The Rancher of the Future: Bonus 1 of The Great Individualist Reboot

The Abeyta family has been driving sheep down from the mountains of southern Colorado for generations. But it hasn’t been easy to keep that tradition alive – they’ve had to fight for it. Through their eyes, we trace back the beginnings of the cowboy to the Mexican vaquero and find out how those adventurous roots are still very much alive in the American southwest.

The Rolling Stone: The Modern West is re-sharing our ranching series The Great Individualist. This time, we explore our deep abiding love for the cowboy. "If you get out there and bust your butt taking care of cows and even putting up hay, it’s so rewarding. I can get on a saddle horse and ride all day." But how that infatuation sometimes gets us in trouble.

We're back with a new season of Modern West. Listen to the first episode of The Great Individualist Reboot now!

It's a new season of the Great Individualist - new episode premieres on August 21st.

Wyoming is known as the “equality state” because it was the first in the nation to pass women’s suffrage. And for decades it’s proudly recognized that history with a statue of  Esther Hobart Morris, Wyoming's first Justice of the Peace and a vocal participant in the women's suffrage movement. But that statue is no longer standing in front of the Wyoming state capitol.

Meet Iva, an innovative teacher conducting scientific research with her middle schoolers on the Wind River Reservation. They even set up trail cameras!It's the final episode of High Altitude Tales.

Recidivism rates in the U.S. are some of the highest in the world, and in Wyoming, 33 percent of inmates are back in prison within the first year. But studies show that animal therapy can help reduce that by teaching things like responsibility, nonviolence and empathy. Most programs pair inmates with dogs. But Wyoming has a special program – one of only five in the country – that teaches inmates how to tame wild horses.

In the resort town of Jackson Hole, WY, the housing shortage is so bad that people are finding crazy workarounds for how to live there. Like this guy, living in his van. "It’s cold when you come back. And then the issue is, like, all your water freezes and all your stuff is frozen. And trying to dry ski stuff or anything like that it’s a pain - but once the heaters are goin it gets crankin' in here!"

The story of two wolves in Colorado’s North Park, a father and a son, and how the community is – or is not – coming to terms with their presence."Wolves represent a lot of what farming and ranching is about, which is like, you have no control ultimately."Wolves #2101 and #2301: episode 3 of our series High Altitude Tales.

Take a bike ride into a tiny forgotten historic mining town that sits at the intersection of two beloved through trails. For hardcore bikers and hikers, this town is an oasis. And for a community used to cycles of boom and bust, there's hope this boom could last.