It appeared, at first, as a line of shimmering light, twinkling in the distant desert night. Not like approaching any ordinary city, though. Gerlach, off to our left, gave off the hazy yellow-orange glow of sodium streetlamps. But this settlement to our right was something very different. There was a kind of sparkle to it that was unlike anything I had ever seen.

This, as I was about to discover, was because the streets of Black Rock City were lit with fire.

The distance from the gate to our camp took about an hour to cover.