Way Out West

When you think of cowboys, you probably picture tall-in-the-saddle heroes with spotless hats and a Hollywood shine. The truth? Cowboys on the trail were dirty, dusty, and often downright smelly.

In this episode of Way Out West, we’re pulling back the curtain on the gritty reality of cowboy hygiene. From “dry baths” with sand and sulfur matches used as deodorant, to wild rags that doubled as dish towels and bandages, cowboys had to get creative just to stay alive and halfway clean.

You’ll hear how cowboys brushed their teeth with willow twigs, why Saturday night in town often meant a trip to the bathhouse before the saloon, and how Hollywood got it all wrong when it came to cowboy cleanliness. Along the way, we’ll share a few laugh-out-loud remedies, surprising superstitions, and the clever ways working hands made do on the trail.

It wasn’t glamorous — but it was real. And it’s one more reason why cowboy grit and resilience remain legendary today.

As mentioned in this episode: Cowboy Gear: What is a Wild Rag

For show notes, visit WayOutWestPod.com/Cowboy-hygiene

Transcript: For a full transcript of this episode, click on "Transcript"

Your Turn!  Share your thoughts → [email protected]

Support the Show: Buy me a coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/thecowboycpa

Follow Along: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/RideWayOutWest

Encore Ride: This listener favorite takes us back to the wide-open Great Basin. If you missed it the first time, now’s your chance to saddle up with the buckaroos.

In this encore episode of Way Out West, we ride into the Great Basin—harsh country where the cattle roam wide and the cowboys ride different. Meet the buckaroos: heirs of the vaquero tradition, masters of rawhide and bridle horses, carrying quiet pride across the high desert.

From cow camps to Basque sheepherders, from slick horns to cowboy poetry, it’s a journey into grit, solitude, and the spirit of the American buckaroo.

For show notes, visit WayOutWestPod.com/buckaroo-way

Transcript: For a full transcript of this episode, click on "Transcript"

Your Turn!  Share your thoughts → [email protected]

Support the Show: Buy me a coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/thecowboycpa

Follow Along: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/RideWayOutWest

The West was built on stories, and few are larger than the life and legend of Wild Bill Hickok.

In this episode of Way Out West, explore the full arc of Hickok’s story — from his early years as a frontier boy in Illinois, to his daring service as a Civil War scout, to his time as a lawman taming cattle towns like Hays and Abilene. We’ll follow him through gunfights and gambling halls, where his reputation as one of the fastest men alive spread across the plains.

And finally, we’ll ride with him into Deadwood, South Dakota — the gold camp where his restless spirit met its end at a poker table, holding the hand that would become a legend: the Dead Man’s Hand.

For show notes, visit WayOutWestPod.com/Wild-Bill-Hickok

Transcript: For a full transcript of this episode, click on "Transcript"

Your Turn!  Share your thoughts → [email protected]

Support the Show: Buy me a coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/thecowboycpa

Follow Along: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/RideWayOutWest

Life on the Cattle Trail: The Story of Caleb and Tomás takes you deep into the dust and danger of the Old West. Ride alongside two cowboys—one born of the Tennessee hills, the other raised in the vaquero tradition—as they face storms, stampedes, and rustlers on the long trail north. 

Their bond, tested by hardship and strengthened by grit, captures the spirit of the American frontier. Was it fact? Was it fiction? Out here, the line between the two disappears into the wide horizon.

For show notes, visit WayOutWestPod.com/cowboy-story

Transcript: For a full transcript of this episode, click on "Transcript"

Your Turn!  Share your thoughts → [email protected]

Support the Show: Buy me a coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/thecowboycpa

Follow Along: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/RideWayOutWest

They called them the Lords of the Plains. From humble foot hunters to the most feared horsemen in history, the Comanche built an empire that rivaled Spain, Mexico, Texas, and even the United States. 

In this episode of Way Out West, learn the story of the Comanche Empire — their rise, their dominance, their clashes with settlers and soldiers, and the legacy they left behind on the American frontier.

