MESA, Ariz. - If you think of Mesa, Ariz., as an endless landscape of McMansions and gated trailer parks, punctuated occasionally by big outdoor shopping centers, you'd be wrong.

Indeed, there are lots and lots of giant new homes, and Mesa has its share of gated trailer parks and shopping centers. But the city on the eastern edge of the Phoenix metropolitan area actually has a downtown and a historic district. The town was established as a Mormon community in 1878.

Today, Main Street Mesa's canopied sidewalks are lined with antiques stores, gift shops, coffee shops and restaurants. Few buildings are more than two stories tall. It hardly looks the center of a city of 460,000 people.

And the downtown has managed to keep that small-town look and feel despite burgeoning growth brought on by throngs of sun-seeking Northerners who have made Arizona their home over the past three decades.

"We like to call it the biggest little city you've never heard of," Rick Elder of the Mesa Convention & Visitors Bureau said.

There are more people living in Mesa than within the city limits of Atlanta, Oakland, Miami, Pittsburgh or Minneapolis, he said.

And with the recent addition of Allegiant Air service to 13 northern cities - including Rapid City - Mesa has its own airport. The former Williams Air Force Base has been turned into Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Allegiant and Vision Holiday, a public charter service, are the only airlines flying in, but Mesa officials hope it will become an East Valley gateway for golfers, hikers, shoppers and sports fans.

Tourism is big business in Mesa, and golf is a big part of the city's allure. There are about 40 golf courses within a half-hour drive of downtown Mesa. The list includes the challenging Longbow Golf Club and the tree-lined Arizona Golf Resort.

Mesa also has its own Major League Baseball team, albeit one that plays its regular-season home games in Chicago. But Hohokam Stadium, north of downtown, is the spring training home of the Cubs. They are scheduled to play 30 games at Hohokam beginning in February.

Despite its size - or maybe because of its size - Mesa has an identity problem. With the population growth occurring throughout the Treasure Valley, city limits have touched each other, and the whole area has melted into an urban blur. It's all but impossible to tell where Mesa ends and Tempe begins. Or Chandler, or Scottsdale, or Phoenix proper.

You can drive west down Guadalupe Road and find yourself in Mesa, Gilbert, Mesa again, Tempe or Phoenix, depending on where you pull over.

And if you think of Mesa as a gigantic nursing home with residents doddering around in their walkers, you'd be wrong again. There are lots of retirees here, but most are the golf-playing variety.

The median age of Mesa is 32.4 years, younger than the national average. The percentage of people 65 and older is 12.1 percent, below the national average. And the percentage of people younger than age 5 is 8.5 percent, above the national average.

That could be why outdoor recreation such as hiking, rafting and bicycling is so popular here. The Superstition Mountains rise from the desert floor just east of town, attracting adventurers who love to explore the desert landscape.

The mountains are also home to the legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine, a rich cache of gold that has never been found. And today, people are still looking for the Lost Dutchman. Elder said you can still see old prospectors coming down the mountain.

"I don't know why, but they all seem to have long beards," Elder said with a chuckle.

About Mesa, Ariz.

Population: 447,541

Median age: 32.4 (national average 36.4)

Age 65 and older: 12.1 percent (national average 12.4 percent)

Latino: 27.1 percent (national average 14.8 percent)

Editor's note: This is the final in a series about Allegiant Air's new nonstop service from Rapid City to Mesa, Ariz.