Month: May 2020

National Parks 2020: Pinnacles National Park

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It’s time once again to explore more National Parks through yarny goodness. Over the past four years, we have explored the United States through its National Parks, and in 2020, we will have represented them all. Many of these are lesser-known National Parks, and we hope you spend some time exploring them through the links we’ve shared.

Check out our Socks on Vacay/Socks on Staycay summertime sock knitting collaboration with our friend Shannon Squire, too: https://shannonsquire.com/socks-on-vacay-staycay-2020/

Thanks for exploring parks and making socks with us once again this summer! To get your yarn, check out our list of LYS’s offering National Parks (Parks yarn will ONLY be available at our LYS partners through the summer): https://knittedwit.com/

Where is this National Park located?

Pinnacles National Park is located east of the Salinas Valley in Central California.

Whose land does this National Park reside upon?

From the nps website: “Pinnacles National Park continues to learn about the history of Native peoples, but many archaeological records are incomplete. There was no written record prior to European colonization as most stories and knowledge were passed from generation to generation in an oral tradition. Unfortunately, this transfer of knowledge was disrupted by the arrival of the Spanish in 1769 and the introduction of the mission system which prohibited people from speaking their Native language or engaging in their cultural practices. During the process of colonization that continued with Mexicans and then early Americans, it was safer to hide one’s native identity and pretend to be Spanish. Some people retained knowledge from the time before the mission and many Californian Indian people are working today to ‘relearn’ as much of their traditional ecological knowledge as they can.”

Currently, Members of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and Chalone Indian Nation volunteer, work, and participate in eco-cultural restoration projects at Pinnacles.

When was it established as a National Park?

January 10, 2013

Why is this park amazing?

A multi-volcanic eruption event 23 million years ago become Pinnacles National Park, and the landscape reflects this massive natural phenomena. You can hike through rare talus caves, emerging to witness huge rock spires teeming with life: prairie and peregrine falcons, golden eagles, and the inspiring California condor.

Why did we choose these colors?

The colorway we created for Pinnacles reflects the volcanic debris, the massive rock spires, the sky, the woodlands, all mushed into a skein-y representation of this breathtaking park.

For more information:

National Parks 2020: Hot Springs National Park

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It’s time once again to explore more National Parks through yarny goodness. Over the past four years, we have explored the United States through its National Parks, and in 2020, we will have represented them all. Many of these are lesser-known National Parks, and we hope you spend some time exploring them through the links we’ve shared.

Check out our Socks on Vacay/Socks on Staycay summertime sock knitting collaboration with our friend Shannon Squire, too: https://shannonsquire.com/socks-on-vacay-staycay-2020/

Thanks for exploring parks and making socks with us once again this summer! To get your yarn, check out our list of LYS’s offering National Parks (Parks yarn will ONLY be available at our LYS partners through the summer): https://knittedwit.com/

Where is this National Park located?

Hot Springs National Park is located near Little Rock, Arkansas.

Whose land does this National Park reside upon?

The main two tribes associated with the lands on which Hot Springs occupy are the Quapaw and the Caddo, both of which still consider the park area to be culturally significant. 

When was it established as a National Park?

April 20, 1832

Why is this park amazing?

The town of Hot Springs was built around the Hot Springs National Park, so it’s an urban park that contains natural hot springs, mountains, and trails. Soaking in the springs is only permitted in two of the bathhouses, but there are ample opportunities for outdoor rambling throughout the park

Why did we choose these colors?

We decided to honor the Native Americans that utilized the Hot Springs before colonization occurred, so we based our colorway off of the traditional garments worn during a tribal dance performance at the entrance to the park.  

For more information:

National Parks 2020: Indiana Dunes National Park

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It’s time once again to explore more National Parks through yarny goodness. Over the past four years, we have explored the United States through its National Parks, and in 2020, we will have represented them all. Many of these are lesser-known National Parks, and we hope you spend some time exploring them through the links we’ve shared.

Check out our Socks on Vacay/Socks on Staycay summertime sock knitting collaboration with our friend Shannon Squire, too: https://shannonsquire.com/socks-on-vacay-staycay-2020/

Thanks for exploring parks and making socks with us once again this summer! To get your yarn, check out our list of LYS’s offering National Parks (Parks yarn will ONLY be available at our LYS partners through the summer): https://knittedwit.com/

Where is this National Park located?

Indiana Dunes National Park is located near Westchester Township, Indiana.

Whose land does this National Park reside upon?

This land has been home to native peoples for thousands of years, but the most recent native tribes known to have settled here are the Miami, Mascouten, Shawnee, Mahican, and Potawatomi.

When was it established as a National Park?

It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, the name by which it was known until it was designated the nation’s 61st national park on February 15, 2019.

Why is this park amazing?

The park stretches along 15 miles of the southern shore of Lake Michigan, and contains an incredible diversity of wildlife habitats; it’s among the most biologically rich in the nation. The dunes are only a part of what it has to offer. 

