The first week of May, we started construction. It was kind of like building a really big tree house, but without the tree. We transported the pallets to the festival site. We dug some post holes, planted a frame of 4x4 uprights, and added some 2x4 cross-braces. We added the second floor, just before it started raining.

During the week, I created the first floor walls from pallets. The following weekend, we extended the upright posts, braced them, and covered the second floor walls with pallets.

The third week, we started on the head, which was small but complicated. We added a third floor so we'd have a place to work. We made a 24"-diameter chimney to channel the flame and help preserve the face during the burn. We wrapped the 1st and 2nd floors with chicken wire to support a cloth skin.

The fourth work weekend was Memorial Day weekend. We had a crew of twelve, and made a lot of progress. That was a good thing, since the burn was only a week away. We got most of the skin on, and added a lot more pallets to the interior.

We were short on time, so I went out on Wednesday and Thursday to work on the head and paws. I made ears and installed them. (It's interesting trying to manhandle a 10'-long ear by yourself in a breeze, while sitting on a platform 15' off the ground with no railings!) I also patched some gaps in the skin, and made a little pink nose.

Friday afternoon, a lot of people arrived at the party and set up their camps. The party didn't start until 3pm Saturday, but a lot of people wanted more time to set up, and maybe wanted to spend more time camping, too. There were dozens of people there, but most of them were too busy to help me with the bunny. I had one helper. We got the fore-paws wrapped and installed, wrapped the cheeks, and added glowing pink eyes.

Saturday, I installed the hind paws, finished the head, installed carpeting on the first floor, and helped a guy who'd made a giant gold pocket watch full of fireworks hang it on the bunny's chest. Then I cleaned up my worksite, gave lots of tours, and had a great time telling people about the project. I worked all day, and never saw the rest of the festival. But I got to meet most of the 300+ people who came out to party with us. I had a great time.

Just before sunset, I set up a security fence 30' from the bunny. Then I decided to take some photos. Here's my favorite shot of the finished 25'-high White Rabbit.

After sunset, I started transforming the bunny. The 1st and 2nd level floor-coverings were removed, to allow better airflow up the bunny-shaped chimney. The first story was packed full with pallets.

Long strips of burlap were drizzled with hot paraffin, and draped around the interior to help spread the fire. The generators, sound system and spotlights were set up and tested. Nervous organizers visited frequently, assuring themselves that I was almost ready.

All that remained was to pour the most volatile fuel, which would act as a trigger to get the fire started. As the audience began to arrive, cardboard boxes were soaked with white gas and kerosene. The final step was to dump a quart of alcohol at the point of ignition.

I started the music - the soundtrack to the Bugs Bunny cartoon "What's Opera Doc". It features such memorable lines as "Be very quiet - I'm hunting rabbits", "Kill the rabbit! Kill the Rabbit", and "What have I done? Poor little bunny!". A pair of local actors played Bugs and Elmer.

In the cartoon, Elmer kills Bugs with his spear and magic helmet. In our play, Elmer wore a Viking magic helmet topped with a magic fairy mushroom (like the one the hookah-smoking caterpillar sits on in Wonderland). Elmer's spear was a cartoonish plastic trident. Hanging out of the handle was a rag.

When it's time to "kill the rabbit", Elmer soaks the rag in alcohol, lights it, and thrusts the burning rag into the giant rabbit sculpture.

The fire started. Elmer repented his murder.

The fire spread. The opera soundtrack ended.

Just as the soundtrack switched from "What's Opera, Doc?" to Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", the rabbit's pocket watch exploded in a flurry of fireworks!

As "White Rabbit" reached its climax, the fire engulfed the bunny. It went from merely impressive to super hot and super bright in a span of fifteen seconds. The audience, which had been backing cautiously away, started running to escape the ferocious inferno.

Caught off guard, I was forced to abandon my equipment, which was set up just inside the security perimeter. My electrical gear began to blister and melt.

The raging fire consumed half the 3000 pounds of wood in about sixty seconds. Never have I been so nearly cooked in a fire.

One of the safety crew, wearing a fire suit, pulled my generators to a safer distance, so they wouldn't explode. Large embers were lofted hundreds of feet in the air, and rained down on my camp 200' away, where more safety crew were dowsing it with fire extinguishers.

