Petpatsu is Los Osos

Thats nobodies business but the Chumash

I live in Southern California and therefore have lots of opportunities to take sunset pictures. The central coast is a beautiful place to take sunset shots. One of my favorite places to shoot sunsets is Los Osos.

Los Osos was named by Spanish soldiers in 1769, who were part of the Portola’ expedition. They named it Los Osos because of the large number of bears in the area. The Chumash, who lived there for centuries before the Spanish stumbled ashore, called it Petpatsu.

The most recent bear sighting was in 2020, and it was a black bear. Based on the local art, many like to view the bears of the area as golden.

Richard Thomas Photo Los Osos bear statue by the side of South Bay Blvd.

I like to thing that the reason I have been lucky enough to be able to photograph so many golden sunsets, is because of the bears of the area.

Los Osos Baywood Park Sunset Photographs Jon Pinter