Stories From My Life

Pozo, California 1980

I drove my '72 Super Beetle back down 101 from the SF Bay Area one summer, to a tiny  town north of San Luis Obispo to meet Bob, my boyfriend at the time.   He was working in Pozo, the nearest town to the huge ranch where he'd gotten a summer job.  We were both on summer break from Cal Poly, SLO.  

I got there after a 20 mile back roads journey east of the highway, which ended with about 8 miles of dirt road, including a bridge over a big creek, with no rails.  Downtown Pozo consisted only of a post office and a saloon.  I was to meet him in the latter.  I got there in the dark and walked in, 21 years old, trim and busty, and literally all eyes in the place were on me as soon as I walked in.  All male. They were hungry eyes!!  I think I may have been the only female for miles!!   

I took this in for a few seconds, scanning the room for Bob, and bolted back out the door.  I thought, if he's not here within the next 15 minutes, I'm outta this wide spot in the dirt road called Pozo!  It was surreal, like I had stepped back in time about 100 years!  Luckily he drove up 5 minutes later. 

On a subsequent trip, we had met in town (a real town like Paso Robles, or Santa Margarita)  and I followed him in.  He sped along the dirt toad in his Honda while I did my best to keep up with him.  I was losing sight of him when he got to the rail-less wooden bridge, and I approached it way too fast from a bad angle.  I got this sick feeling as I realized I was over-shooting it, and slammed on the brakes in time to keep from going completely off the bridge, but still ended up with my left from tire hanging off and resting on my axle!

I quickly got out on the passenger side with my heart pounding.  Bob was long gone.  I remember laying on my horn as my bug came to a precarious rest, but to no avail.  I ended out waiting for at least a half hour while he drove all the way in, waited, and then finally drove back, shocked by what he encountered, my bug hanging 15 feet above the creek, and I, pissed off and upset at being stranded out there, immediately burst into tears.  

We didn't know what to do, but presently, a rancher came along, found me blocking the bridge, and quickly winched me off, so fast I barely recall the details.  They don't mess around out there in ranch land, dealing with us tenderfoots.

To be continued.....