The audience was ecstatic! Once they realized that the fire had peaked, and they were all still alive, they starting screaming with elation.

Soon, it became tolerable to approach the security fence again, and the audience returned to watch from a closer vantage. A beautiful woman I barely knew testified that my fire had gotten her all sexually excited. Organizers started running up and hugging me and swearing their eternal love for me.

The bunny was skeletonized. The upright posts were still standing, but most of the pallet wood had collapsed into a 3'-deep heap of seething charcoal. Suddenly, that most elusive of fire spirits, a fire whirl, spun out of the flames and into the crowd!

When the posts refused to fall, I decided to take action. I strode over to a pile of extra pallets near the fence, grabbed one, and threw it at the nearest upright post. The post refused to break, but the pallet landed in the coals and immediately burst into flame. That was fun!

I did it again and again. A few other brave souls came to my assistance. Sometimes we managed to knock down some standing wood. But mostly we were just building the fire up again, and keeping the audience entertained.

When we ran out of pallets, and the fire had died down, the audience started drifting away to revel elsewhere. After all, the night was still young!

I had deliberately remained sober, since I was the fire chief. Once the giant bonfire had burned down into a tame, safe campfire, I got a sudden urge to celebrate. I stowed the wreckage of my gear, hung up my fire chief helmet, and joined the now-rollicking party.

Thus ended a truly amazing burn.

Three days later, I'm still recovering. My body was bruised, bloody, and exhausted. I was sleep-deprived, danced-out, and hoarse from yelling and breathing smoke. Even my smile was sore.

I've had time to bathe, heal, sleep a lot, and eat a lot. I've unpacked my gear, tested the burnt stuff (some of which still works!), posted a bunch of photos to my website, and written a bunch of emails.

And now, I've had a chance to share the experience with you, my friends. It may seem a far cry from my old existence as a corporate inventor, but I sure am having fun!

Chuck of Arabia

The following news item appeared in Monday's Salt Lake Herald.

MAYHEM IN THE DESERT

Wonderland (AP) - The White Rabbit died in a fire late Saturday Night, near his home in Wonderland, a resort community in northwestern Utah.

Inspector P. J. Clueless of Saltland Yard, after examining the death scene, declared that he strongly suspected homicide. The White Rabbit, though 138 years old, was in good health at the time of his death.

Witnesses declared that, early in the evening, he had been rushing to "a very important date". The Mad Hatter, a long-time resident of Wonderland, is prepared to testify that Mr Rabbit was late for a tryst with his mistress, Mrs Jessica Rabbit (no relation), of Toontown, CA. Jessica's husband Roger is considered a suspect in the murder.

Jessica Rabbit (AP archive photo)

A second suspect is a mysterious girl named Alice. She was last seen pursuing The White Rabbit as he was returning to Wonderland. One witness claimed she had observed Alice eating a handful of mushrooms, and later speaking as if she was under the influence of mind-altering drugs. "But then," the witness pointed out, "we're all mad here."

A rare candid photo of Alice in Wonderland

Inspector Clueless is actively pursuing a third suspect. Elmer Fudd, a tourist from Valhalla, Norway, was identified near the crime scene the night of the alleged murder. He was overheard to have exclaimed, "I'll kill the rabbit!", and later lamenting, "What have I done?". No motive has yet been established, but Mr. Fudd was clearly agitated and perhaps mentally unstable. His whereabouts are currently unknown, and he is wanted for questioning.

Elmer Fudd vacationing in Wonderland

The death was an especially grisly one, by all accounts. The White Rabbit was reduced to a heap of ashes. The remains were so meager that identification of the victim rests primarily on bits of the distinctive gold pocket watch that he always carried. Eye witnesses report that the pocket watch had been loaded with explosives, and that the victim went up in flames when the bomb went off.

Investigators at the crime scene

Residents of Wonderland were in shock and awe at the unbelievable violence committed in their midst. "This is such a quiet place - nothing bad ever happens here", said The Queen of Hearts. "Then that Alice shows up, and all Heck breaks loose! Off with her head, I say!"