There is no line marking the change from Western Montana to Eastern Montana. Whether you're driving along Highway 2 from Kalispell to Cut Bank, or traveling east along Highway 90 from Bozeman, you won't see a sign that says "Welcome to Eastern Montana." But you will notice the difference.

I used to say that Eastern Montana was flat until I married a woman from Savannah, Georgia. When I brought her to Montana and we drove across the eastern part of the state, she said with some degree of disbelief, "This isn't flat! This isn't flat at all!"

I didn't quite grasp how she could say that until we did a similar road trip through Georgia. Of course she was right. Although there are definitely long stretches, especially on the Hi-Line, where you can see for miles, the terrain in Eastern Montana is almost never flat. There are subtle changes everywhere. A big reason for its reputation for being flat is the lack of trees. You can drive for hours without seeing as much as a handful of trees, and those are generally shelter belts that were planted to give someone's ranch house a little relief from the persistent winds.

But a closer look at this half of the state reveals a land that is rich with texture. Whether it's a long, delicate slope or a hidden coulee, there are indications everywhere that the elements have been hard at work. There are also monuments of absolute magnificence, like the badlands of Makoshika State Park in Glendive, which resemble the Southwest more than Montana, and the Absaroka or Crazy Mountains, which give almost every other range in the state a decent run for most scenic mountain range. There are the sandstone cliffs along Ryegate and Billings, and Medicine Rocks State Park near Ekalaka. I can't forget the sheer beauty of the lakes in the Beartooth Mountains - East and West Rosebud. This variety of geological formations and makeup is part of what makes this state unique.

But much of Eastern Montana is an acquired taste, especially if you expect or are accustomed to something like the majesty of the mountains. That said, they call this "Big Sky Country" for a very good reason. When you stand in the middle of a pasture in Eastern Montana, the sky really does look absolutely huge. I have heard this over and over again from people who've never been here before. It makes no sense that the sky actually looks bigger, but it does. Although it's interesting to note that the reason we became known as the "Big Sky State" was an advertising campaign concocted by the Montana Highway Department in the early sixties. They utilized the title of A. B. Guthrie's novel, as well as the persistent observation among visitors that the sky looks bigger here. But in the end, it's all about advertising. But still, the sky.

This kind of open country seems to attract two very different types of people and create two kinds of towns. First there's a town like Fort Benton, where every place you go, people greet you like a long-lost relative. There are many small towns like this in Eastern Montana, where people appear to be living rich, happy lives.

The other extreme is a little harder to grasp, and to the outsider I'm sure it can be intimidating. But in most of the smaller towns in Eastern Montana, what you're going to encounter when you first walk into the local cafe is "the stare."

Those who encounter "the stare" should not panic. Although at first glance, the stare suggests that you might want to turn around and go back to your car, the explanation is pretty simple. The stare comes from seeing the same twenty-five or thirty people day after day for the past five or ten years. And then suddenly being presented with someone they've never seen before. You're a specimen that needs to be studied and analyzed. You are exotic, worthy of examination. You are something they can spend a good hour talking about later.

But there's another factor that contributes to the stare. Economics. A few years ago I read that every county east of Billings except Custer (Miles City) has decreased in population since the 1950s. I'm sure with the oil boom this is no longer true, but that trend is still very much alive for almost all of Eastern Montana. According to Business Insider, the average wage among Montana residents is the fourth lowest in the nation, and Eastern Montana's average is lower than the western half of the state. The natural result is a large number of people that are struggling and unhappy. Maybe depressed. Some are drinking too much. And many are angry - at the government, at each other, at themselves. It is part of the cycle of economic struggle, and most of Eastern Montana has been fighting this battle for a long time.

So don't take it personally if they don't meet you with a smile and a cheery greeting.

-from Chapter Seven: Plants