The exodus began in earnest over the weekend and will continue all week, as some tens of thousands of Bay Area residents pack up their RVs, Muppet-fur coats, and disposable bikes and head out to the Nevada desert.

A great many Burners wouldn't think of going to Burning Man for anything less than the whole week, but not everyone is that hardcore or has that many vacation days. Those who are part of big camps and those who are building big pieces of temporary art all got to arrive early last week, and so we already have some images trickling in via Insta of this year's installations. Also, the requisite round of Burning man news items have started rolling in, like this piece from the Associated Press about the relative healthfulness of all that playa dust.

In retrospect, it seems like the organizers could have picked a spot for this event two decades ago that wasn't so physically taxing and moon-like. But the hardcore among you will tell me that this is just an essential piece of the experience now and it's necessary to be filthy and suffocating with dust. I digress...

Here, some of this year's art, courtesy of the relatively better cell service out there in recent years. And if you're someone who's still headed to the playa and doesn't want spoilers, just stop scrolling here.