2002 Burning Man Balloon Project

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Pictures by Brian Johnson, and Dawn Strahler (or at least their cameras).

Heavy Metal
We used 18 helium tanks, each of which weighed about 170 lbs and held 291 cubic feet of helium, which was enough to fill about two 7-foot balloons.
(Rob, Troy)
Really, we're not Terrorists
Luckily the tanks only sat there for a day, otherwise someone probably would have called us in as terrorists.
(Mark)
Gear
Except for the tanks, our gear was fairly compact. Pictured here are a dozen screw anchors, three 65m lengths of dynamic climbing rope, 36 balloons, 4 gallons of super-hi float, 25 carabiners, and a flight bag containing a flashlight, two walkie-talkies, a wind speed meter, a knife, and a clambing harness.
Yellow  Truck
We had about 2800lbs of tanks to transport. DOT Hazmat rules say that if you have under 1500 lbs of tanks, you don't need a placard or special license, so we used two pickup trucks.
Cutie & Canvas
Dunno whether the wings or the hammer are cuter, but the playa sure is the ultimate artistic canvas.
(Dawn)
Envisioning
Envisioning.
(Dawn, Troy)
Screwing
The screw anchors were a lot of trouble to get seated, but felt very solid once we finally got them in.
(Dawn)
Feeling Lighter Already
Feeling lighter already!
(Patri)
Pull
Testing the pull (around 7 pounds)
(Patri)
White & Brown
A giant balloon is the perfect accessory for any desert outfit, as our delighted spokesmodel demonstrates.
(Dawn)
Fundamentals
Rope, carabiners, and screw anchors were several of our fundamental building blocks.
(Rope, Anchor, Carabiners, Playa)

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