Mountain air and a rested horse make vast distances feel effortless

Evidence

That sixteen miles seemed like one mile, after sunset, in the rapturous freshness of the Colorado air, and Birdie, after her two days’ rest and with a lightened load, galloped across the prairie as if she enjoyed it. I did not reach this gorge till late, and it was an hour after dark before I groped my way into this dark, unlighted mining town, where, however, we were most fortunate both as to stable and accommodation for myself. — Isabella L. Bird, A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, 205

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the book’s recurring motif that pure dry mountain air is ‘the elixir of life.’