Burning Man 2006 Travel Warning

As we travel to the Playa, you should take care to OBSERVE all posted Speed Limit signs throughout the many Cities, Towns & Municipalities we pass thru.

This entry in the 2006 Survival Guide makes reference to problems in 2005 traveling thru Schurz, Nevada. From Arizona, Route 95 is our major artery to the Playa. After passing Walker Lake there is an Indian Trading post and a Mobile Gas Station. Just past this business is a Turn-Off to the left that heads to Route 95 ALT, thus Bypassing the town of Schurz. ALT 95 will get you to Route 80 and the connection to Route 447 @ Fernley instead of being farther East on Route 80 if you continued on Route 95. The only alternative to avoiding Route 95 entirely is to use Route 395 in California.

THE POINT IS... Please OBEY all posted Road Signs, do not draw attention to yourself on your travels and do not do anything STUPID that will jeopardize your getting to the Playa!!

...On another note for anyone who is going to cross into CA from Arizona while going to the playa (I-40 into needles for example) Border patrol has taken over some of the agricultural check stations at least part of the time. They do have dogs and they care about more than just fruit and plants. not that i think anyone is going to be carrying illegal aliens, but other illegal things...

Indeed the best insurance is to obey the speed limits and make sure that all your lights and other items they might have reason to stop you for are in order. Several of our AZBurners have been stopped over the years for traffic violations on the way to and from Burning Man that have led to demands to search the car. This can happen anywhere, not just Schurz. Some have gone to jail, or been ticketed, while others have had their entire rig torn apart by the cops on the side of the road. Then when they were not arrested the cops drove way and left them there alone to repack it in the desert sun.

Cops assume if you are going to Burning Man you are just not living right and are probably involved in things that might be illegal. Even if you are not, they will trip you up to get you to consent to a search. NEVER consent because they can plant evidence if they don't find anything to arrest you for.

Below is a website from the Rainbow Family that covers this extensively. It has a lot of very useful information about this very subject. I do suggest that everyone read it whether you are going to BM or not. After my experience with BLM law enforcement at a regional event in Nevada a couple months ago, all I can say is it did me no good by being nice to them when I was pulled over. In their eyes I was a Burner and that is the same to them as being a common criminal.

http://www.welcomehome.org/rainbow/info/rap420.html