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But when you think of the sort of “outlaw country” in historical pop culture, Texas and Arizona come to mind. Like the Arizona ranger that shot Texas Red with Big Iron.
I was in Fort Worth, down on Sundance Square, with my husband, who decided to get his cowboy boots polished. He had on a leather jacket - not a leather jacket like a biker would wear but one with a more western style cut. (He wasn't a cowboy but he WAS a native Texan, for the record.)
While he was sitting in the chair, a group of Japanese tourists came by and they were so excited! They started shouting "Real Cowboy, Real Cowboy!" and asked if they could take photos with him. We got a kick out of it and of course said yes.
I mean, I guess they thought "Hey, we're in Fort Worth, and this is a real cowboy here - we've hit the motherlode!" The crazy thing is - they were in a touristy part of Fort Worth, and my husband wasn't even a "real cowboy" anyway, not having any cows, or even horses!
One time, he was in China or some place, and some photographer from Soldier of Fortune magazine asked him to get up on some statue of a lion or dog or something, and ride it like he would ride a horse, so he could take a photo of him!
It's interesting that you can make a case for all of those states except for maybe Colorado...
And even Colorado isn't devoid of Cowboy types.
I will say that through the decades it has always seemed that (like in the case of KA's husband) that cowboy "style" was spread throughout the greater culture in Texas than it was in most other states.
We would go from OKC to Dallas and see a lot more cowboy hats and boots on regular people than we did back in OKC. And there was always the occasional Caddy with the horns strapped on the front down in Texas that we NEVER saw at home.
Then the Dallas (the TV show) and Urban Cowboy (the Movie) came out and it became more prevalent elsewhere. And since then "the Drugstore Cowboy" has kind of been a thing. Kind of muddles the picture.
But on a per capita basis there is no doubt that Wyoming is the "true" Cowboy state. Wyoming doesn't even have any cities big enough to qualify to have "City Slickers" I don't think.
Which of the following US states do you most closely associate with cowboys?
Okidoke -- not really asking what state actually has real working cowboys. Only where there is a popular perception of where they are. That helps with the poll results.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 509
Every western states has cowboys, even California.
But Nevada has a lot and is not even on the list.
Yeah -- we could add about 5 or 6 states and still miss a few. It seems like we have lost touch with the notion of Cowboy and Cowboy Culture. Cowboys actually work at it.
Cow Camp Poetry
- by SunGrins
These last few years I’ve grown right fond
of Cowboy poetry.
It’s sometimes rude and often crude
but it brings a smile to me.
These guys would live far from a town
and tell a tale or two
of chasin’ cows and birthin’ calves
while eatin’ Hector’s stew.
They’d speak of Stinky Pete for sure
and often Cactus Jack
and though they’d never seen it,
that tattoo on Juana’s back.
But when they found themselves alone
out on that dusty flat
their horse and dog just didn’t care
for Cowboy chit and chat.
They lived a life upon the range
or some lofty high plateau
for half a buck a day and grub
and a million-dollar view.
(Written on the occasion of a visit to an old Colorado cow camp.)
For whatever reason, cowboy and Texas never really got heavily associated in my head. Probably because my Pa grew up here in a farm rather than a ranch, so stories of Texas growing up didn’t involve herding cattle or anything like that. I’ve kind of always associated cowboys more with cities than states, like Ft. Worth, Dodge City, etc.
For whatever reason, cowboy and Texas never really got heavily associated in my head. Probably because my Pa grew up here in a farm rather than a ranch, so stories of Texas growing up didn’t involve herding cattle or anything like that. I’ve kind of always associated cowboys more with cities than states, like Ft. Worth, Dodge City, etc.
I definitely think Texas is the ultimate cowboy state, but I do agree with you about certain towns vs entire states. Deadwood SD is another example as is Dodge City KS and Tombstone AZ (though Arizona has quite a few places like that).
All of the states in the poll are worthy. But California has plenty of cowboy history.
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