Month: June 2025

National Parks 2025: Joshua Tree NP

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It’s time for the annual National Parks Club! Find out information about participating shops and more here.

Where is it located?

Joshua Tree National Park is a vast protected area in southern California.

Whose land does it reside upon?

The lands currently managed by Joshua Tree National Park include parts of the traditional homelands of the Maara’yam (Serrano), Nüwü (Chemehuevi), and Kawiya (Cahuilla), and the traditional use area of the Aha Macave (Mohave). Today, these groups are represented by 15 federally-recognized tribal governments:

When was it established?

October 31, 1994

About this park:

Two distinct desert ecosystems, the Mojave and the Colorado, come together in Joshua Tree National Park. A fascinating variety of plants and animals make their homes in a land sculpted by strong winds and occasional torrents of rain. Dark night skies, a rich cultural history, and surreal geologic features add to the wonder of this vast wilderness in southern California.

Why did we choose these colors?

We were inspired by photos of sunsets at Joshua Tree (like this one) for our colorway: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=681309&id=f7f887ce-1dd8-b71b-0b3c-0172cb676fe3&gid=F5DD6FE7-1DD8-B71B-0B543C7B6B500E37

For more information:

NPS website: http://nps.gov/jotr/index.htm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuatreenps

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoshuaTreeNPS/

National Parks 2025: Glacier NP

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It’s time for the annual National Parks Club! Find out information about participating shops and more here.

Where is it located?

Glacier National Park is a 1,583-sq.-mi. wilderness area in Montana’s Rocky Mountains, with glacier-carved peaks and valleys running to the Canadian border.

Whose land does it reside upon?

Physical evidence of human use dates back more than 10,000 years within the boundaries of Glacier National Park. Numerous Native American tribes utilized the area around and within what is now the park for hunting, fishing, ceremonies, and gathering plants. When the first white explorers began arriving in the region, the Blackfeet controlled the prairies on the east side of Glacier, while the Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and Kootenai lived in the more forested west side.

Explorations to the area by white trappers as early as the 1700s opened the area, and the future Glacier National Park, to trading among European settlers and tribal communities. As resources were depleted, the tribes eventually signed treaties that would increasingly confine native people to reservations and leave them dependent on the U.S. government.

Today, the 1.5-million acre Blackfeet Indian Reservation, which shares Glacier’s eastern border, is home to about 8,600 members of the Blackfeet Nation, the largest tribe in Montana. The Flathead Indian Reservation encompasses approximately 1.3 million acres mostly along the Flathead River and is home to approximately 7,000 members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation.

When was it established?

May 11, 1910

About this park:

A showcase of melting glaciers, alpine meadows, carved valleys, and spectacular lakes. With over 700 miles of trails, Glacier is a paradise for adventurous visitors seeking a landscape steeped in human culture. Relive the days of old through historic chalets, lodges, and the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Why did we choose these colors?

We used photos like this one of the glacial waters surrounded by lush greenery to create our Glacier NP colorway: https://www.flickr.com/photos/glaciernps/27494135253/in/album-72157646947740273

For more information:

NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glaciernps

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GlacierNPS

National Parks 2025: Cuyahoga Valley NP

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It’s time for the annual National Parks Club! Find out information about participating shops and more here.

Where is it located?

Cuyahoga Valley National Park lies along the Cuyahoga River between the Ohio cities of Cleveland and Akron. 

Whose land does it reside upon?

About 500 generations of native people have made Cuyahoga Valley their home. The first were travelers, following large game across the subarctic landscape at the end of the last Ice Age. Later people lived in seasonal base camps that became more permanent in time. They hunted and gathered food from abundant forests and waterways. Meals were shared around cookfires. They practiced religious rituals along streambanks and on bluffs above the Cuyahoga. As conditions changed, they adapted. There were periods of trade when local flint was exchanged for exotic materials from distant places. There were periods of warfare which ultimately killed or displaced most native people from Ohio by the mid-1800s.

In the 1950s, a relocation program brought about 5,000 individuals from 33 western tribes to Cleveland. Those who live here now work together to preserve and celebrate their cultures.

When was it established?

December 27, 1974

About this park:

Though a short distance from the urban areas of Cleveland and Akron, Cuyahoga Valley National Park seems worlds away. The park is a refuge for native plants and wildlife, and provides routes of discovery for visitors. The winding Cuyahoga River gives way to deep forests, rolling hills, and open farmlands. Walk or ride the Towpath Trail to follow the historic route of the Ohio & Erie Canal.

Why did we choose these colors?

We used the whole gallery of photos we found for this park, especially Fall photos, because Ohio in the Fall is really lovely: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=6544188&id=5d4c8c1b-155d-4519-3eac-a352b95a5659&gid=5D25FA06-155D-4519-3E9172EA3FEF56F1

For more information:

NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/cuva/index.htm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cuyahogavalleynps/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CuyahogaValleyNationalPark

National Parks 2025: Bryce Canyon NP

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It’s time for the annual National Parks Club! Find out information about participating shops and more here.

Where is it located?

Southern Utah

Whose land does it reside upon?

Paiute Indians occupied the area around what is now Bryce Canyon starting around 1200 A.D. The Paunsaugunt Plateau was used for seasonal hunting and gathering activities, but there is no evidence of permanent settlements.

Fremont and Anasazi people occupied the portion of the Colorado Plateau near Bryce Canyon from around 200 A.D. until 1200. The Fremont were more to the north and west, with the Anasazi more to the south and east. There is recently discovered evidence of the mixing of these two cultures on the Kaiparowits Plateau.

Native Americans first occupied the Colorado Plateau 12,000 years ago, but no evidence of their activities has yet been found on the Paunsaugunt Plateau.

When was it established?

February 25, 1928

About this park:

Bryce Canyon is not a single canyon, but a series of natural amphitheaters or bowls, carved into the edge of a high plateau. The most famous of these is the Bryce Amphitheater, which is filled with irregularly eroded spires of rocks called hoodoos.

Hoodoos exist on every continent, but here is the largest concentration found anywhere on Earth. Situated along a high plateau at the top of the Grand Staircase, the park’s high elevations include numerous life communities, fantastic dark skies, and geological wonders that defy description

Why did we choose these colors?

This (and other photos like it) are the inspiration for our Bryce Canyon colorway: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery-item.htm?pg=5169377&id=635ffaa6-155d-451f-6791-f59cbb53c83a&gid=635FFA08-155D-451F-6708A1F8CB53909B

For more information:

NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brycecanyonnps_gov

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BryceCanyonnps