The Arizona Regional Decompression, October 15-17

No need to suffer from Defaultitis—keep the Burn alive! Come join old and new friends at the 9th Annual Gateway Ranch AZBurner Family Reunion.  Bring your Art, Music, Performance, Community Events, and other Inspirations to share for a magical weekend.

WorkParty Oct. 2-3.  Contact Coop soulrydr(at)aol(dot)com

What You Need to Know:

This is a Leave No Trace event. Pack it in, pack it out, there's no garbage service at the ranch. Also be advised that without prior special arrangement there is no Water, Power or Shelter for your personal use on this property. Bring what you need to survive and create.

Gateway Ranch is a remote site. Do not plan to go back into Flagstaff for supplies. Bring what you need for a weekend camp out and you will do just fine.

#1 LNT Rule: Don't drive over the bushes. Drive only on existing roads and cleared spaces. If you arrive at night, be especially careful not to drive on the indigenous plants, which take many years to grow back in this high desert environment.

Dogs: We love dogs but they have sometimes caused problems. We would prefer not to have dogs at the event (even our own if they had somewhere else to go) and the simplest policy would be just to say “no dogs”. However, in some cases they may be admitted with advance permission. So you can ask, but here are some reasons not to bring your dog:  There will be loud music, explosions, and other noises that may be disturbing to dogs. Dogs pee and poop on people’s stuff. Anyone who brings a dog is expected to have it on a leash and be responsible for it 100% of the time.

Weather:
The Gateway Ranch is at 5300' elevation. When checking weather online, look up Leupp rather than 7000' Flagstaff. Weather link: http://www.wunderground.com/US/AZ/Leupp.html This area's weather is similar to the Black Rock Desert- just not quite as extreme. Temperatures in early October average in the 70's in the daytime and 40's at night.  It can be very pleasant or chilly and windy. We've had rain— sometimes lots of rain-- at a couple of past Decompressions, so be prepared. There's no mud since this is a volcanic area with cinders.

Gateway is surrounded by two huge ranches --no cattle, just chickens at this time of year-- and the nearest human neighbors are miles away. In other words, we've been able to do what we like out here without interference :-) Check out the AZBurners Image Gallery for AZDC photos from 2002-09.

Burning Man customs and courtesies

*Participate! You are what makes this event extraordinary. We invite all forms of art and creative input, planned or spontaneous.

*No commercial transactions of any kind. Revel in the spirit of gifting.

*Take care of your own trash and any MOOP you see.  Smokers— cigarette butts are now the most common form of MOOP!  Did you know they can take up to 5 years to decompose in the desert?  Bring a tin.

*If it wasn’t in your body, don’t ever, ever, ever put it in the potty.  Except for toilet paper, no feminine products or baby wipes.

*Take out what you bring in and dispose of it yourself.

*Extra help with clean-up on Sunday is needed and welcome. Help us get back to the near-perfect standard that was set in the early years of Decomp.

*Do whatever you really wanna do, don't do what you don't wanna do, and respect others' right to the same.

*Fire: NOTE:  Fire Warning:  2010 has seen extraordinary plant growth followed by dryness.  Be extra careful and make sure all fires are controlled!
The Toaster will glow warmly all night, as long as people feed it.  Mr. God's fire sculptures warm the Greeters Station and spin in the middle of the amphitheater. Clayton's Fire Trees guard the entry to the arena. Personal fire pits are not encouraged, especially this year. Help with wood chopping and hauling in advance and during the event is needed --talk to Coop <soulrydr (at) aol (dot) com>  and bring a chainsaw if you have one.

*Water: Bring your own drinking and wash water. The ranch has only roof catchment and hauled water.
*A wood fired hot tub is on the front deck of the main house. This is especially popular when it gets cold late Saturday night. As with everything else, the hot tub depends on whether people make it happen or not. The hot tub floor was resurfaced in 2010. We need help cleaning the tub before and after the event, and with water hauling from Leupp Rd. using our tank.

*Earth: There's a traditional Navajo Hogan (8-sided log cabin with a ceiling like an upside down bird's nest) on the hill at the end of the road to the South. ***The Hogan is still unstable and unusable. It’s undergoing repair and has scaffolding inside. Please do not climb on it, or try to open the door or go inside.*** We hope to have the Hogan usable again in the future but for 2010 it’s off limits.

