Cody, Wyoming

Plenty of noisy pickup trucks cruise the main streets of Cody, the "rodeo capital of the world". During summer, tourism is huge business here, but underneath all the Buffalo Bill– linked attractions and paraphernalia, Cody manages to retain the feel of a rural Western settlement.

During summer months, the Cody Nite Rodeo happens nightly at the open-air arena on the western edge of town (8pm; $17; same contact info as Cody Stampede Rodeo).

Just east of the rodeo grounds off US-14 is Old Trail Town (mid-May– mid-Sept, 8am–8pm; $8; Tel:307/587-5302), a collection of buildings dating from 1879–1901 and salvaged from the surrounding region; among them cabins and saloons frequented by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Holding the nation's most comprehensive collection of Western Americana, Cody's Buffalo Bill Historical Center at 720 Sheridan Ave comprises five distinct museums (hours vary by season; $15; Tel:307/587-4771, Web: www.bbhc.org ). At the Buffalo Bill Museum, artifacts trace William Cody's life. The lives of western Native Americans are celebrated in the Plains Indian Museum while in the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, the contrasting styles of Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell command the most attention. The largest known collection of American-made firearms in the world is housed in the Cody Firearms Museum, while the Draper Museum of Natural History is lined with interactive exhibits and beautiful taxidermy displays.