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. :)
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. :)
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