Boise is a nice mix because it's a decent sized community with lots to do, good economy, good airport, etc, but it's not so big that it's difficult to escape crowds. There's awesome camping/fishing/hunting in basically every direction. Your crowded areas tend to be up highway 55 but even then it's nothing like what you'd get with Denver (my sister used to live there and couldn't believe the crowds).
I love it here and think it's a great community to raise my kids. I travel back east and south for work a fair amount so I am very aware of how good we have it in the northwest.