When you have a wanderlust soul you live one decision at a time, sometimes the decisions are based solely on spontaneity and you can’t control it. You live life with a plan, but always remembering your next adventure could come at any moment. The pressure of closed walls, and a boxed surface is nauseating to me. I dream of living a life bigger than everything I see in front of myself. From the sunsets in Santorini to the hot beaches of the coast, I have a lust to see new things, and experience new places. It’s not just those big destinations that I’m dying to see I want to experience the simplicity in life too. The places that are overlooked and unappreciated.

Regardless of where I go, or what I see, Montana will always be where my roots are planted. There’s something about an endless open sky that I can’t resist. Being able to look at the rolling hills to the east and knowing that the mountains are there to draw you in when you look west. There’s such surface beauty in this Big Sky Country, but that doesn’t even begin to describe why my heart is stuck here.

Montana captures your heart like no other. Its beauty takes your breath away. The lessons you learn from the people, weather, back roads, and bonfires are experiences you can’t hide when you meet new people anywhere. The Montana mentality is a cultural experience in itself. You learn that state pride is something you carry with you regardless of how far you stray away, because you know without a doubt you’ve lived in the best state ever.

If I never experience another new place, I’ll know I’ve still lived a satisfied life. From the most colorful sunrises and sunsets, to the roaring rivers, crystal lakes, endless wildlife, and the golden fields of wheat and barley. Montanans live a life submerged with daily beauty, but that isn’t what holds us near and dear to our state.

Meeting Montanans you’ll learn that we still have an old fashioned way of doing things. In a society full of contracts, and paperwork the best business in Montana is still done with a handshake and a promise. Respect is still commonly practiced, and you treat everyone equally with trust until they prove they deserve otherwise. The hospitality you experience in this state is unlike any new place I’ve ever experienced. Everyone is a friend, and you’re only a stranger once.

Only in Montana can you experience all four seasons in the span of 24 hours and still be wishing for different weather. The element of surprise is inevitable in this state, which means I literally plan for anything. Living in Montana has taught me that if you leave the house in shorts, bring your winter coat, or rubber boots along too because you never know what the day may hold. You have to plan ahead for the drives you make, because even though we don’t have an abundance of traffic, driving through the back roads usually means driving through an open range.

Montana isn’t for everyone, maybe you hate simplicity, the outdoors, and starry nights. Perhaps you have a fancy for the city life, or something against the wide open spaces. Montana is made for those who’ve learned to love the small things in life. Maybe that’s why we’re nicknamed The Last Best Place, because even as I venture off into the great unknown I always know I can come back to my roots in the Treasure State and rest easy knowing my heart is forever stuck in The Last Best Place.