Why did we choose these colors?

We wanted to showcase everything this park has to offer, so used an image that included the green-blue waters, the sandy beaches, and the rolling tree-covered hills.

For more information:

National Parks 2020: Theodore Roosevelt National Park

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It’s time once again to explore more National Parks through yarny goodness. Over the past four years, we have explored the United States through its National Parks, and in 2020, we will have represented them all. Many of these are lesser-known National Parks, and we hope you spend some time exploring them through the links we’ve shared.

Check out our Socks on Vacay/Socks on Staycay summertime sock knitting collaboration with our friend Shannon Squire, too: https://shannonsquire.com/socks-on-vacay-staycay-2020/

Thanks for exploring parks and making socks with us once again this summer! To get your yarn, check out our list of LYS’s offering National Parks (Parks yarn will ONLY be available at our LYS partners through the summer): https://knittedwit.com/

Where is this National Park located?

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is located in western North Dakota, where the Great Plains meet the rugged Badlands.

Whose land does this National Park reside upon?

Even though it’s known as the badlands, this region has been inhabited for thousands of years. From the NPS website: 

“A rich diversity of cultures utilized the badlands region during historic times. The most significant groups were the Mandan and Hidatsa, whose traditional bison hunting grounds included the Little Missouri River basin. West of the badlands, the Hidatsa’s close relatives, the Crow, also utilized the badlands at the eastern edge of their territory. Many other tribes including the Blackfeet, Gros Ventre, Chippewa, Cree, Sioux, and Rocky Boy came to western North Dakota in the early 19th century mainly for hunting and trading, often at Fort Union Trading Post. These groups did not necessarily seek out the badlands in the way the Mandan, Hidatsa, or Crow might. The Assiniboine occupied a large area of the Northern Great Plains north of the Missouri River. The Arikara entered western and central North Dakota and several bands of the Lakota (Sioux) expanded their range into western North Dakota in the 19th century. Each group has its own history, traditions, spirituality, stories, and uses associated with the badlands. Eagle trapping, bison hunting, and other spiritual purposes were among the traditional uses.”

When was it established as a National Park?

November 10, 1978

Why is this park amazing?

Theodore Roosevelt came to this area to hunt bison in 1883, and his adventure in this remote and unfamiliar place would forever alter the course of the nation by helping him shape what was perhaps his greatest legacy: his conservation policy. The park itself is a habitat for bison, elk and prairie dogs, and the park has 3 distinct sections linked by the Little Missouri River.

Why did we choose these colors?

Known as the badlands region, this area is singularly beautiful in spite of (because of?) it’s ruggedness. We found an image that showcased the richness of colors to be found in the rock formations, the scraggly flora finding footholds where they can, and the vastness of the sky here.

For more information:

HerStory May 2020: Janet Guthrie

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Check out our May colorway, Vroom Vroom! Named so because we are zooming around the racetrack for our May HerStory. May is the month when the Indianapolis 500 typically takes place (although in very atypical 2020, it has been rescheduled for August…we planned this all out waaay before there was even a hint of a global pandemic, so there you go ;)). Vroom Vroom is racecar green, with speckles representing sponsorship stickers sprinkled all over. 

This month, we are honoring Janet Guthrie, a woman who chalked up a lot of firsts in American auto racing. She was the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500. She was the first woman to compete in the Daytona 500. And, she was the first woman to lead a lap in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. 

Janet Guthrie was always interested in moving fast and taking risks. Her parents (both airplane pilots) encouraged her fearlessness, and, with hopes of becoming an astronaut, she studied engineering in college. The astronaut thing didn’t pan out, but she worked as an aerospace engineer for a time, and was both a pilot and a flight instructor. Feeling restless, in the 1960s, Guthrie set her sights on auto racing.

If you think auto racing now is a big ole sausage-fest, you should have seen it in the mid-1960s. All men, as far as the eye could see, and very little institutional interest in widening that gap. Guthrie didn’t let that deter her, however; for 10 long years, she worked hard, built her own cars, and even slept in her car when at the race track. Finally, in 1977, she gained sponsorship and was able to fully compete with her racing peers as a fully supported driver. Of course, she continued to face bucketloads of sexism and misogyny, but she kept competing, as long as the sponsorship held out (auto racing is prohibitively expensive without sponsorship). Her racing career didn’t last very long, but her legacy continues to this day. She inspired women like Lyn St. James, Sarah Fisher, and Danica Patrick to take up the mantle of Indycar racing. In 2019, she became the 5th woman inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, which is awesome and also proves there is a long way yet to go in achieving equality in the auto racing world (the Automotive Hall of Fame was founded in the 1930s and has over 800 worldwide honorees).

In an ESPN special focusing on her life, Guthrie stated: “You can go back to antiquity to find women doing extraordinary things, but their history is forgotten. Or denied to have ever existed. So women keep reinventing the wheel. Women have always done these things, and they always will.”