craig beats Philip’s record for traveling the furthest: from China! With the camp continuing to grow (friends are naturally attracted to our great food, drink, conversation and laughter…), Ted suggests that it’s time for a second pyramid. People agree, and in 2008 we expand our common area: the original pyramid now serves as our “living room” and a new larger, 5-sided pyramid serves as “kitchen.” Very cool!
• 2009:
  • Theme: Evolution
  • BRC Population at peak: 43,558
  • Several new faces (BM virgins!) this year: Bob, Cate, Asya and Tracy. This year the original square pyramid serves as “kitchen” and the larger, 5-sided pyramid serves as “living room.”
• 2010:
  • Theme: Metroplis
  • We will see what is to come!

Our pyramids in 2009, our second year with two pyramids. Paul in foreground

Sean’s octopus art bike, in Center Camp during its maiden voyage year, 1999. This is a detail from one of Brad Templeton’s awesome panoramic photos!