An old, wooden barn withering away outside of Geraldine, Montana.

Too often there are people here in eastern Montana who lament the things they don’t have. Yes, it is a quiet and desolate place, especially if you come from one of the big cities out east. And yes, they don’t have fine dining, Broadway plays, and some of the creature comforts many others are tempted with, but one has to ask themselves whether or not they are really necessary at all.

That said, I thought I would take a moment to mention all of those things that Montana has an abundance of here on the short grass plains. They are things that I’m sure many of them take for granted, and while some of them may not necessarily measure up to a healthy dose of spicy tuna rolls, Major League Baseball game, or a Venti Peppermint Java Chip Frappuccino, most of them sure as hell beat urban sprawl, traffic jams, and conference calls.

So, without further ado, I give you the list of those things Montana has plenty of:

Wheat, pronghorn antelope, rugged mountains, cowboys, cowgirls, cowboy hats, round bales, livestock, combine harvesters, rodeos, chipped windshields, hikers, wild flowers, corn dogs, glaciers, small towns, ghost towns, pick-up trucks, saloons, horses, prairie grass, buttes, railroad tracks, RVs, ski resorts, American Indian reservations, scenic drives, rivers, elk, trumpeter swans, stars, quiet dusty roads, license plates (you have no idea), tax breaks, steep roads, open space, dinosaur bones, grain bins, blue ribbon trout streams, waterfalls, 4-wheelers, huckleberries, beautiful women riding bicycles, variable weather, ranches, Canadians, museums, big skies, canoes, dry days in the summer, craft and micro beers, winds, grizzly bears, Ponderosa pines, gophers, powwows, gold mines, old grain elevators, cool nights, natural wonders, big belt buckles, beautiful sunrises and even better sunsets, bald eagles, Rocky Mountain oysters, sweeping panoramic views, county fairs, meadowlarks, mountain men, grasshoppers, farm machinery, trails, fence posts, paleontologists, coulees, poker games, dogs in the back of pick-up trucks, street dances, fishing holes, and old wooden barns.

All of them in their own way make Montana special.

Oh, and in case you want to argue with me, Montana also has a lot of nuclear warheads. So keep it civil.