The Reno Gazette Journal has published a story on 4th of Juplaya. Apparently the BLM were out there, searching for the organizers of the event. Errr, good luck with that buddy. The Playa is massive.

We’re just returning from it, it was awesome. In many ways so much better than Burning Man. There are no rules, you can drive art cars and dirt bikes as fast and crazy as you like. People are spread out and camped everywhere, you cruise to the different camps to meet them. What better way to celebrate 4th of July, than an expression of freedom and liberty with like minded people. Some had been to Burning Man once, and Juplaya 5 times. The people at the other camps were super cool, including Vamp Camp, Camp Dismal, and Tiny Camp. We’d like to give a shoutout to Sledge and Sierra for the dope beats and general goodwill, Mike for the Mad Max madness , and Paris, Mischele, Admiral Painjoy. Also a big shoutout to Andy for the Fish Tank, and Spider and Butch for all their help. Check back here soon for photos.

If you could get your cellphone to work, Google Maps has the Burning Man street layout. So you can know when you’re at 4:20. Androids worked better than iPhones BTW.

The only thing organized was a Burning Man Event on their private ranch they use for storage, called Frog Bat. Many Juplayans were disappointed that after a long trek on public roads, the Burning Man people were charging $20 at the door. We didn’t see or hear of anyone else making money from the Playa. If you paid, you got to see a big metal frog / bat sculpture filled with fireworks and propane tanks. They shoot guns at it and blow it up. Fireworks are banned in Nevada, and the Rangers were raiding camps and confiscating any they found.

[Update 7/8/12: the Frog Bat Burn took place at Frog Pond, near the Burning Man ranch. This was not an official Burning Man event, although there may have been people wearing DPW Hoodies and charging an admission fee]

Juplaya is amazing, it has plenty of room to grow, despite fears of dinosaur Burners that the event could be cancelled if too many find out about it. It’s people camping on public land, there’s nothing there to cancel.