God's Acre Healing Springs, Blackville, SC.
Water: Wonder Temples and Miracle Springs
We don't spend enough time thinking about fresh water, perhaps at our peril. The unappreciated kitchen tap ejaculate, after an era as an artisan bottled joke, is finally getting the attention it deserves. Sure, it's a precious natural resource, the new oil. But something almost biblical is afoot. 500-year record droughts refuse to relent, while elsewhere unprecedented flash floods rage. Aquifers collapse, lawn over-waterers are publicly shamed. Very Old Testament.
So it shouldn't be much of a surprise that there are water-relevant roadside attractions. The east has its magical "healing" springs -- from the Fountain of Youth to the much-revered Blessed Garden Hose. In the west, water scarcity has created an odd legacy of municipal facilities disguised as water temples, along with newer, utility-run madrasas to help all of us think more clearly about water.
Water tourist attractions frequently offer an obvious amenity to the public: a fresh sample. Some places provide a spigot (at your own risk). Others tease with only a glimpse of water on its way to somewhere more important.
The Mayans built elaborate water temples, but their worship was apparently faulty -- repeated sustained droughts helped topple the whole civilization around 800 AD. Our worship may be just as doomed, but for now we can still fill all the bottles in our trunks... and believe.
- Miracle Mineral Water of Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
- Merced Manor Reservoir: Drinketh Temple, Daly City, CA
- Water Museum, North Antelope Valley, CA
- Pulgas Water Temple, Redwood City, CA
- Sunol Water Temple, Sunol, CA
- Fountain of Youth, Lewes, DE
- Radioactive Fountain of Youth, Punta Gorda, FL
- Fountain of Youth, St. Augustine, FL
- Fountain of Youth, St. Petersburg, FL
- Radium Springs Gardens, Albany, GA
- Providence Spring, Andersonville, GA
- Spring of Faith, Epworth, GA
- Artesian Springs - Bring Your Own Cup, Petoskey, MI
- Healing Spring of the Osage, El Dorado Springs, MO
- Hall of Waters, Excelsior Springs, MO
- Famous Red Water Artesian Well, Shubuta, MS
- Natural Springs - Mouthful of Minerals, Saratoga Springs, NY
- Sulphur Temple - Healing Waters, Sharon Springs, NY
- Blessed Garden Hose Water, Euclid, OH
- Free Fizzy Lithia Water Fountain, Ashland, OR
- Fountain of Youth, Allison Park, PA
- Boiling Springs, Boiling Springs, PA
- God's Acre Healing Springs, Blackville, SC
- Kidney Springs, Hot Springs, SD
- Houston's Miracle Water: Angel-Approved, New Market, TN
- Famous Mineral Water - Crazy Water, Mineral Wells, TX
- International Water Tasting Competition, Berkeley Springs, WV
Famous Red Water Artesian Well, Shubuta, MS.