*Sky: You’ll see more of that than anything else. The view stretches up to Navajo Mountain in Utah and includes the Hopi Mesas to the North, the Navajo Nation to the East, and the San Francisco Peaks to the West.
During Decompression weekend the moon will be in the 3rd quarter going toward full. This means we’ll have some moonlight until late at night.

Plans and Schedule

Dates: Friday, October 15th - Sunday, October 17th. Early arrival or late departure is possible, just ask Kismet.

Events:
Watch the Azburners list for planned events.  Much of what happens is always a surprise.
*Sunrises and sunsets and awesome stargazing

*Saturday afternoon Giveaway Boutique and daytime dance party hosted by Hot Candy

*LCD Projector system available for photos and video.

*DJ's- send a note to Coop

*Live music- send a note to Coop

*Fire performances- We love fire!
*Skydeck disco floor and VIP Lounge
*Hot tub late Saturday night
*Do I smell Sunday Morning Waffles???
*Much More

If you're planning something, please let us know so we can look forward to it and plan if necessary. Also, events (or snarky comments about posting events) can be posted on a central message board when you get here. Spontaneous creative mayhem is always encouraged.

Excursions: Roden Crater has had a 24 hour guard for the past 4 years and is closed to the public.  Please do not try to sneak up there-- in addition to getting an unpleasant reception and maybe getting reported for tresspassing, it could harm the relationship between the Gateway Ranch residents and the crater folks. Roden Crater is an amazing site and we will work on getting permission to go there again as soon as possible.

Nearby excursions include Grand Falls (where the Little Colorado River goes over a 230’ lava flow), Wupatki National Monument, Sunset Crater, the STAR School, small hilltop ruins at Gateway Ranch, and hiking nearby Merriam Crater. See the image gallery for Grand Falls photos from past years.

Burnin' Shit: Anyone planning to do a large art burn, please let us know so we can prepare a clear spot for it. Scrap lumber is available and we can corral piles of dry tumbleweeds into cylinders that burn fast, hot, and loud. Anyone want to incorporate these into your burning art? Let us know.

Please don't camp or park near things that are gonna burn! The winds are most often from the SW, but can shift.  We learned this lesson in past years.

Kids: All ages are welcome, with the usual guidelines about parents taking responsibility for their kids. There's always been a pack of kids running around at Decompression and they've had good experiences. If you have suggestions or offerings for kid activities contact Kismet. No childcare services are planned but parents may want to collaborate on supervision and activities. Indoor spaces are not open to children this year except by special permission because of food MOOP in the past. It is requested that children go to bed at a reasonable hour— this is up to parents, but the later it gets, the less child-appropriate some activities tend to be.

Alternative energy and building materials: All Gateway Ranch electricity comes from solar power and water is collected from the roofs. There's a straw bale building, a new Rastra Block addition, and the Gnome Dome made from "Super Adobe" sandbags. If you have interest in any of these, Hot Danish Mark would be happy to talk to you or show you around.

Phones and Internet: Regular cell phones rarely work out here-- count on not having your cellphone service. In case of emergency communications during Decompression, Kismet and Mark have cellphones.  The ranch number is 928-606-6589.

There's satellite Internet at the straw bale building. *If* the power is on in that building there's a wireless hot spot covering much of the property from the amphitheater to the main house. You'll have much more interesting things to do out here than e-mail, but if anyone has an urgent need, it may be available.

***More Things to be Aware of***

Rule #1 Again: Don't drive over the Bushes. Kismet will cry if you do. Please minimize driving off the roads- there are good parking/camping places that do not require crushing any bushes. Grasses can survive being driven over a little, but when the perennial bushes (mostly yellow flowered rabbit brush) are destroyed, they take decades to come back. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

The Road: As mentioned elsewhere, the road from our mailbox to the ranch is all dirt. It's graded occasionally, but gets ruts after heavy rains. It can be washboardy in places; the washboard effect is less if you drive 30-40 mph or so where you can go this fast safely. Watch out for blind curves and rocks in the road, and go slowly over cattle guards. Like most things in life, pay attention and use common sense and you'll be okay.

Don't drown the fire in the hot tub! There's a wood fired stove submerged right in the tub. Water can slosh right over into the stove and kill the fire if too many people are in the tub (in the past the limit was 8, just watch the water level), or if they are too rowdy— which of course would never happen in this group :-). This can also result in ashes floating into the tub water, yuck. We'll be fine as long as someone is paying attention to the water level and if you just soak, don't splash.

Firearms: Decompression is not a firearm friendly event. You may not carry or display a firearm inside this event. If you travel with a firearm we do not want to know about. Leave it safely locked in your car.

