Pozo....Let's Go See

I read Waiting for Godot when I was 16 and immediately adopted it as my "bible." I've yet to hear of a Pozzo but Pozo was close enough; I had to go see.

An irrepressible YESS! escaped at the sight of the large blue highway sign saying NEXT SERVICES 70 MILES.

Highway 58 snakes through the Panza Mountains of central California from McKittrick to Santa Margarita and, due to its tight turns, top speed is around 25 mph. It can take *days* to get from he'ar to they're. The loops are so tight you can look across the "ravine" and see if anyone is gaining on yuh. There rarely is; all the more reason.

Pozo Road is a narrow, paveless lane with occasional chunks of hillside spilling out acrosst. Signed NOT SUITABLE FOR CAMPERS OR TRAILERS, it mirrors 58 and goes around to the South then rejoins it east of Santa Margarita.

After cresting the first divide, Pozo Rd descends to La Panza campground. La Panza's sites are aligned along a small stream in a valley of oaks. The stream, which serves as the access road, meanders past nicely spaced pit toilets...the all-important distinction so necessary for those troubled by plein air pooping.




Guess I'm gonna hav tuh breakdown and use the tripod. Yet another indicator of age...shakey hands & fuzzy pics.

Empty when we arrived, I was suckered into settling in at the back. During the night others arrived. Perhaps you can elucidate for me the mindset that prompts someone to greet the dawn, still dark at 5:30, with half an hour of shooting.

Less than a mile further west is a junction with dispersed sites and other options. It's been a lifelong frustration...I never seem to go *quite* far enough. Like the Who, we won't get fooled again!

The Pozo Saloon has hosted some of the biggest names in music including Joe McDonald and Willie Nelson & Friends. There's a giant stage out back large enough to support a WALL OF SOUND. And they have a good stout on tap.