Los Osos, California

the wandering chick

...Los Osos

off the beaten path

It's hard to give a name to this conglomoration of sights to see, best described by its location rather than any specific name. I chose Los Osos because....well, I'm not sure why. Los Osos appears to be the largest village/town on this peninsula filled with state parks and nature reserves.

The location is west of San Luis Obispo and south of Morro Bay. It includes:

**Baywood Park, a tiny fishing village just across the bay from Morro Bay

** Montaña de Oro State Park, one of California's largest state parks

**the Sweet Springs Nature Reserve, remote and tranquil

** Port San Luis, at the southern tip of the peninsula. with its marina, beach and pier holding a couple of fresh seafood markets, a restaurant and a cafe. The pier is an excellent spot to view pelicans and harbor seals. They're everywhere.

Baywood Park's lagoon where an easy and tranquil kayak ride can be had.

Walk the boardwalk of the Sweet Springs Nature Reserve and you're sure to see various birds and water lovers. . It's a wonderful spot for viewing Morro Bay and a vast collection of shorebirds.

A view of Morro Rock from the Sweet Springs Nature Preserve

Perhaps they figure there's power in numbers, but these coots don't seem too fearful of the brown pelican that came skidding in towards them.

Montaña de Oro State Park get its name "Mountain of Gold" from the golden wildflowers that grow there in the spring. It's a popular park for hikers, beach-goers and horse riders. Its coastline, so typical of California, is rugged and scenic.

One of the more popular beaches is Spooner Cove.

The pelican has become my favorite bird. They are patient, photogenic and not skiddish. I think they assume that any person who approaches them is carrying a backpack of fish parts that will eventually be thrown in their direction.

The Port San Luis pier is quite entertaining with harbor seals and brown pelicans all around. At the far end of the pier is a fresh fish market and restaurant. Port San Luis was once the shipping port for San Luis Obispo.

One can spend a couple hours at Port San Luis, walking the pier, the beach and watching the wildllife. The marina is small-scale, but busy. And the beach is very popular for those who have dogs.

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