Wisdom is a census designated place located in the southwest corner of the state of Montana. It is the largest town in the Big Hole Valley, and as such has a population of around 100 people. It is at an altitude of slightly over 6000 feet.
The entire Big Hole Valley was mostly unsettled until the coming of Europeans. European settlers sparsely settled the area with ranching, since the climate there, with only a month of the year frost-free at most, doesn't allow for farming in the area. Today, the economy is mostly based around tourism, which either means people coming to see the area's stark beauty, or else because they are passing through and it is the only place to get gas in sixty miles.
Along with Stanley, Idaho and West Yellowstone, Montana, Wisdom is often the coldest town in the continental United States.
I like visiting Wisdom. I can't imagine living there.
Sometimes I get in discussions with people from other areas of the world over what constitutes "rural". There are many places in the United States or Europe where living in an exurb with a yard big enough to hold three chickens and a goat is considered to be a sign of "living in the country". And then there is Wisdom. In Wisdom, there is a post office, a gas station, a tavern and a small store. If you want to visit a library, a grocery store, a hospital, a bank, a barber or just about any type of retail establishment that sells things other than food and sundries, there will be a drive of over fifty miles and close to two hours. It is a type of lifestyle that is remote and desolate that is hard to understand, even for me, and I live in rural Montana. Although it is also somewhat heartening to think that such places still exist in the United States.