The Onsite ROM (Ranger Orientation Meeting) was a terrific event. It was great seeing the Rangers I'd worked with before and meeting so many new Rangers.

Somehow, my tent wound up being right in the center of camp (Ranger Walker set up a large shade structure right in front of my tent) and I found myself being right where the action was. There could not have been a better place to participate in the goings-on at camp. Rangers will party all night, given the opportunity. I'm just glad my earplugs were still in my backpack from last year.

The training was pretty much the same as the San Francisco ROM I'd attended. Some of the issues related to desert survival were more immediate since we were sitting out on the open playa in 100-degree-plus temperatures. Freddie-O, one of the BLM people, went to his truck for a bottle of water. It was frozen, and under his wide-brimmed hat he sipped icy-cold water as the ice melted in the blistering heat. He was clearly a veteran of desert life and had all his ducks in a row. Later, he served ice cream. "Need any welding done?"

It was great seeing the cooperation between the Bureau of Land Management and the Burning Man crew. The cross-training between the local Sherriff, the BLM, and the Black Rock Rangers is an excellent idea and gets everyone working from the same headspace as a team.