Did you spot Bearsun in Bartlesville? Here's why Jessy Larios is walking from LA to NYC

The landscape of the Oklahoma Panhandle was a welcome sight to a super-sized cartoon bear on foot since Los Angeles.  

“I’m having a blast,” said Jessy Larios from inside his 78-pound alter ego Bearsun. “I haven’t seen hills in like days.” 

The EE caught up with Larios walking in the weeds along a no-shoulder stretch of US 60 between Pawhuska and Bartlesville. He is on a 2,700-mile journey to New York City and getting noticed to raise money for the disabled, cancer, mental health, autism and the environment.  

So far, his pursuits are attracting thousands of followers on TikTok and other social media accounts along with thousands of dollars. His gofundme accounts on his website at iambearsun.com show that he is already exceeding some of his fundraising goals. But that doesn’t make him want to stop. 

“I feel motivated. I want to do something, it’s necessary that I finish,” he said.  

Sporting a new sneaker brand that has carried him more than 700 miles so far, the soles of Larios’ shoes still have treads and he’s not complaining about pain or heat. 

“I made it through the desert. I’ve been fine,” he said. “I’m sweating, but it hasn’t stopped me.”  

Before his trek, Larios worked for a health insurance company. Who knows, he may even go back once he is finished walking. He said his boss still calls to check up on him and has been very supportive of his creative expression.  

Accompanying him on the journey was his new companion, Ashkia Trujillo, who has walked with him since meeting up with him in New Mexico. In fact, Larios welcomes anyone who wants to join him. 

“Everybody that joins us is pretty much on their own journey and they carry their own weight,” Larios said. "We're pretty much walking on the same path but different journeys because you spend a lot of time in your head when you’re walking."

Trujillo, who belongs to the Ohkay Owingeh and Navaho tribes, said he wanted to help Larios out along the way and has challenged himself to follow through all the way to New York. He said he also looks at it as a way of teaching indigenous youth not to judge people based on their ethnicity or nationality and to be helpful to everyone in any way possible.  

As the traffic rushed by with horns blaring, Larios said he has learned through this experience that humanity still exists. 

“I wasn’t wrong about it,” he said. “People can find common ground and enjoy life without arguing and fighting. Even if it’s just for a second — it’s gorgeous.”