Wasteland Weekend 2016 got off to a rough start.
While the best laid plans of Mice and Men often go astray, with Wasteland Weekend our plans ended up starting off early, cold, and unbelievably windy.
After leaving San Diego about an hour later than planned we stopped by and picked up Nick and were on our way to Wasteland Weekend 2016 in California City at what is called H Park. It is a city park, but in reality it is nothing more than a square mile of dust, dirt, and sparse vegetation with no water or other facilities. It is, in all actuality quite glorious. We had been approved for early entry and informed the organizers that we would be arriving around 0200-0300 in the morning. Thinking that this was going to be no problem. However, once we arrived 5 hours later we were informed that early entry stopped at midnight and would resume at 0700. Until then we had to park in the line of cars waiting to get in to the event. It turns out that at 0300 this line was already 1 3/4 miles long. So we found the end of the line and decided to try and get a little sleep.
We were then reminded how uncomfortable it is to try and sleep in the FJ after a 5 hour drive in the middle of the night. But despite all this so far we managed to be in pretty good spirits.
Around 0730 and after a short smattering of Facebook messages and phone calls we were cleared with the front gate for early entry. We headed back to the gate and then on to the camp to get set up. After getting parked and situated at the Blood Ravens camp right next to the Wasteland Wolves camp we found many old friends and a few new ones already there to welcome us.
The wind was still blowing at almost gale force and was not only carrying dirt with it but was terribly cold. Once morning role call and formation were done at the Wolves camp we all set out to explore how the structures were coming along. Wasteland Weekend wouldn’t be complete without the famous ThunderDome, where 2 men enter and 1 man leaves. Luckily it was set up directly behind the Atomic Cafe where after your battle you could go and get a drink.
After the tour of the city with a quick stop by the Rust Devils we were all a little tired from lack of sleep as well as the environment. So with a nutritious meal including Cheetos, and EasyCheese many of us sacked out for a while to get a bit of a nap.
After a nap we headed back out to see how the town was coming together. Despite the cold wind all the Wasteland Weekend goers persisted and continued their set up of this little oasis in the desert.
It’s not every day that you see the things here at Wasteland Weekend in the normal cities.
One of the most prized possessions of the Wasteland Wolves at Wasteland Weekend, behold the Wolf Rig!
Still being early on in the day the wind was starting to win the fight. As our tent that was planned for all of us to sleep in was flattened and poles snapped along with huge rips throughout.
The next morning the wind had died down and it was time to catch a break, grab breakfast and do some repairs on the camp as well as finish setting up the place.
Wolves and Ravens headed out in to the town….
Another war rig!
Cheshire at Wasteland Weekend with the thousand yard stare…
Love the costumes and war rigs.
If you were a kid in the 80’s you will know what this is…
Our neighbors at Wasteland Weekend–the crew of the ValDeez.
The sheer number of people as well as vehicles that arrive here is nothing short of impressive.
One of the things that I truly love about Wasteland Weekend is the costumes and appearance work that people will put into their look. Like this lady, talk about a great hair coloring job.
Then again there’s the vehicles. Still don’t know why people don’t drive these on a regular basis around town.
The Wolf Rig as it made its way through town during the vehicle parade.
Another great entry in the vehicle parade.
Later that night the costumes just got better and better.
Just like last year the tap lights were a huge hit. I was surprised that no one copied the idea this year at Wasteland Weekend.
Even in the wastes they have the ability to set up a main stage and rock the night away at Wasteland Weekend.
However at night it still got chilly and some of us definitely would seek out the fire pit to stay warm at.
There was a serene calm the next morning after the festivities of the night before.
The following morning was the communal breakfast between the Blood Raven tribe and the Wasteland Wolves tribe. As both tribes get along very well and are almost indistinguishable it was brought up to merge the tribes. While there was the expected trepidation about this move it was universally decided that this was more or less an inevitability. So that morning at the Wolves formation members of the Blood Raven tribe were graciously welcomed into the Wasteland Wolves tribe.
We arrived as Blood Ravens but left as Wasteland Wolves.
With breakfast and the morning ceremonies complete and the sun rising ever higher in the day it was time to get ready for the days events. Most notably the bikini contest.
The remainder of the day was spent in much the same fashion as the others. Roaming around, meeting people and being social. While still never ceasing to be amazed at the sheer amount of people and infrastructure that was brought out to the desert and set up in nearly a weeks time.
As the sun started to set it afforded many pictures during the twilight time around the fire for the people that competed in the costume contest. Here the winner actually had a skirt with lights that would flicker and blink as she moved around.
I took a little time to experiment with the slow motion video setting on my phone while a few people would pose behind the fire.
Sadly all good (and in this case dirty) things must come to an end. So we reached the end of the adventure that was Wasteland Weekend 2016 with a beautiful desert morning sunrise, breakfast and then breaking down camp and heading back home to warm showers and food without dirt in it.
At the end of it all I was still smiling and happy to have been there but wanting to stay.
If you are interested you can find out more about the Wasteland Weekend event here.
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