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<Solar Oven> <Food> <Shade Stuff> Shade Stuff |
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Everyone will argue, recommend, condemn and condone, but there are a few rules when it comes to shade stuff: The material you use for shade needs to be dense enough to provide shade, yet open enough not to catch the wind. What's the optimal stuff then? Probably camo-netting, available at very UNreasonable rates from any surplus store. It's shady, but very, very open, providing plenty of air, and it's not going to go flying down the playa like a parachute would. Remember that - parachutes are designed to CATCH the wind. Yes, they're neat, they make really cool looking structures, they're probably the perfect shape for covering geo-domes, but if they catch the wind, you need to be sure you have them staked in with the bigger than normal burning-man-standard-rebar-tent-stake. One of the better materials I've seen at BM resembled blue vinyl strips. It provided good shade, but it was 50% not there. Very nice. It covered Art-Car camp in 95. I have since found out it's called tensar fencing and it comes from industrial safety-supply companies, but it's also kind of expensive and comes in 100' rolls. A good substitute is Tyvek house wrap. It's a cool space-age material that feels like paper, but it doesn't rip or tear. Cut some slits through it, tie it off on the ends and stretch it over your rebar and PVC frame. Yes, it's kind of expensive, too. Other things that are very good, because they're very much not there: burlap type materials, tye dye sheets, etc. They block most of the sun, and they let most of the wind flow through. If the air doesn't rise through it, it makes your space warmer than it needs to be. Look around, you can certainly come up with something besides that electric blue tarp. The only other point to make is size. Remember, it needs to be big enough to act as both walls and "ceiling" for your living room. Once you start vaulting it in the center and taking down the sides, you realize that 8 x 10' of material doesn't go very far. Now that you know what to use, here's a few tips for securing it: Generally, storms on the playa blow in from the Southwest. If you vault your shade, put the high side to the north and the low side to the south. (Don't forget to pick up a 25 cent compass if you need one…) This actually works very well to have two corners on the south and west sides set in low to the ground and the other corners slightly higher. It doesn't catch the wind as bad, and your shade works longer in the late afternoon sun. To tie it down, drop a fist-sized rock in the corner, fold the corner up over it and give it a twist. Then tie it tight with the rope to your stakes. Trust me, that one won't come loose. (Remember to bring your own rocks, too.) Don't forget to bring some colorful tapestries, beads and artwork for your walls, after all, this is your home, make it a happy space. The best way to enjoy BM is to do all your active things from 6 a.m. to
10 a.m. and from 6 p.m. til whenever. Use the middle of the day for
lounging, siestas, generally taking it easy and keeping cool in your shady
space or sharing your shady space with friends like
Heloise. |
