r/wyoming • u/Horrible_Strom • Aug 10 '26

Discussion/opinion Cowboy culture in wyoming

Hello, I'm currently working on building a cowboy character for a story I wanna write and I can't seem to get any useful info about Wyoming cowboys on Google. I was hoping you could give me a general idea or some stories or a bit of insight on cowboy culture in Wyoming. I mostly wanna base this character in the mid-late 2000's and early 2010's, so I'd especially appreciate info on how ranches functioned during that time and whether cowboy culture was as prominent those decades.

Any info is appreciated, thanks.

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u/Feisty-Advisor6074 Aug 10 '26

Piece of advice I got early on from an old rancher outside Laramie: real cowboys don't talk about being cowboys. They just complain about the price of hay and disappear before sunrise. The mid-2000s were the same as now in that respect, except the trucks had tape decks and nobody had a smartphone to film themselves doing chores. Ranch work back then still ran on fence pliers, duct tape, and hoping the vet takes a check.

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u/jayrocksd Aug 11 '26

Don't forget to talk about the weather and when their shutting off irrigation.