TexasGirl Photography

Here I am today on the topic of last summer’s road trip, but this time I am sharing with you one photograph. I won’t say “just” one – because in this case it’s more than a photograph, it is everything.

By everything, I mean that this one frame represents our traveling, in a nutshell, not only in its essence but in our lives. What began five years ago as a cathartic and healing escape in the middle of my most difficult, painful year has become an annual spiritual journey, a powerhouse of moments that renews us and refuels us for every day that follows. Especially to people who don’t like to camp, it might look like 10 days or so of “roughing it,” but in fact it is an intense experience of existing wholly in the moment, boiling things down to the essentials (ok plus some luxuries, we had Oreos in the food box), and, for me, having the chance to focus on observation, letting creativity come and go as it pleases. It’s living in harmony with whatever we find around us, rolling with the punches, and going with the flow.

On this day, when I made the photo, we got up early (for me, very early, I think at 6) and snuck out of camp as quietly as possible so we wouldn’t disturb any sleepers. It was wake up, get dressed, zip the tent, and go. We were headed for a mountain pass we hadn’t seen before, and it was a gorgeous morning. Low clouds sat on top of the Sangre de Cristos like whipped frosting. The bighorns were out in force in the canyon, even babies, nibbling rocks and butting horns.

We pulled over at an opportune place to make coffee on the camp stove, plus I washed my face and carried out my little morning beauty rituals with the leftover warm water. The truck is our steel champion, our carry-all-carriage, our camper without the hassle. The tailgate is a kitchen, a workspace, a seat, a table.

For us, this is what it’s all about. For me, this is the tie that binds me to the earth, to my partner, and to higher Things as well. Opening myself up and saying yes to whatever comes gives me the confidence to face larger giants when they come my way. If I can handle flooded tents, collapsed tents, thunderstorms that cause boulders to tumble down nearby, lightning that strikes so close I’m surprised we don’t catch fire, bugs, rude camp neighbors, bathing in front of God and everybody, cold, wind, heat, sun, rain – then I’m a lot more likely to feel grateful for all the modern conveniences many of us take for granted every day (like a sink, a toilet that flushes, a mattress that doesn’t deflate). I love every moment of it, even the uncomfortable ones, That mountain pass was AMAZING! And in the end we roll back home, looking forward to the next time we get to rise at dawn, sneak away, and make coffee on the tailgate goodness knows where. It’s the journey that matters, in the end.

Do you have a “one photograph” that says it all, or at least all for a situation, a time-frame, a person you know? I would love to hear about it, and to see it!