We first met at the Melting Pot in the summer of 2014, the year I moved to Reno. Mason was working there part time and he complimented me on my dreadlocks. We ran into each other at various Burning Man events throughout the summer and would say hi.

Fast forward to Burning Man 2014, the year of Embrace and the year the city shut down becaus the of all the rain. Mason was a part of the Embrace build crew and was out on playa early to build. My sister and I were on playa early that year as well working on a different art project. The rain that year was so bad, so bad that the city was on lockdown. No one could come in or leave and cars couldn't drive. On Sunday before the gates opened, Mason was at a crew party on Embrace. He eventually realized he was out of water and food and while there was a break in the rain, he should get back to his camp and re-up on supplies. As he hauled ass back to his camp, the rain started coming down harder, lightning was striking the playa, and he realized he needed  to take shelter. The first thing he came across for cover was a giant sardine can art car that had been left for the time being. He lifted up the tarp and said, “Hello! Anyone there?” He heard in response, “Hello!! Come in pal!” It was me! The Sardine was my camp’s art car and they had to leave it until the playa was safe to drive on again. I had opted to stay there and ride out the storm to see what kind of adventures might happen. We talked and talked until the storm passed, then went our separate ways and didn’t see each other the rest of the burn.

Fast forward to two weeks after the burn, mutual friends were having a BBQ. Mason and I reconnected at the party, I had just bought an RV and had no idea what to do with it. There were some minor issues and I realized I might be in a little over my head. Mason said, “I can help you with that”. That weekend he brought his kids and old dog over to our hut to help me RV. I went to Texas for work the next week and the weekend I got back, our first date was dressing up and going out on his friend’s bus for Zombie Crawl. We have been inseparable ever since.