A fluffy Samoyed caught the eye of La Purísima Mission docent Michelle Pittenger seconds before a unique demonstration commenced outside the Lompoc landmark.
“Looks like she’s ready for shearing, too,” Pittenger jokingly said to the leashed dog’s owner, while visitors nearby huddled together to watch a sheep get a haircut in late spring.
Mission guests of all ages encircled volunteer Larry Miller, who sheared the wool off some sheep, one at a time, during the free outdoor demo known as Sheep Shearing Day—just one of several traditional events held at the state park throughout the year.
As new visitors trickled in to observe the sheep salon, others weaved out. Many wandered over to Pittenger’s post, just outside the shearing station, where looms, camping blankets, and baskets of wool were on display.
“Somebody once asked me if I could guesstimate how many blankets you could get out of one fleece,” said Pittenger, who greeted visitors with fun tidbits about wool weaving.
From 10 pounds of wool, Pittenger guessed she could probably produce about four blankets and said that some people are surprised to hear that she had no prior wool weaving experience before volunteering at the mission.
About six years ago, Pittenger was looking for a new hobby, and one of her friends was a docent at the state park who encouraged her to join.
“She dragged me out here, but she didn’t have to drag that hard,” Pittenger said with a laugh.
Wool weaving became a beloved pastime for Pittenger after being trained by some of her fellow docents. The state park is always recruiting new volunteers to help demonstrate weaving, blacksmithing, candle making, tortilla making, carpentry, pottery, and other mission-era crafting activities for visitors to enjoy.
Upcoming docent-led festivities at the park include two Traditional Mission Life Day events, in which costumed volunteers host crafting demos across the mission grounds, scheduled for July 22 and Aug. 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sheep Shearing Day (which was held in late May this year), Traditional Mission Life Day, and other events are sponsored by Prelado de Los Tesoros, the nonprofit responsible for funding docent training and restoration projects at the state park, as well as feeding and caring for sheep, horses, chickens, and other animals that live on the 2,000-acre property.
The park also encompasses about 25 miles of hiking paths, including the short but scenic Vista Del La Cruz Trail—an uphill trek to the mission’s iconic cross. This public trail is open to hikers, walkers, runners, mountain bikers, and dog owners (as long as their dogs are leashed).
Aside from the trail opportunities, another reason La Purísima Mission attracts outdoor enthusiasts each year is the venue’s biannual Mountain Men Encampment.
During this event, members of the American Mountain Men—a Wyoming-based nonprofit dedicated to preserving traditions and tools used by trappers, explorers, and traders during the 1800s—set up shop at the state park and lead workshops for the public to enjoy.
Hide preparation and leatherworking are among the demos featured at the encampment, scheduled for Aug. 25 through 26. (The spring encampment occurred in March).
Regular mission docents are on-site as well during the encampment, including Pittenger, who said she applauded the efforts of hopeful Mountain Men recruits during the program’s rigorous application process.
Requirements of membership include being able to demonstrate skills needed for primitive survival in the wilderness, such as the use of steel traps and snares, and spending at least two days and one night in a primitive camp during each season of the year. Members of the nonprofit also have to hand cut and hand sew their own 1800s-era clothing, which they’re required to research for authenticity.
“You have to be able to track and you have to be able to hunt and do all these skills that a trapper would have had access to around the 1820s and 1830s,” Pittenger said.
As an experienced docent since 2017, Pittenger had no trouble regaling passersby with some historical background on wool production at La Purísima Mission during the 1800s.
“The reason wool was such a good trading item was because of the merchant sea captains,” the costumed docent said on Sheep Shearing Day. “When they’d come around the California coast, the padres would take these blankets and they’d take raw fleece and trade them,” said Pittenger, who described the wool as a much-needed source of warmth for the sailors.
“It’s cold on the Pacific, and people generally don’t do their most enthusiastic work when they’re cold,” she said with a laugh.
This article appears in Get Outside – Summer/Fall 2023.