Hello Fellow Travelers! Chuck & I are busy this July showing land and ranches, and we have it made in the Shade. We don’t want any of our friends to get heat stress when we’re out in the dog days of summer. One of the best ways to stay cool is to wear a hat that shades your ears, face, temples and the back of your neck from the sun. These come in many styles, wide-brimmed hats, pith helmets, and straw hats and Cowboy hats!! Light-colored and breathable hats work best. Although ball caps shade your face, they leave a lot exposed.
Before the invention of the cowboy hat, cowpunchers of the plains wore castoffs of previous lives. Everything from formal top hats and derbies to leftover remnants of civil War headgear. Tams and sailor hats were even often worn by men moving westward.
The concept of a broad-brimmed hat with a high crown worn by a rider on horseback came primarily from the tradition of the Mexican vaquero. However, the cowboy hat is a by-product of many designs, including Mexican hats such as the sombrero, and various designs of wide-brimmed hats worn by farmers and plantation workers, as well as the design used by the U.S. Cavalry. The shape of a cowboy hat once depended very much on the region from which it originated. At one time a person could tell where a cowboy was from just by the crease in his hat!
In the early days, the cowboy hat was valued for being functional, with the wide brim protecting working cowboys from the sun and rain. It could be used to signal others, fan a campfire, or pull water out of a stream for man or horse. If you don’t own a hat – just let Chuck know- he’ll bring you an extra!
Above all – drink lots of water!
Happy Trails, Chuck’s Traveler
