Trade the sarongs for spurs with a 30km drive west to the cowboy town of Mareeba.

BBC: Escaping the heat in Far North Queensland

Further east, families can get a taste of the Wild West, saddling up for a cowboy adventure through the desert and canyons of Utah and Arizona.

BBC: Five family-friendly adventures

Hurdle wouldn't reveal what it was that made West grin: "That's between me and the Cowboy, " he said with a smile of his own.

WSJ: Umps get it right on Jones' HR, Pirates beat Mets

Nixon was the first Republican president to tap into the electoral appeal of the cowboy star as the faded mascot of the silent majority, the gentleman of the rugged West who got by fine without welfare and who shot bad guys when he had to.

CNN: Can today's gonzo GOP celebs help Romney win?