Bishop huh?...what's the deal out there?

Some factoids to give you a flavor of what Bishop's all about:

Bishop is located on the eastern side of the Sierras and is the largest and only city in Inyo County with a population of around 3,500. It's at the northern end of the Owens Valley with an elevation of 4147 feet, between the Sierras and White Mountains, each with peaks as high as 14,000 feet. Mount Shasta is the only one of California's 14,000 foot named peaks not within Inyo County. The bristlecone pine, believed to be one of the oldest living organisms, is found in the White Mountains.

Bishop is considered part of the Great Basin Desert, with an average of only 5.6 inches of precipitation. The average high temperature is 98 degrees in July and the average low is 22 in December-January. The surrounding vegetation is dominated by sagebrush scrub.

Tourism is the main industry, supporting hiking, rock-climbing, skiing, hunting, fishing, and photography. The Mule Days Celebration over Memorial Day weekend attracts 30,000 visitors to watch 700 mules compete in 181 events.

There is a Vons grocery store and K-mart, along with a number of neat shops and restaurants that I'll probably feature in later posts. There is a movie theatre and bowling alley. The closest location for other major stores is 171 miles away in Carson City, Nevada, farther away than Yosemite. Bishop is about a 5 hour drive from Sacramento when the mountain passes are open.

What else? I'll let you know. :)

Apartment Adventures !

Finding an apartment remotely is always a challenge. Fortunately there were online lists available from a local realtor and in the local paper classifieds, but after that it was "Call Mike after 5pm." I knew I was going to be in Bishop for some work a couple weeks ago, so I made some appointments to look at a few places that sounded reasonable. Then I found out that some places were already gone and that "new carpet, new paint, new appliances" means no stove or refrigerator. Freaking out a bit, I checked the paper again. I hadn't called a listing that simply read "2-bedroom, upstairs, in town". It turned out to be this awesome place with a huge living room, corner windows, reasonable rent, and a totally nice landlord. She seemed as excited as I was to get the place rented ! Although my lease doesn't officially start until June, she still gave me a key. I'll be moving my furniture and larger things in this weekend ! Memorial Day weekend also happens to be Mule Days, the biggest festival in Bishop. More on that soon ! Oh, and 2-bedroom means come visit anytime !

What's in a name?

I realize my blog title isn't the most creative ever, but it's inspired by some amazing creativity ! My friend Carmen had this totally awesome cake commissioned for my going away party. As you can see, it's topped with mountains, bats, and little bottles of beer ! The bottles are even labeled 'IPA' and 'Ale'. Not only that, it's Guinness cake with Bailey's frosting. I have the best friends ever. Thanks, Carmie !

In the beginning...

A friend of mine (thanks, Angela D!) suggested that I blog my time in Bishop. Not a bad idea. Let's see how long it lasts...