OK, the question is: Which Bristol are we talking about?

I am aware of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and Bristols in the states of Pennsylvania, Vermont, Connecticut, Indiana, Virginia, and Tennessee. Are there others I missed?

We're the Bristols in Virginia and Tennessee. Yes, we're in both states. If you look at a map showing the two states, and it has the Interstate Highway System on it, look at I-81 where it crosses the Virginia-Tennessee state line. That's us.

There are two Bristols, called "The Twin Cities" - and to confuse matters even more, we sometimes look at the triangle formed by Johnson City, and Kinsport in Tennessee and the TWO Bristols of Tennessee and Virginia, and call it the "Tri-Cities." Even the airport is called the Tri-Cities Regional Airport.

Bristol TN and Bristol VA share a downtown area. The main street is called State Street and it is a two-lane street with one lane in Virginia and one lane is Tennessee. We have a common Chamber of Commerce, but have separate city governments, separate school systems, police and fire departments, etc.

Bristol VA has 1 high school, 1 middle school, and 4 elementary schools. Bristol TN has 1 high school, 1 middle school, and 6 elementary schools.

Bristol TN is 21.1 square miles and has a population fo 15,200. Bristol VA is 11.6 square miles and has a population of 17,900. These figures are courtesy of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce.

(I'm trying to get the basic demographics out front here, and then we'll go on to other topics later.)

The January low temperature is around 22.5 F (-3.6 C) and the July high temperature is around 85.5 F (29.7 C)

The average annual precipitation is 41.4 inches (105.0 cm) and the snowfall is 16.2 inches (41.0 cm).

That's the basic picture for the FOS (Friends of Statistics.) We'll talk next time about some local events and as we talk in the coming missives, I'll continue to throw in statistics, but not as many.

Until next time...

What is Bristol Country?

It's the geographical region around Bristol VA/TN. It's the regional music and its heritage. It's things to do, places to go, people to know, and whatever the people of Bristol Country have for work, hobbies, and entertainment.

We'll talk about State Street, Bristol Caverns, the racetrack, the country music mural, the Carter Fold in Hilton, VA, and the outdoor drama, "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" in Big Stone Gap, VA.

Have you heard the discussions about a new Super Wal-Mart planned on the Volunteer Parkway near Bill Gatton's Honda dealership? Maybe we'll talk about it.

BristolCountry.com is for people of the Bristol area, for our folks serving in the military away from home to help them keep in touch, and for others who may have seen Bristol from television racing coverage and are interested in this area.

What is it really like? What do people do there? Are the roads really paved?

We're starting slow and easy, but hope you'll bookmark us and check back for updates about the music (we're celebrating the 75th anniversary of Bristol Sessions) and concerts all over the region. I'll try to keep you posted on who's singing and playing. If you're in the area, go hear them. If your're not....I'm sorry you'll miss the live music. It's everywhere.

With that said, give us feedback. If you're looking for information on anything in particular, let us know, and we'll see what we can find out for you. And, please, keep in mind that we have full-time jobs - that aren't in front of this computer - so, we may not answer withing the hour, but will check in daily.

Thanks for visiting. Y'all come back.