It is Burning Man etiquette to leave the playa, the desert floor, exactly how it was. Other than some tires tracks in the dust, no trace of human existance should be left behind. About 4,000 people came to my first Burning Man in 1995. Last year, Black Rock City's population grew to about 8,000. This year, over 12,000 people from all around the globe flocked to the desert to celebrate community, art, life, creativity and chaos.
People spend all year preparing for the next year's event.
Elaborate sculptures, costumes, and equipment are schleped to the middle of nowhere to create a giant art installation. Black Rock City is a full functioning temporary metropolis complete with two newspapers, the Burning Man Gazette and Piss Clear. This year there were three radio stations. One of them, Radio Free Burning Man keeps people up to date on the activites going on around Black Rock City. Like any city, Black Rock has its neighborhoods.