The pistol-packing lawmen, ruthless banditos, and rough-and-tumble cowboys of the Wild West were emblematic of the wide-open possibilities of their age. Although the American West is now a far more cosmopolitan place, the spirit of these characters survives at Rawhide Western Town and Event Center. Here, guests step back in time, visiting a frontier town complete with costumed characters and period-inspired activities for young and old.

Check out a few of Rawhide's coolest attractions:

• Six Gun Theater: Watch trained stuntmen reenact the precision marksmanship and acrobatic derring-do of an old-fashioned shootout during 20-minute open-air shows.

• The Butterfield Stagecoach: Take a rollicking ride through the Sonoran Desert aboard Rawhide's real stagecoach, which carried its first passengers way back in the 1880s.

• Rawhide Steakhouse: Eat like a cowboy at this renowned chophouse, where Wild West dishes such as fried rattlesnake, Rocky Mountain oysters, and hand-cut Gold Canyon Private Reserve Black Angus steaks earned the restaurant an appearance on the Food Network's Craziest Restaurants in America.

• The Shops: Peruse Rawhide's full array of Western-themed merchants, including an old-timey candy store, a fourth-generation blacksmith, and a mercantile shop featuring high-end jewelry and apparel from contemporary Arizona designers.

• The Activities: Get the kids into the cowboy spirit with a ride on the mechanical bull, a stop by the petting zoo, or a few minutes spent panning for gold like a '49er of yore.