Where did Montana go?
The Covid-19 pandemic or whatever one may refer to is as ( I do not want this to become a political issue) I realized that having been born and raised in Montana and raising my own children and now seeing Montana through the eyes of my grandchildren as they experience the majesty that is Montana, that I have been taking Montana for granted a little and never even meant to. The influx of people that have not only visited here but actually pulled up stakes and moved here for the solitude, is beyond me! My family and I used to decide to go out camping for the weekend on a whim. We would load up the camping gear and take off to one of our many favorite spots. You know, the places where the fish are plentiful! There was NEVER an issue with finding a campsite, our favorite one or close by it, was always available and we didn’t have to pay! It was our Montana and we played in it as we saw fit, respectfully! We packed out what we packed in and left the places looking better than when we got to them.
Now, fast-forward 20 years, and things have completely changed. I am not to naïve to realize that things change and can’t always be the same forever. But I morn those old days ( up to two years ago). I live within 30 minutes of Glacier National Park and have been lucky enough to go there at least once a season to explore what nature had to offer. There was no issues, no lines, friendly people. Now, there is limited ticketed entry only and they sell out within 1 minute online to mostly out of state folks. Now I am not saying that people can’t visit at all. This isn’t OUR land only, but it does suck a big one when we live here and suffer through the harsh winters, low wages, limited jobs, and ASTRONOMICAL housing prices, and we can’t even enjoy the summers when they arrive ( i think last year summer was on a Tuesday in July). If you want to go camping anywhere, you have to pay at 95% of the sites now and good luck just going on a whim and getting a place, those days are over.
There just has to be a way to make everyone happy somehow. How can we as a society change this so that invested Montanan's and the Montana way of life isn’t interrupted by so many out of state tourists and transplants? I mean, if you want to move here, great. But PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP TRYING TO CHANGE THE WAY MONTANA DOES THEIR STUFF! THERE IS A REASON YOU WANTED TO BE HERE, IF YOU WANT IT TO CHANGE TO YOUR WAY OF THINKING THEN WHY COME HERE?!
Come, visit, play, purchase of home, but don’t change us, JOIN us! And don’t forget to support your local businesses. We all are just trying to make a living in life, so if you can, buy local, support local, BE LOCAL!
That is all. :-) Now, if you don't’ hate me from my rant to much, and would like a Montana decal to slap on your truck, tumbler, laptop, kayak, or what have you, then visit my Etsy shop or find me on Facebook Marketplace- Montana Decal Gal is where you will find me. I have many Montana themed decals but also some that are not related to Montana, but good nonetheless. LOL