Top Vacation House Towns in US West?

As mentioned in my last post, National Geographic Adventurer spotlights a bunch of varied towns as top choices for living and working... whatever that means. Here are its choices in the Rockies;

* Missoula, Montana
* Ogden, Utah
* Carbondale, Colorado

Runners up: Lander, Wyoming... Idaho Falls, Idaho... Silver City, New Mexico... Prescott, Arizona... Reno, Nevada... Pagosa Springs, Colorado... Red Lodge, Montana...Tucson, Arizona... Colorado Springs, Colorado... Hailey, Idaho.

I have friends in some of these places and I happen to love both Carbondale (that's River Valley Ranch, Carbondale, in photo above) and Missoula. But I think the magazine's choices are much too inclusive. I'd love to hear what you think.