Money Laundering (cleaning up the money bit)

So, read this carefully and please leave comments. I have a lot of experience being poor and dissecting pennies, so I thought I'd do a little math. 

I will be using the phrase "in the camp". This means using the shade structure, general camp conveniences and communal supplies ie water and propane. 

~~ORIGINAL Camp Fees *Van + Shade Structure* = $640

-4 people were officially in the camp. $640/4 = $160 per person

-5 people are now officially in the camp. $640/5 = $128

-Kevin now pays $128. With this $128, $32 is refunded each to Ian, Shaun, Andy, Sophia. This brings everyone's total for OCF (Original Camp Fees!) to $128. PS that math was $160-$32=$128.

~~NEW Camp Fees *Supplies*

- 5 people in the camp. $190/5 = $38 per person. Shaun is currently out-of-pocket $190 as he purchased all extra items (thanks for the BM errands!).

- Sophia will pay Shaun $38 on 8/30, unless he needs it earlier, in which case he can re-e-mail his address to her ;-)

-Andy is paying his $38 in alcohol, for he spent $160 on liquor to be shared at camp.

-Ian is free to drink as much of the $160 Alcohol Haul as he pleases, but it makes sense to still pay Shaun his $38 for the NCF (new camp fees!) in money, wine, sexual favors, or a combination of all three. In my experience they usually all go together.

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*phew* I hope that makes sense.

Meeting with Kevin on/around Friday to discuss the details (OCF + NCF = $166, Burning Man survival stuff, general tales of debauchery to lubricate the virgin)

Countdown...

T minus 40 days!! Have I mentioned that I'm excited!?

Can't wait for departure!! :)

Details, schmetails.

Tying up loose ends for the trip.....

1. Plans for food. Andy and I are going bare bones this year. Without an RV, there's no fridge, no stove. Which means no perishables and (unfortunately!) no pancakes. Our food is going to be along the lines of: Breakfast = granola + dehydrated milk + water, Lunch = Crackers + PB + fruit (like raisins/oranges/stuff that is ok in the sun), Dinner = Instant India to the max! Snacks = trail mix, energy bars, soy nuts (for protein in place of jerky for us weirdo vegetarians). 

My proposal is that everyone kinda makes their own food plan/approach, since different people like to eat different things. Then when we're there, of course some of it will get mixed and matched and shared in a friendly manner. But the idea is still to just figure out what you need for yourself and pack it. 

2. Lighting. Who had those lanterns last year? Those kicked ass. Andy and I are only equipped with tent lights, head lamps, and possibly a flashlight. Will we need to throw in some bucks for general camp lighting?

3. Drinking water. All of Andy and my big water containers are in Portland-- do Shaun/Ian have big water receptacles? I'd like to take that approach as opposed to plastic water bottles. The benefits are threefold: --- It costs WAY less. Less environmental impact (I know I know, but still). It's very easy to just refill your waterpacks, reusable waterbottles, and camp cups. --- So, I'm hoping that there are big containers available, and the four of us (five if Kevin wants a share of water) could split the cost of carting the weight to the playa. 

4. Propane. Is this needed for lighting or some sort of portable stove? I don't know about this stuff. Boys-- discuss.

5. Other details that I missed. Feel free to add on to this list and contribute to me feeling overwhelmed, underprepared, and broke! I will gladly ignore your suggestions. ;-D

Cargo Van

Booked, but $100 more than planned. It was 9 days, not 8.

You get a weekly rate (2 days off) when you book for 7 days. They are letting us pick-up on Friday for the same cost b/c they are closed on Sunday.

69.99/day times 7 days + 40 (tax) + 20 (CA fee) = 550.00

Set-up of Structures

Below is the new design without the gazebo - and with the tent area. Tarps & the camo net can go where we need them. The pic has a compass and shade representing 7am. Shade moves right to left.

Figured out a way for us to do the center support without Ian needing to bring his steel structure. The idea just has one more pole in the center with a padded PVC square that slides over the top of the pole.

Drove a steel pipe 2' into the ground last weekend. It took some bangin, but wasn't hard. Read up on articles for bungie secure lines and tested on the pole. Seems strong.. though one never quire knows what the playa gods will have to say! :P

Shade Structure.

This structure seems to be a nice solution to our needs. 

My only concern now is that we have at least one tarp we can attach as a shade for the sun-up side. I would say an second tarp to be put up if necessary would also be a very good investment.

We currently have an unopened 10x12 tarp that can be used for this purpose.

My other 'only' concern is tent sizes. Our tent is about 7x5, plus rebar on the edges which means you can't belly up tents right on each other (although they can be very close). Of course the edges of tents can sit a little outside the shade structure proper, but we need to keep in mind that not everyone will be in mountaineering tents.

For others out of the loop: dimensions: ~15x15 Can be anchored anywhere we want, probably at one end of monkey hut. Seems like it would fit ~5 tents.

This route could then break down a few ways:

$33 each for a four person camp, or

$22 each for a seven person camp.

First things first

It seems to me like a round-robin style e-mailing has benefits but risks losing people from the loop.

I propose using a blog where we can all throw ideas up and have more of a forum based interaction than catching e-mails.

If you guys don't like it, thats fine I'll just delete it. Otherwise I think you have to sign up for a free account to be able to post.