Jack-in-the-Box!: Chumash Painted Cave and HWY 1

Today I drove up into the hills just north of Santa Barbara, CA-where the indigenous people (who were known to use hallucinogenic drugs in their shamanistic rites) painted spectacular designs inside a small shelter know known as the Chumash Painted Cave. After that, I took a beautiful scenic drive up the coast on HWY 1 to San Francisco, and even saw some elephant seals! Below are the pictures...

The entire panel. These paintings are some of the most elaborate and in my opinion, the most amazing in the world. Archaeologists have dated the paintings back to the 1600's and attribute their creation to the Chumash Culture, still found in southern California. From what I've read, these were probably created during rituals where hallucinogenic drugs were used for shamanistic ascention. It is also believed that some of the drawing may depict solar and/or lunar eclipses and other astronomical events.

Detail of the right panel.

More right panel.

Detail of the left panel.

Pictograph just outside the cave.

This made my heart smile. This place is under constant protection from looters and vandals (who have already made their marks on some of the panels). They even left two small holes in the grate, just large enough for my big-ass camera, to sqeeze through and take the photos above.