Burning Man ~ Rites of Passage. Every year, over 50,000 participants travel to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada to setup a temporary metropolis. The event is dedicated to community, art, self-expression and self-reliance. They depart a week later, having left no trace whatsoever.

It's a really huge city, and it took me 20 minutes on a bike to ride from one end to the other. My favorite art car was the unicorn car (2nd photo, row 2). The head of the unicorn was made from recycled car tires. The couple with cupcake scooters came in a close 2nd.

The dedication and creativity of these artists is truly amazing. On friday night, columns of Greek soldiers pulled a 50' tall, 28 ton Trojan Horse out to the middle of the playa (2nd to last photo, row 2). At midnight, "Apollo" and his band of archers shot flaming arrows into the horse and it burned to the ground.

For more photographs, see our slideshow on YouTube.