Resources related to this episode:

Quanah Parker: The Last Chief of the Comanche

Transcript: For a full transcript of this episode, click on "Transcript"

Your Turn!  Share your thoughts → [email protected]

Support the Show: Buy me a coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/thecowboycpa

Follow Along: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/RideWayOutWest

In a dusty old barn, tucked beneath worn saddles and forgotten gear, lies a ledger of cowboy wisdom. Last time, we cracked it open and shared ten trail-tested proverbs from the saddle.

This week, we’re back for the second part of this two-part series — Cowboy Proverbs: 10 More Life Lessons from the Saddle. These sayings aren’t polished words from books, but truths earned the hard way: out on the trail, under the stars, and in the dust of the American West.

From patience and grit to trust and respect, each proverb carries a lesson that still rings true today. Saddle up and ride along as we turn the pages of cowboy wisdom one more time.

Join our Way Out West Roundup community on Facebook [Click Here]

Transcript: For a full transcript of this episode, click on "Transcript"

Your Turn!  Share your thoughts → [email protected]

Support the Show: Buy me a coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/thecowboycpa

Follow Along: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/RideWayOutWest

Step into a dusty old barn and crack open a forgotten book of cowboy wisdom. In part one of this two-part series, The Cowboy Accountant shares 10 cowboy proverbs. Rough-cut truths from the trail that still carry weight today. From keeping your words tight to never roping what you can’t hold, these sayings are part philosophy, part survival guide, and all cowboy common sense. 

Saddle up for a ride through the unwritten wisdom of the West.

Transcript: For a full transcript of this episode, click on "Transcript"

Your Turn!  Share your thoughts → [email protected]

Support the Show: Buy me a coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/thecowboycpa

Follow Along: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/RideWayOutWest

They’re icons of the American West—lawmen in white hats, riding hard for justice with six-guns on their hips. But the real story of the Texas Rangers isn’t all legend and glory. It’s a tale of grit, controversy, and transformation.

In this episode, uncover their origins on the frontier, the myths that Hollywood helped spread, the darker chapters of violence and prejudice, and the Rangers’ evolution into one of the most respected investigative forces in the world. From silver stars to six-guns, this is the true story behind the badge.

Resources related to this episode:

Time of the Rangers: Texas Rangers: From 1900 to the Present by award-winning Texas historian Mike Cox 

Lone Star Lawmen: The Second Century of the Texas Rangers by Robert M. Utley

Official Texas Rangers website

Transcript: For a full transcript of this episode, click on "Transcript"

Your Turn!  Share your thoughts → [email protected]

Support the Show: Buy me a coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/thecowboycpa

Follow Along: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/RideWayOutWest

From the grit of Jim Shoulders to the lightning-fast turns of Charmayne James, rodeo history is full of legends who defined the sport — and the cowboy way of life. In this episode of Way Out West, head into the arena with eight of the greatest: Jim Shoulders, Ty Murray, Larry Mahan, Lane Frost, Tuff Hedeman, Trevor Brazile, Bill Pickett, and Charmayne James. You’ll hear the stories that made them icons, the moments that cemented their legacies, and why their names still echo in the chutes today. Plus, our Cowboy Glossary term of the week and a little cowboy wisdom to take down the trail.

Transcript: For a full transcript of this episode, click on "Transcript"

Your Turn!  Share your thoughts → [email protected]

Support the Show: Buy me a coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/thecowboycpa

Follow Along: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/RideWayOutWest

When the sheriff was days away and the courtroom was a saloon, justice didn’t wait for a jury. In this episode of Way Out West, ride into the raw and riveting world of frontier justice. From vigilante hangings and cattle town shootouts to legendary lawmen like Wild Bill Hickok and Bass Reeves, uncover how the West was kept in line—one bullet, banishment, or bold decision at a time. Plus, the cowboy code behind it all, and what it still teaches us today.

If you liked this episode, you'll love:

Episode 44 - Bass Reeves: The Real Lone Ranger of the American West

Episode 33 - Gunsmoke and Justice: The Truth Behind the Shootout at the OK Corral

Transcript: For a full transcript of this episode, click on "Transcript"

Your Turn!  Share your thoughts → [email protected]

Support the Show: Buy me a coffee → https://buymeacoffee.com/thecowboycpa

Follow Along: Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/RideWayOutWest