Mirrors are almost completely unnecessary when camping, but reflections are important.  For a week, I rarely saw myself as all that exists in our trailer is a makeup mirror…and there is no reason to apply makeup out in the wild, especially when there are hats and sunglasses.

When I arrived here in Jackson Hole, I had a full length view of myself.  Even though we call it a bathroom vanity, I’m not feeling up to the name.  We have been hiking, biking and working out for almost two weeks.  I feel fierce.  (Photo taken at farthest point we reached by bike in our daily morning ride in Jackson Hole, WY)

I don’t really want a mirror to reflect anything different.  Yet, I take in my reflection and let my inner voice say a few unkind things.  My attitude of fierceness has met its match and they both come from the same place.

Being on the road allows for a different type of reflection.  There is space and quiet to think as long as the road stretches in front of you.  I’m carving out time to be a better me and a better us before I wrap up this adventure.

Several have told us we need to go to Jackson Lake to see the Grand Tetons reflecting in the water.  We have been a lot of places around this town, but we haven’t seen this.  I’ve seen images of it on postcards and t-shirts but not the real vision with my own eyes.

We love a more remote area where the beaver hustle their sticks back and forth to build their dams at the foot of the Tetons.  There is a murkier reflection here of the mountains because the water moves.   I’m looking at the actual Tetons but also a distorted image of them in the reflection.

And here is where I gather a moment of confidence.  I am who I am and the reflection I see in any mirror I look into is a distorted view, only a copy of the real thing.  There is only one range of mountains called the Grand Tetons.  People come from all over the world to see them for themselves.

There is only one me in this world and I have a handful of people who love me exactly the way they see me too.  While I take time to reflect on this, I decide I’m pretty happy with my view.