The Good Life The Cowboy Way

Western lifestyle as defined in Wikipedia is “a social classification of people significantly influenced by the (often romanticized) attitudes, ethics and history of the American Western Cowboy Culture.” The American cowboy lifestyle remains a mythically romanticized icon today. This is mostly from the “westerns”, television shows and movies made up in Hollywood about life in the early “Old West”. This idea was made up to sell everything from cigarettes to blue jeans. Everything that is supposed to suggest freedom from everyday stressful living to clean, quiet stress free open spaces.

The truth of the matter is that cowboy style living is still very much alive. The idea that this lifestyle is easier because of modern tools such as trucks, motorcycles, ATVs, and helicopters is mistaken. Horses are still very much apart of today’s ranching practices out on the range. The work of a cowboy is basically ruled by the lifecycle of the cattle he is taking care of. Sleds are still used to bring hay out to the livestock in the winter time. Catching cattle for branding, vaccinations and the like are still done by horseback. Chuck wagons are still a useful part of the eating experience on the range. The $500 paycheck, which includes room and board (living in a tent), is still as it has always been for riding over 40,000 acres chasing cattle, low. The cowboy style of living is often time hard, dirty, very lonely and dangerous.

Western style of living also reflects in the style of architecture you live in. Your household furnishings are simple, yet useful. Raising your own food such as beef and having a garden. Raising a family in clean air, family values and traditions; basically getting back to nature. Most families that live in the West are four to five generations currently living. The land has been the original land that their family homesteaded during the era of land grabs. There is deep family history and tradition in western style living.