Kendra Atleework is the author of Miracle Country, a book about the Eastern Sierra, which won the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award, the Women Writing the West WILLA Literary Award in Creative Nonfiction, and was chosen for the statewide program Nevada Reads. She lives in Bishop.
None of us would want to live in a town without a bookstore! In good times, an independent bookstore is living month to month. And in that slow period of the year, you might be living week to week or day to day, wondering, are we gonna have enough money to keep the lights on, literally?
On a windy February evening, Lauren Robinson and I donned our winter hats and took a walk on the canals. Lauren is the owner of Sierra Shanti, Bishop’s very own yoga and wellness studio. I’ve been taking classes at Sierra Shanti since it opened in 2013. When classes went online at the start of the first shutdown, I found solace in a familiar ritual. While the cows milled around us and the sun set behind the Sierra, Lauren told me what it’s been like keeping her business afloat, and what the future holds for Sierra Shanti.
Read local writer, Kendra Atleework’s recent writing about living in 2020 in the Eastern Sierra, where smoke and COVID-19 bring challenges, but also inspiration.
Here are some touching stories from local community members rising above, rallying volunteers, and making generous financial gifts. Let’s do our part to help keep our community stay open by wearing masks upon entering any and all businesses. #keepinyoopen #keepbishopopen
A look into the Pine Creek Tungsten Mine in Bishop, CA. Once, four hundred miners pulled tungsten from these mountains, working in three shifts, the Pine Creek Mine churning away twenty-four hours a day. It was known as the Mine in the Sky.