Spiders, Snakes, Scorpions: Snakes try to stay away from humans, especially loud groups, but you may find one where it wasn't expecting to find you. In 2007 we saw two rattlesnakes when walking up the hill at sunset and in 2008 we found two tiny baby rattlers in construction areas.  One rattler has been seen in Sept. 2010 and was caught by Kismet and Mark in the dark and taken far away.  We don't hurt them and if possible catch them with a stick (broom, shovel, etc), put them in a large can with a tight lid and take them a few miles away. Please call Kismet or Mark or someone who knows how to catch snakes if you find a rattlesnake. We also see the larger bull snakes, which are harmless and are said to eat rattlesnakes. Scorpions are very rare, we've found only a few during the past 20 years. Black widow spiders are not uncommon in places that hasn't been used in a while: don’t put any part of your body into a dark place without looking carefully first (insert sexual joke here :-). Centipedes have not been a problem at Decompressions but can sting if handled. If you find one in your tent area, catch it in a container and take it for a walk before releasing away from people.

Tickets: Tickets will be sold at the gate only, by cash or check.  Contribution of $20 per person covers event expenses, donations to BRAF and the STAR School, and the new AZBurner Art Fund.  A reduced rate of $12 will be accepted upon request, because that’s the price that was originally posted before the collection for the Art Fund was added on.  Kids up to 12 get in free.  Any contributions above $20 go to tax deductible art programs for Navajo kids at the Gateway Ranch and are greatly appreciated.  (AZBurner artists are invited to submit ideas for projects that they’d like to do with the STAR School community.)  Greeters will have receipts for donations.  

If you would like to contribute to the Decompression in other ways (art, performance, a load of firewood, tanks of propane, etc.) rather than buy a ticket, please contact Kismet ( kate(at)ttn (dot) org ) in advance to be put on the guest list.  

For Early Arrival to help with preparations before Friday contact Kismet.  Remember your Bar Code:  Give me a drink, please.

You must be 21 years old to attend this event if you are not with a parent or legal Guardian.

Ticket funds pay for:
*Portapotties
*Wood to burn
*Water for the hot tub
*Propane for fire trees
*Repair of the amphitheater area, dome, hogan
*Tickets (yes, we have stickers this year)
*Misc this and that

*Over 10% of total ticket sales have been donated to the Black Rock Arts Foundation. We appreciate BRAF grants that were received by AZBurners, including the STAR School amphitheater and fire tree sculptures. We're glad to make donations that will support more community art.

*AZBurner Art Fund will be administered according to the people who step up and take responsibility for it.  In the meantime, Kismet will keep these funds in a separate bank account awaiting instructions.

Money left over after expenses will be donated to the STAR School www.starschool.org, a non- profit 501(c)3 Charter School that serves pre-school through 8th graders in the local Navajo community. Azburner funds have supported the STAR School art program, amphitheater and radio station.

Donations to the STAR School qualify for an Arizona Educational Tax Credit of up to $200 per person. For Arizona taxpayers this means you can help the school at no cost to yourself. Donation receipts are available by mail or at the Greeters Station.

Decompression Volunteer Opportunities

Greeters Station, Serpico is graciously organizing the Greeters.  Serpico <timg002(at)yahoo(dot)com>

Rangers: If anyone is interesting in Rangering at Decompression, please contact Blank. We'll figure everything else out from there! Oh, and don't send a blank email. That only works if you're subscribing to a list, but we need to know who you are before you subscribe, because it's a limited list.

Is anyone interested in coordinating LNT efforts at Decompression? This would help avoid the embarrassing amount of trash that was left during the past few years. Write to Kismet <mailto:kate%40ttn%2Eorg> .

Music: Calling all DJ’s- you know who you are! Please let us know ahead of time if you want to DJ. Live musicians?  Contact Coop.  Or just come prepared to play, we’ll have a stage.
 
Decoration of the Amphitheater: Feel free to decorate the Dome or other public spaces with lights, fabrics, hanging things, pillows, torches, furniture, etc.

Lamplighters? Anyone bringing lanterns? Robes? Tiki torches around the amphitheater will need tending.

Road signs: Road signs will be posted, feel free to dress them up with glow or whatever.  Nice bright blinky lights with magnets can stick on the screws in the signs-- they'll need to be checked and turned on each night.

Hot tub preparation: The hot tub needs to be cleaned and we'll have to haul 2 loads of water for it, then someone needs to keep an eye on the fire while it heats up.

