This is Montana
October 1, 2007 – 5:29 pm
On Thursday, CJ, my sister, my parents and I headed out on a long journey to the northeastern corner of Montana. Also known as farming country. Also known as Sheridan County. Also known as the middle of nowhere. Don’t believe me? Just try to book a flight there. It’s next to impossible.
When we get off the airplane in Billings, it is immediately clear that we are most definitely NOT in Seattle anymore.
We stand at the baggage carousel, waiting for our luggage and I notice a strange phenomenon. Scattered between the standard black wheelie bags, brightly colored duffel’s, and floral suitcases is a less familiar type of bag. Long, black, hard-edged and rectangular with a handle and a battered military feel. Gun cases. Lots of them.
I look around nervously. You don’t see a lot of gun cases coming off the luggage carousel in Seattle. And if you did, it’d be accompanied by an uproar.
But people stand nonchalantly, unfazed by the obvious artillery before us.
This is Montana, I remind myself, Gun cases are no big deal here.
We pick up our rental car and begin the 3 1/2 hour drive from Billings to Miles City, which will be our rest stop for the night. Our plan is to pick up dinner on the way at a road-side restaurant or fast food place.
The speed limit is 75 mph, and I can count on my two hands the number of cars that we meet. As we drive, we start to feel hungry, and watch more closely for a place to stop.
But the only thing we see on the side of the road for 150 miles is roadkill and the occasional “No Services” sign.
This is Montana, mom reminds us, you have to plan ahead here.
Finally we come to a rest stop, where we pull off to stretch and use the bathroom. A tall green-lettered sign warns of rattlesnakes in the grass. The prairie wind blows hard and cold. The rest stop is deserted, but clean.
The next day we are back on the road with more miles to cover before we reach the tiny farming town where my mother grew up.
The land is desolate with amazing expanses of nothing but wheat and sky. Trees are an anomaly here. The towns are so small that you can literally blink and miss them. And yet I find beauty in the landscape; in the raw simplicity of this place.
Yep, this is Montana, dad says, You can see why they call it Big Sky Country.
And it’s true. The sky is everywhere, all around and extending into the distance as far as I can see.
The sun is warm, but the wind is cold. And when it blows, buffeting us as we stand exposed at the tiny cemetery in the middle of the prairie, it chills to the bone.
After my grandmother’s funeral, we go to a luncheon hosted by the community of friends and neighbors. I have never, ever seen so much food. Row upon row of carefully prepared sandwiches, salads, and desserts. Beautiful plates of cookies and brownies and cake. Amazing bouquets of flowers. Gleaming carafes of tea and weak steaming coffee, which is poured into my Styrofoam cup by a smiling woman who clasps my hand as if she has known me forever.
The warmth and love is tangible as I am greeted by weathered smiling faces of the people who knew and loved my grandparents.
This is Montana. Here, community is strong enough to conquer the miles between neighbors. The wind is cold, but the people are warm. And the big sky is surely no bigger than the expanse of these good people’s hearts.
***
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By Jessica @ A Bushel and a Peck on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
I’m glad you’re back, and that your travels weren’t bad, considering the reason for them.
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By Lela on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
Reminds me of Texas and Oklahoma. Once you get out of town there’s nothing but grass, lol. But I love it! And the people are fabulous. Glad to see you’re home!
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By Mert on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
What a gorgeous post… born out of sadness, you found love and joy for the simple things.
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By WorksForMom on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
Welcome home. This was a beautiful post. Did you take those shots? They were fantastic.
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By Amy on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
Beautiful post! I love it out west. Glad to be reminded of the feel of Big Sky Country.
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By Annie on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
Gorgeous post. Made me cry - remembering burying my own grandparents. However much it may have been ‘their time’, it’s still hard to say goodbye.
On a side note about the gun cases - I have seen this at Newark airport and the owners of these cases later stood alongside me a the oversized baggage carousel. I was waiting for our stroller, and they were waiting for the stags antlers they’d bagged *puke!*
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By Momo Fali on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
I feel like hopping on a plane to Billings right now!
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By Smiling Mom on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
Beautiful! I’m so sorry to hear about your loss!
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By Deb on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
Sorry about your loss. The scenery is beautiful though!
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By Summer on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
I’m glad the people you met were so kind and welcoming. I remember seeing those rattle snake warning signs when I visited Montana.
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By Not the Queen on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
Montana is simply breathtaking, isn’t it? Beautiful state.
Some of the same things you mentioned about Montana are why I have continued to live where I live. It is beautiful out here. Sure, I miss “home,” but the country-half of Washington State is sometimes as beautiful as you described Montana: open, friendly, and community-centered; peaceful.
I’m glad the funeral was nice. I hope it gives you some closure.
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By Carla on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
Reminds me of my childhood growing up in North Dakota.
Missed you, Jen.
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By carrie on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
We honeymooned in Montana and I think you described if perfectly, especially the part about the cold wind but the warm people.
Glad you’re home.
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By Mary Alice on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
I love Montana. Beautifully described. I am sorry for your loss.
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By Moving Mama on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
There’s something to be said for traveling along the less traveled roads of America…and meeting the people who live there. Very sorry for your loss.
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By Feener on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
sorry to hear about your loss.
i always wonder what it is like in places like montana. i would have loved to travel xcountry and stay in different parts of the country.
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By Midwest Mommy on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
Did you take those pics? It sounds like a nice place but I wish you were there under different circumstances.
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By Monique on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
Welcome back! :)
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By Bananas on Oct 1, 2007 | Reply
I did take the pictures, thanks for asking. In fact, the last one is at my grandparents’ farm!
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By Queen of Shake-Shake on Oct 2, 2007 | Reply
Beautiful Jenny!
It sounds like your grandmother had a warm and loving send off.
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By nell on Oct 2, 2007 | Reply
Welcome back! After reading this and the post about small towns over at Bucolic Scribblings I’m ready to pack up and move my family to the Big Sky Country right now!
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By Cathy on Oct 2, 2007 | Reply
Beautiful post.
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By Raquel on Oct 2, 2007 | Reply
hey darlin ;)
beautiful photographs. I like them better than condoms that kill.
It was a toss up, though.
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By Eve on Oct 2, 2007 | Reply
I love places like that. And then I love comming home. Glad your home safe!
E
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By Nicole on Oct 2, 2007 | Reply
Sounds like a wonderful place. Very far from me though. The views look amazing.
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By Nadine on Oct 3, 2007 | Reply
Beautiful post! Montana sounds like a great place.
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By SAHMmy Says on Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
So the Wild West still exists! I forget there is a world that exists outside my big box store town :)
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By kimi on Oct 4, 2007 | Reply
you’re making me miss Eastern Washington real bad now. Cute people who do for you because you’re a community. Montana is even more beautiful. I’m so glad you had a great time. thanks for sharing with us!
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By Rachel on Oct 9, 2007 | Reply
What a beautiful post. Sometimes the simple things are the sweetest.
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