The Arizona-El Paso Joint Regional Decompression, October 5-7

When? Friday, October 5th through Sunday, October 7th.
Where? Same place, Gateway Ranch 30 miles NE of Flagstaff Who? Burners and Burner-friendly friends Admission $12.00 per person, 21 and over Under 21 allowed with a parent or Guardian.


Welcome to the 6th Annual Gateway Ranch Decompression!

This is a Leave No Trace event. Pack it in, Pack it out, there's no garbage service out here. Also be advised there is no Water, Power or Shelter for your personal use on this property. You must bring what you need to survive.

Bring
what you need for a weekend camp out and you will do just fine!

Directions to the ranch:
Follow these directions and you might think "This gives new meaning to the Middle of Nowhere!" but you'll find us.

From the East:
Take I-40 through Winslow, AZ
About 6 miles West of Winslow take Hwy 99 North (or West) to Leupp (small Navajo town).
When Hwy 99 T's at Leupp Rd., turn Left (West)
Go about 18 miles on Leupp Rd. (3 miles past the rez line cattleguard), 3/10 mile past Milepost 441
Look for a group of 7 mailboxes and a dirt road on your Right. 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.

Follow *Dirt Road Directions* below
From the West or South:
From the I-17 and I-40 junction, go East on I-40 about 9 miles to the Cosnino Rd. exit.
Go North (Left) 2 miles on Cosnino Rd. until it T's at Camp Townsend-Winona Rd.
Turn Right on Camp Townsend-Winona and go 2 miles to Leupp Rd., which comes in only on your Left.
Turn (L) on Leupp Rd. and go about 12 miles, 8/10 mile past Milepost 440.
Look for a group of 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.

From that point, follow *Dirt Road Directions*

*Dirt Road Directions*
Turn in on the dirt road that goes by the mailboxes. We'll post a sign and blinky glowy things at this point. Mailbox numbers are pretty random out here. our green #77 mailbox is around the middle of the bunch. Follow the dirt road for 7 1/2 miles. Watch out for the ditches on both sides of the road.  Important: be sure you stay on the *one and 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.

In addition to )*( signs that we'll post, you know you're on the right road when you pass the following landmarks. Distances are measured from the mailboxes.
*1.5 miles: Low stocktank to your right, just after curves and hill *2.3 miles:
Cattle guard *3.2 miles: Intersection with low stocktank on your left (our road curves to the Right at this intersection)
*4.7 miles: 55 gallon painted "caution" barrel before S-curve *5.5
miles: Fork in road where you'll go Left up (and then down) a hill *6.3 miles: Log cabin on Right. Make sure you 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. Look for Greeters, fire, friendly people, and that BMan vibe.

Yay, you made it! Ours are the only houses for miles, 3 buildings with turquoise metal roofs, sheds, a Navajo Hogan on a little hill, etc.

The ways people have gotten lost are when they 1) don't watch the mileposts and miss the turn-off from the highway, 2) keep going straight at the 3.2 mile intersection and leave the graded road, or 3) don't check their mileage and then think they're on the wrong road when they really just need to keep going a little further.

General Info:

Weather: The Gateway Ranch is at 5300' elevation. The weather is similar to Winslow or Tuba City rather than 7000' Flagstaff. Actually, it's amazingly similar to Gerlach- just not quite as extreme and remember it will be October not August. Someone will probably post the forecast to the AZBurner list when we get close to the event or you can look it up. Most often in early October it's in the 70's in the daytime and into the 40's at night. It can be windy and we've had rain at a couple of past Decompressions so be prepared. There's no
dust or mud since this is a volcanic area with cinders.

We are surrounded by two huge ranches and our nearest human neighbors are miles away. In other words, we do what we like out here without interference. Check out these photos from 2002 -03-04-05
Decompression pictures.

Burning Man customs and courtesies apply, of course. No commercial transactions of any kind. Take care of your own trash and any MOOP you see. Take out what you bring in and dispose of it yourself. Extra help with clean-up at the end is greatly appreciated. Do whatever you really wanna do, don't do what you don't wanna do, and respect others' right to the same.

*Fire: The Toaster will glow all night, or as long as people feed it. Depending on the Dome covering, we may have one of Mr. God's fire pieces in the middle of the kiva. Clayton's Fire Trees are in the kiva area and there will be other fire pits/barrels/sculptures, etc.

*Water: Bring your own drinking and wash water, as usual. A wood fired hot tub is on the front deck of the main house. This is especially popular when it gets cold late at night. As with everything else, the hot tub depends on whether people make it happen or not. We appreciate help cleaning the tub before and after the event, and with water hauling using our tank.

*Earth: There's a traditional Navajo Hogan (8-sided log cabin with a ceiling that looks like an upside down bird's nest) on the hill at the end of the road to the South. If nobody claims it for sleeping space, it's open to all. There's a woodstove and lantern inside that can be used. Hogan is the notorious site of Apple Pie gigglefest.

*Sky: there's more of that than anything else around here. The moon will be FULL during Decompression weekend. The view stretches up to Navajo Mountain in Utah and includes Black Mesa to the North, the Hopi Buttes to the East, and the San Francisco Peaks to the West.

Plans and Schedule

Dates: Friday, October 5th - Sunday, October 7th. Early arrival or late departure is possible, just let us know. Arrivals before noon Friday get in free and will be put to work!

