Every Idahoan knows that living in this amazing state is not for the faint of heart. We deal with a variety of unique rural challenges on a daily basis that pampered, big-city easterners couldn’t possibly understand. Truth be told, you have to be a tough cookie to handle what we do. Here are the top reasons why people from Idaho are raised with some extra grit.

1. Getting our hands dirty doesn't faze us one bit.
pwjamro/Flickr
From growing our own food, to building barns and putting up fences, calloused hands are a sign of a life well-lived.
2. Throwing thousands of hay bales every season gives us a little extra backbone, too.
Christpher Harrison/Flickr
(It's not as easy as we make it look).
3. Meeting a bull face-to-face is just as terrifying in a rodeo ring as it is back at the ranch.
Bill Gracey/Flickr
It takes some serious guts to look a 2,500-pound beast with a temper in the eye every morning... and still walk into a bull-riding ring that same weekend.
4. Heatwaves are a regular occurrence here, especially in the lower part of the state.
Jen/Flickr
It's sweltering. It's dry. And there definitely aren't any palm trees here to provide shade. But you get used to it.
5. Long commutes and seemingly endless stretches of country roads between cities mean patience is a necessity here.
Jens Schott Knudsen/Flickr
6. But sometimes our commutes run into a bit of a traffic jam...
Russ Garcia/Flickr
So we just take a deep breath, and wait it out.
7. Off-road driving is about the only way to get to Idaho's best recreation spots.
Nicholas D./Flickr
But buckle up, because driving through steep, winding back-country dirt roads littered with potholes and lacking guard rails is no easy feat.

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8. We tend to look Mother Nature's most brutal offerings in the face and say, "That looks like fun."
Whitewater Rafting in Idaho
U.S. Army/Flickr
9. Or, "I can climb that."
Nicholas D./Flickr
10. But no matter the injury, "'tis but a scratch."
CollegeHumor/YouTube
We have work to do. Rub some dirt on it.
11. Odds are, if you're not in rattlesnake country...
Stuart Rankin/Flickr
12. Then you're probably in bear country.
Jayson/Flickr
Idahoans know no fear.
13. But most of all, we were raised with a small-town combination of discipline, curiosity, and good values.
John Maddin/Flickr
Scraped knees and playing in the muck with nothing but sticks and a healthy imagination means we grow up with a good head on our shoulders.
14. Sure, we have to deal with a lot of stereotypes, but they don't faze us.
memegenerator.net
So keep throwing 'em out. They just make us tougher.

What else would you add to this list? Let me know in the comments!

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