The Rusty Iris Mutant Vehicle Debuts at Burning Man!

To drive on the playa at Burning Man, a mutant vehicle (art car) must be approved by the Burning Man Department of Mutant Vehicles (DMV). Rusty spent the last four years preparing for this moment. Burning Man summarizes the requirements as follows:

• Make it Radically Different: Your vehicle needs to be seriously mutated and unrecognizable from its original form. Think “wow” factor!

• Offer an Experience: It should offer something interactive, like rides or entertainment.

• Keep it Safe: Steady speed (5 mph or less), good brakes, sturdy railings, no sharp edges.

• Light it Up: Well-lit at night for safety and visual appeal.

Inspection is a one-shot deal - pass or fail. And if you fail, you have to keep the vehicle in camp! We would have driven Rusty all the way across the country just to keep her in camp!

Once they are on the playa at Burning Man, the mutant vehicles line up outside the DMV booth and wait for for their turn to be inspected. The DMV line is a wonderful way to see the other art cars up close.

Just as we approached the DMV booth for our inspection, a dust storm came up! So things shut down for a while until the weather cleared.

Once the weather cleared we saw the DMV inspector - the moment of truth!

The DMV inspector, like so many others, was surprised and delighted to see that Rusty is street legal, with Virginia state inspections stickers to prove it! We even lucked out to get our night inspection (which determines whether the vehicle is lit well enough to be safe to drive at night) at the same time. Saved us another trip to the DMV line!

After the day and night inspection, Rusty had her propane inspection to make sure her fire elements were up to spec. Kirk switched a few hoses to meet a certain requirement, and Rusty passed that inspection as well. Three for three.

Then Rusty was free to drive the playa at will, and we had some amazing days and nights on the playa - sometimes with Kirk driving, sometimes with Wendy driving.

Dream. Come. True.