Summer is fast approaching here in western Montana, and with it, tourist season. Here’s a list of 10 things you’ll only really get if you’re from western MT and not just passing through. (On that note, if you’re not from here, don’t pass through. We’re not into sharing.)

1. Our mountains are the best.

Baylee says it best.

2. Huckleberries.

That is all.

3. Hunting season is a widely recognized holiday.

4.The joy of driving 80+mph and rarely seeing another soul on the road.

And if you do see another driver, it's either a trucker or a Californian.

4. You recognize just how huge the state is.

If you drive west on I90 from Missoula, you’ll hit Seattle, which means crossing three state lines, sooner than if you drive east on I90 to hit the Dakotas.

5. Seceding from the eastern part of the state is a topic of conversation.

We’ll keep our beautiful mountains and rivers, and eastern MT can have the rolling hills of nothingness, the oil fields, and the Cats. In our hypothetical new state, we don’t need Bozeman.

6. ~calIforNianS~

Fewer words strike as much fear into the hearts of western Montanans than that one. It's as though we think they'll take over in something akin to a zombie apocalypse.

Exaggerated depiction of a hoard of Californias to native Montanans.

7. The enigma that is Butte.

Chances are that if you’re from western MT, you’ve probably been to Butte a time or two, and it's a special place. Realistically, Butte could probably secede and be its own small country, similar to Monaco or Vatican City.

8. The ENTIRE history of Lewis and Clark.

If you went to school in western MT, particularly southwest MT, you probably spent at least one entire semester during your high school career learning about the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

9. You’re very possessive.

You can only say you’re from here if you’ve lived here from age birth. It’s in the bylaws, sorry.