Cow Beach

While recently on the road, we drove by the lovely Lake Henshaw.  It looked to be a good place to do some exploring in our kayak. 

While driving towards the main entrance, we spotted the gate to "cow beach." Check out the turnstile! I guess it's there so people can get in, but the cows can't get out. Our kayak is pretty heavy and it is much too  far and downhill to carry it to the shore. I wonder why they call it cow beach?

Okay, now we know! You can see the edge of the lake in the upper left hand part of the photo.  You can also see cows over there. Sometimes this entire depression is full of water and the lake is much larger. There are actually cows IN the lake!

Once we got to the lake,we were told that no kayaks were allowed in the water. Apparently, this lake is a reservoir for drinking water for the city of San Diego and no body contact with the water is allowed. Okay, so we can't put a toe in the water because people are going to drink it. However, it's no problem that hundreds of cows are pooping and peeing in it on a regular basis.  I wonder if the people in San Diego think their water tastes funny

I thought this was a cool looking sight.

There is an outcropping by the lake, that has a lot of local history to it. Apparently, back in the day, some local Indians were being mistreated by the local government and occupied that little hill in protest.  At that time, the entire valley was full of water and that hill was an island. I found something about the conflict on the Internet, but I don't know what I did with it and don't know where I found it.  It's a pretty place with odd rules.

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