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About the Author: Kendra

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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.

Bishop Visitor Blog Posts by Kendra:

Shoot the Landing: War and Planes in Owens Valley

Shoot the Landing: War and Planes in Owens Valley

Notes on Home Shoot the Landing: War and Planes in Owens Valley Kendra Atleework It is June 1 of 1943, a warm and cloudless morning, when three young women, nine suitcases, and one box of shoes get off a bus in Independence, California. The women have come to learn to...
How a Small Town Survives a Pandemic

How a Small Town Survives a Pandemic

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.

Dispatch from a Clear Day

Dispatch from a Clear Day

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.

The Kindness of Strangers in a Crisis

The Kindness of Strangers in a Crisis

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

Ghost Mine in the Sky

Ghost Mine in the Sky

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.

Another Woman’s Treasure: Amy Wicks’ Climbing Rope Art

Another Woman’s Treasure: Amy Wicks’ Climbing Rope Art

Check it out in the park, Saturday April 20! By Kendra Atleework When I first met Amy Wicks, we were mostly upside down. There was a good reason for this—we’d both enrolled in an aerial silks class, which involves tying yourself in knots and swinging around in the...
Notes on Home: A Villain in a Hero

Notes on Home: A Villain in a Hero

On Main Street in Bishop, California, listen to the clatter of two lanes of traffic busy with horse trailers, RVs, biker gangs, and highway patrol racing after sports cars from the city. A clutch of teenagers saunters, Wrangler-ed and Stetson-ed, in town for the rodeo...