In Southern California climatic conditions differ greatly from those east of the Colorado River. The coast year is divided naturally into a dry season and a wet—the latter normally extending from October or November to April or May. From about mid-spring to about mid-autumn no rainfall whatever is to be expected, except in the high mountains where there are occasional thundershowers during summer. The winter precipitation comes usually in intermittent rain-storms of perhaps two or three days’ duration (on the higher mountains these come as snow), the intervening periods generally characterized by pleasant, sunshiny days and by nights with temperatures (particularly during December and January), not infrequently as low as 30 degrees Fahr. These minimums, however, rarely hold over an hour or so; and curiously enough, though they result in early morning frosts, only the tenderest vegetation is killed, the mercury rising rapidly after sunrise; so that a great variety of garden flowers bloom, and many vegetables mature, in the open throughout the winter. A marked feature of the California 24 hours is the wide difference between the temperature at midday and that at night, amounting to 35 or 40 degrees F. This condition is fairly constant and to be counted on daily. Similarly there is a very marked difference between shade and sun. A respectful regard for this fact will save the traveler many a bad cold. In summer, though the mercury may run well up into the 90’s and sometimes even to over 100 degrees, the accompanying relative humidity is low, so that it may be said that as a rule one suffers less from heat on the Pacific Coast than on the Atlantic at a dozen degrees lower.
As regards clothing, a simple and safe rule for travelers in the Southwest is to bring with them the same sort that they would wear in New York, season for season. No part of the Southwest is tropical, or even Floridian.
In the matter of expenses, Southern California has had a wider experience in catering to tourists than Arizona and New Mexico and its facilities are now thoroughly systematized, so that the average man may, if he chooses, live there about as cheaply as at home, or he may have the most luxurious accommodations at the larger resorts on a basis that only the very wealthy are familiar with. European plan is that most in vogue in California hotels, and the one most satisfactory for the traveler, who, in his rambles, often finds himself at meal-time far from his hostelry. Unless you want to pay more, you may calculate on $1.00 to $1.50 a night for a comfortable room. In Arizona and New Mexico the sparser settlement of the country results in plainer accommodations, but the rates are reasonable—room $1.00 a day and up; American plan rate under normal conditions about $3.00 a day. At many points in these two States the railways conduct hotels for the accommodation of their patrons, and they are, in my experience, uniformly good.
The charge for saddle-horses varies greatly. In out-of-the-way places where the horses range for their feed, ponies may be had for a dollar a day; but at the popular resorts, the rent of a good mount is generally in the neighborhood of $3.00 a day; it may be even more. There is a similar irregularity as to automobile rates. The latter are largely influenced by the character of the trip, as 50 miles on some roads would involve greater expense to the owner than 100 miles on others. A return of $15 or $20 a day for a car is not infrequently considered satisfactory, but harder trips naturally necessitate a much higher charge. In bargaining for transportation in the Southwest, where it may be a day’s journey between stopping places, it is well to remember that the lowest priced is not always the cheapest. It pays to pay for responsibility.
FOOTNOTES
[1]In 1883 New Mexico enterprisingly celebrated a so-called 300th anniversary of the founding of Santa Fe, basing that function on the assumption that Antonio de Espejo, who made an extended exploration of the province in 1582-3, had planted a colony there. But there is no evidence whatever that he did.
[2]The name commemorates the first Catholic Archbishop of Santa Fe, John B. Lamy (1850-1885), an apostolic man much beloved by the New Mexicans, to whom he appears to have been a true spiritual father.
[3]General Lew Wallace, while governor of New Mexico, wrote the last three books of “Ben Hur” in the old Palace. “When in the city,” he informed a correspondent, as quoted in Twitchell’s “Leading Facts of New Mexico History,” “my habit was to shut myself night after night in the bedroom back of the executive office proper, and write there till after twelve o’clock.... The retirement, impenetrable to incoming sound, was as profound as a cavern’s.”
[4]An establishment of the Archaeological Institute of America, which maintains schools also at Athens, Rome and Jerusalem. The Santa Fe school has for years conducted research work among the ancient remains in the Southwest, Guatemala, and other parts of the American continent. In connection with this, it holds annually a field summer school open to visitors.
[5]The climate is part of Santa Fe’s cherished assets, the atmosphere being characterized by great dryness. In summer the heat is rarely oppressive, and the nights are normally cool and refreshing. During July and August frequent thunder showers, usually occurring in the afternoon, are to be expected. In winter the mercury occasionally touches zero, and there is more or less of wind and snow interfering temporarily with the tourist’s outings; but the sunshine is warm and the snow melts quickly. Autumn is ideal with snappy nights and mornings and warm, brilliantly sunny mid-days.