I've lived in coastal Virginia (Norfolk) for 4 years. Before that, I lived in Phoenix AZ, Knoxville TN, and Western New York. I'm looking to move back out West next year, so I'm starting to get a list together of places I want to check out before making a decision. I'm going to be in WA and OR for concerts in September (cheers if you know Om), and NM and CO for shows in October, so cities in those states are what I'm looking for. I've not been to the PNW yet, but have been through both CO and NM when I lived in Phoenix. CO is my top choice, I literally have recurring dreams that I live there, but I don't know much about the smaller areas outside of Denver.

General Area:
I'm not into big cities, so places like Denver, Albuquerque, Portland and Seattle are totally out for me, but being within 2 hours of a city to see concerts would be great. I think population anywhere from 40k to 300k is a good ballpark. I'm not looking to be in the middle of nowhere, but I'm not a downtown type either. I also don't drink so bar/nightlife isn't important but I toke so legality is (no ID or WY, UT is a maybe if there's a good match). Mostly I'm interested in having good proximity to natural features.

Outdoor Recreation:
Hiking and MTB are extremely important to me. I loved living in Phoenix for the hiking and mountain biking, access to Prescott, Sedona, and Flagstaff (all of which are candidates). I'm not big on the beach (if I'm close to it in the PNW that's cool) and currently the nearest mountains are 3-4 hours away. The Appalachians aren't sufficiently interesting to me geologically and I'm not into the culture anyway (lived in Knoxville). Not interested in moving back up north to VT or NH either.

Cost of living and Employment:
I'm a medically-retired veteran, and I currently afford my $900/month apartment pretty easily with a part-time job for pocket money/savings. Ideally I'd be looking for a modest house in the $200k range. I work doing tours at a botanical garden, so someplace that had at least some tourism sector seems to be a good match.

Thanks in advance for your time and effort!