Colorado’s high dry climate allowed year-round outdoor living
Evidence
People can safely sleep out of doors for six months of the year. The plains are from 4,000 to 6,000 feet high, and some of the settled ”parks,” or mountain valleys, are from 8,000 to 10,000. The air, besides being much rarefied, is very dry. The rainfall is far below the average, dews are rare, and fogs nearly unknown. The sunshine is bright and almost constant, and three-fourths of the days are cloudless. The milk, beef, and bread are good. The climate is neither so hot in summer nor so cold in winter as that of the States, and when the days are hot the nights are cool. Snow rarely lies on the lower ranges, and horses and cattle don’t require to be either fed or housed during the winter. Of course the rarefied air quickens respiration. All this is from hearsay. I am not under favorable circumstances, either for mind or body, and at present I feel a singular lassitude and difficulty in taking exercise, but this is said to be the milder form of the affection known on higher altitudes as soroche, or “mountain sickness,” and is only temporary. — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 60
Categorization
- SHARE: The detail that horses and cattle need no feeding or housing in a Colorado winter flips standard expectations and would delight any settler-era or western-history enthusiast.
- XREF: connects to: Colorado’s high, dry, cloudless climate allows outdoor sleeping half the year. — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 139; Colorado’s climate attracted thousands of health seekers with chronic diseases. — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 138
Related
- Colorado’s high, dry, cloudless climate allows outdoor sleeping half the year. (similarity 0.93)
- Colorado’s climate attracted thousands of health seekers with chronic diseases. (similarity 0.87)
- Colorado’s reputation drew thousands of invalids seeking a health cure in primitive conditions. (similarity 0.83)
- Colorado was settled largely by invalids seeking a cure (similarity 0.80)
Broader Connections
- Colorado’s high, dry, cloudless climate allows outdoor sleeping half the year.
#corroborates(0.85) — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 139 - Colorado’s climate attracted thousands of health seekers with chronic diseases.
#expands(0.80) — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 138