Wood cutting. There are at least 10 dead juniper trees at the school and nearby property that could be cut down and hauled to the ranch for burning. Even harvesting a few small trees would help. Nice, dry, crackly branches.

Clothing and BMan Supplies Giveaway. Bring your stuff to the Boutique and leave with a fresh wardrobe!

Massage table will be available if someone asks Kismet for it and puts it up (and down). Mmmmm..... mmmmm.....

Waffle breakfast- bring goodies to make it special. Sunday morning?

Gateway Ranch Directions
On the way, you may be thinking:  "Gives new meaning to the Middle of Nowhere!" Don't worry, you'll find us.

Coming from the South or West:

1. From the junction of I-17 and I-40, go East on I-40 about 12 miles to Cosnino Road, Exit #207

2. Go North (Left) 2 miles on Cosnino Road until it T's at Camp Townsend-Winona Road.

3. Turn Right on Camp Townsend-Winona. Go 1.8 miles to Leupp Road, which comes in only on your Left.

4. Turn Left on Leupp Road and go 11.7 miles. This is a mile past the STAR School sign, 8/10 mile past Milepost 440.

5. You'll see a group of about 7 mailboxes and a dirt road on your Left. These mailboxes are off the pavement a little, and on the other side of a fence, so look carefully. In the dark, you probably won't see mailboxes at all until after you've turned onto the dirt road. There should be signs at this point, and hopefully lights at night.

6. From the mailboxes, follow Dirt Road Directions below.

From Flagstaff:

Get on I-40 and follow directions above. Or take Camp Townsend-Winona Rd. to Leupp Rd (about 8 miles from Hwy. 89) and then follow directions from that point.

From the East:

1. Take I-40 to Winona Exit 211.

2. Turn Right onto Camp Townsend-Winona Rd. and go 2.2 miles

3. Turn Right onto Leupp Rd. and go 11.7 miles

4. You'll see a group of about 7 mailboxes and a dirt road on your Left. These mailboxes are off the pavement a little, and on the other side of a fence, so look carefully. In the dark, you probably won't see mailboxes at all until after you've turned onto the dirt road.

5. Follow Dirt Road Directions below


Dirt Road Directions:

1. Make sure you’re on the right dirt road. A sign will be posted at this point.

2. It’s a good idea to reset your trip odometer to zero at this point.

3. Follow this dirt road for 7 1/2 miles until you arrive at the Gateway Ranch. Signs will be posted at forks and intersections.

Important: Be sure to stay on the *only road in the area that is ever graded* and is wide enough for two large trucks to pass each other. There are other roads meandering around the area, but if you stay on this graded road it will take you all the way to the Gateway Ranch.

When it’s safe enough, driving over 30 mph helps to smooth out washboard bumps. Watch out for kamikaze rabbits and oncoming traffic around blind curves. There are cattle in the area only between November and June.

In addition to event signs, you'll know you're on the right road when you pass the following landmarks. Distances are measured from the mailboxes.

• 1.5 miles: Low stock tank to your right, just after curves and hill
• 2.3 miles: Cattle guard
• 3.2 miles: Intersection with low stock tank on left. The Ranch road curves to the Right at this intersection.
• 5.5 miles: Fork in road where you'll go Left up (and then down) a hill
• 6.3 miles: Log cabin on Right. Take the road to the Left of the cabin, not the one that goes into the cabin area.
• 7.5 miles: Turn in at the "Gateway Ranch" sign.

Most popular ways to get lost:
• Don't watch the mileposts and miss the turn-off from the highway
• Keep going straight at the 3.2 mile intersection and leave the graded road
• Don't check the odometer on the dirt road and then turn around when you really just need to keep going a little further.

Emergency phone # for directions: Kismet at 928-606-6589. Phone coverage is sporadic in this area but usually available in the STAR School parking lot.

You'll know you've arrived when you see the friendly gate staff, fire and lights, and you will hear the music! The ranch has 3 buildings with turquoise metal roofs, Navajo Hogan on a hill, and a 60' geodesic dome over an outdoor amphitheater. Our site is surrounded by two huge ranches and the nearest human neighbors are miles away. This is a private event at a legal, secure site where we'll be able to have an amazing weekend of music and art!

Get ready to be Happyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Kismet Who requests once again that you remind her to relax and enjoy all of the Burning Love, to drink, dance, hug, kiss, snuggle, and laugh even more.

Kismet