Plans will undoubtedly evolve in the Future and Beyond.
We have only a little Fear and lots of Hope for Fire performances!!!!
Waffles!!!!
Body painting!!!!
Cocktail parties!!!!
KOSAB (Kids Of Supposedly Adult Burners) activities!!!!! Burning Man video and photo show!!!! Hoping for attacks by Bees and Kissing Bandits!!!! Music all night with our favorite DJs!!!! Live Saturday evening performance with Eaten by Ants, returning from their triumphant Black Rock City tour!!!! And burning shit, of course!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you're planning something, please let us know so we can look forward to it and put it in the program. Also, events can be posted on a central message board when you get here.

Excursions:

Sorry to say that we will not be going to Roden Crater this year. They have now posted a 24 hour guard at the crater and it is closed to the public. Actually, it has never been open to the public, and this year due to delicate and expensive new elements they installed locked doors, started reporting visitors for trespassing, threatened to call the sheriff, etc. Please do not try to sneak up there-- in addition to getting an unpleasant reception, 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 in the future.

Alternative excursions include Grand Falls (7 miles, high clearance road), Wupatki National Monument (8 miles on dirt road with rough spots plus a few miles of pavement), Sunset Crater (about the same as Wupatki), the STAR School (1 mile from mailbox on Leupp Rd), small hilltop ruins at Gateway Ranch. Just enjoying everyone at the ranch might be nice for a change instead of wearing ourselves out with a hike.

On Sunday those who still have an appetite for adventure might enjoy an expedition to Grand Falls on their way home. 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 good spot for you. Huge piles of dry tumbleweeds corraled into cylinders burn fast, hot, and loud. Anyone want to incorporate these into your burning art? Just let us know-- otherwise, we'll just make a few to torch Friday and Saturday nights.

Please don't camp or park near things that are gonna burn! I think we learned this lesson last year.

Kids:
All ages are welcome, with the usual guidelines about parents taking responsibility for their kids. Guidelines If you are bringing kids it's important to read this. There's always been a pack of kids running around at Decompression and they've had good experiences. Do you have suggestions or offerings for KOSAB (Kids of Supposedly Adult Burners)?

Alternative energy and building materials:
All Gateway Ranch electricity comes from solar power and water is collected from the roofs. There's a strawbale building and the Gnome Dome made from "superadobe" 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 cellphones don't usually work out here but in the main house there's a cellphone with a large rooftop antenna. The ranch number, in case of emergency communications during Decompression, is 928-606-6589.

There's satellite Internet at the straw bale building. If the power is on in that building it's a wireless hot spot. 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.

***Things To Fear Dept:***

Fear is always optional, but in keeping with this year's Theme, we offer the following suggestions:

The Road: As mentioned elsewhere, the road from our mailbox to the ranch is all dirt. It's graded frequently, 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 in places 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. 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 (I'm sure that would never happen in this group), water can slosh right over into the stove and kill the fire. 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.

Once again, please LNT. Pack it in, Pack it out, Leave No Trace

Spiders, Snakes, Scorpions: They try to stay away from humans, especially loud groups, but you may find one where it wasn't expecting to find you. We don't hurt them and usually catch them with a long 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 supposedly eat rattlesnakes. Scorpions are very rare, we've found only 5 during the past 16 years. Black widow spiders are the most common hazardous critters, so look closely before you put any part of your body into a small, dark place that hasn't been used in a while.

From the Rabid Guardian of the Bushes: The #1 thing to fear out here is that Kismet will cry if you drive on the bushes! Please minimize driving off the roads- there are plenty of good parking/camping places that do not require crushing any bushes. Grasses can survive being driven over a little, and we'd like to have tumbleweeds wiped out wherever possible. But when the perennial bushes (mostly yellow flowered rabbit brush) are destroyed, they take decades to come back. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Tickets
Admission is $12.00 per person at the gate. We don't want anyone to miss out because they're short on cash though-- if you're willing to help out with set up and clean up and would like a free admission, contact kate(at)ttn(dot)org..

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

Ticket funds will pay for:

*Portapotties
*Wood to burn.
*Water for the hot tub
*Propane for fire trees. We want fire!!!
*Repair of the outhouses, amphitheater, hogan and generator.
*Dome construction costs related to the Decompression

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

Any 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-Hopi Community. Azburner funds support the STAR School art program, amphitheater and radio station.

Decompression Volunteer Opportunities

Greeters' station, If you are interested in joining the Greeters email list for this event and Toast so you can be assigned a specific shift, send a blank email to Toast_and_Decomp_Greeters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

If you are interested in being an Earth Guardian at the Arizona Decompression contact chromatest...

Music! Which DJ's are planning to come? Any more live musicians out there? Do we need to provide a generator and/or amplified speakers w/mixer?

Decoration of the Amphitheater: Feel free to decorate the space with lights, fabrics, hanging things, pillows, torches, furniture, etc. There is a planned assembly of the Dome structure if we get a crane.

Rangers-If anyone is interesting in Rangering at Decompression, please contact me (Blank) at blank@azburners.org. 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.

Lamplighters? Who is bringing lanterns? Robes? Tiki torches also need tending.

Road signs: we could use a few more, and volunteers to put them at strategic spots. 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 occasional 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? We can put out a box in front of the strawbale building.

Massage table will be available. Mmmmm.... ahhhhhh..... mmmmm.....

Belgian Waffle breakfast- bring goodies to make it special. Midnight and/or Sunday morning? Look for further announcements

And finally, remind Kismet to relax and enjoy all of the Burning Love, to drink, dance, hug, kiss, snuggle, and laugh more. Just a little more of the drinking, and as much as possible of the rest.

)*(
Whew! That's it for now.

Happyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Kismet