San Luis Bay Chumash Habitation Site - California Central Coast

We really enjoy finding these ancient sites. Sometimes though, there is an equal amount of disappointment involved. This is one of those places. I had seen an old photo of it (without the pier), but that was all. We had no references, or other clues as to where it was. I have a pretty good idea where many of these sites can be found, but it is still a lot of work.

We basically followed the Pacific Coast Trail along the bluffs for a few miles on foot, and several more by car. We never did find it the first day, but we figured it out that night, and pretty much drove right to it the next morning. 

This is where we went. It all started with a very pleasant view.  Better than that actually, because there was so much more to see than we expected.

This site could easily be thousands of years old. I stopped counting mortars at 75. There were also depressions that I believed to be the remains of many others. Also, no telling how many are under that concrete on the left.

 Cupules

 A look across San Luis bay.

A view from across the bay, back to the mortar site.  Imagine this scene a thousand years ago. Nothing made by modern man would be seen. It would be hundreds of years, before any white person even laid eyes on the area. Now imagine a Chumash village in the area of those buildings above the far pier. There were probably some of village women grinding food in the mortars below it. The village had everything they needed, with no danger of using up all the resources in the area. It was perfect! Right up until the Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans did all they could to wipe them from the face of the earth. Their crime? They were here first...

In one form or another a pier has stood on this spot for well over a hundred years. Every single version contributed to the demise of this important historic cultural area. 

In some cases, they actually reshaped mortars to use as post holes. It amazes me that people would do this without giving so much as a second thought about what they were destroying. (see the square shape inside the round mortar).

 While I'm knee deep in mortars, my wife (who is much more observant than I am), finds some other treasures.

 Seals!

Also, some Cormorants.

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This mortar site is just a few feet away from, and below the road. Based on the geography, I'm positive that the related village was very close by. Unfortunately, I'm sure everything was destroyed by construction of the road, and grading of the slope and shelf above it. 

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Moonstone Beach - California Central Coast

Moonstone beach is actually part of the little and amazing town of Cambria (Latin for Wales). Although Moonstone beach has some small hotels, and a few restaurants, it is mostly known for it's beach. It's not really the kind of beach that comes to mind when most people think of beaches in southern/central California. Yes, you can swim, surf, stroll on the boardwalk and sunbathe there. You can also find moonstones. More on moonstones later. 

You already know that no matter where I am, I'm always on the lookout for evidence that Indians lived in an area. I just happened to stumble upon some of it right here. More on that later also.

These mortars were almost in plain site. After I spotted them, I had to wait for about 20 people to pass before I could actually get to them, and take these photos. Everyone of the people who passed it, saw nothing. I've asked many people I know if they've ever seen any mortars here. Every one of them said they hadn't. 

Very little is known relating to which Indian groups lived here in pre-history. Most of the known habitation in this area was by the Chumash people. It is estimated that as many as 40,000 Chumash lived in the area 1,000 years prior to the Spanish arriving. Then the Missions arrived, the miners, and then the farmers. Each group contributing to the systematic annihilation of most of the Chumash.

Placed my phone next to this one for scale. Had I realized that the screen was no nasty, I would have wiped it off first.

Some distance away, I found this. I'm absolutely sure they nobody gives this spot a second look, probably not even a first. It is called midden. It's the ancient equivalent of a trash/garbage pit. There were even some small shards of pottery on the surface of this one.

 There were so many pelicans flying around, that I had to get at least one photo.

I don't know if I've ever seen a turkey vulture coasting along over the ocean before.

I don't know who exactly to give credit for the following three photos to. I found them via Google.

Most of the areas in the first several photos where you see beach front, is most likely not made of sand, but of this. On any given day, you will see people digging through the sand/rocks for moonstones.

 These are unpolished moonstones

These are polished moonstones. Apparently, it is a type of feldspar. When it forms, it does so in layers. Light reflects off the layers and causes the stone to glow. I believe that moonstone is considered a gem, but I'm not sure. 

If you are ever on the central California coast, this area is a must see.


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Knapp's Castle

Located not far from of the subject of my last post (Chumash Painted Cave), is another one of those places that few have heard of and even fewer have actually seen. Just about 100 years ago a very wealthy industrialist named George Owen Knapp decided to build himself a little mountain retreat (on about 160 mountain top acres).  He already owned one home in the nearby town of Montecito (on a measly 100 acres). Montecito is a perennial member of the most wealthy towns (per capita) in the United States. I guess that is no surprise, because Mr. Knapp was one of the founders of Union Carbide Company. If you haven't heard of that company, you are probably very young. Over the years, I believe it has morphed into Dow Chemical Company. Don't hold that against him though, because he was a philanthropist of the first order.

Craftsmen and building materials were imported from Europe to complete Mr. Knapp's castle. Apparently, the "retreat" consisted of five bedrooms, observatory, studios, cottages, servant quarters, and a superintendent's house. Running water was provided by nearby waterfalls.  (photo credit: Unknown. In addition to seeing it many times on the Internet, it is also at GeorgeOwenKnapp.com) 

This is what it looked like when we were there a few months ago. I'd heard that there was security on site and the property had been purchased and the ruins were going to be demolished. Is that possible? I'd also heard the county of Santa Barbara refused to issue the required permits. We had no inkling of what we would find once we got there.  I apologize in advance for the inconsistency of the photos. The sky was huge, bright and harsh. 

If you look at the two buildings to the far left of the fist photo. You will see that this stonework is all that is left of them. The whole place was destroyed in a wild fire in 1940. The Knapp family sold it to a ultra-famous German soprano Lotte Lehamm 46 days before the fire. 

There was a guy working on the property while we were there, but he didn't give us a second look. If you look at the stone work, you can see that he has been doing some repairs to the original work. It didn't look like anything was being torn down.

For those who know a little about the area, the water in the background is Lake Cachuma. The famous town of Solvang is about 12 miles beyond the lake. Solvang is a Danish community established in 1911. It is a great place to visit. For me, that means visit no more than once every 5-10 years. I say that because it never changes.  I'll shut up now and let you look at the photos.

I told her not to drive the Jeep so hard! She didn't listen!

Seriously, I have no idea why, but this jeep was sitting on the property.

This is the dirt road leading to the place. Although it is locked, there is clearly not a "no trespassing" sign to be seen. Besides, we could squeeze by the tall pole on the right.

After about 10 minutes we came to another locked gate. But read the sign! "Right To Pass Revocable By Owner."  There was another sign at the ruins that said:  "This is Private Property and Under 24-Hour Video Surveillance." It also said that they would give a reward to anyone who reported acts of vandalism.  In other words, "look around, but don't screw anything up! I have no idea who owns this place, but I love them!

George Owen Knapp

Thanks for using so much stonework George!

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After enemy ships attack the desert planet, Byron discovers another battle within his own family.  the declaration of war between all ten races triggers nightmares in his son, threatening to destroy the boy's mind.

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Print ISBN 9781939844002

E-book ISBN 9781939844019

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You can find CassaStorm and the other books in this series at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Amazon Kindle and Goodreads.

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Also available:

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