Fountain Of Youth EarthCache
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For this earthcache, you have to get wet. 
Nope. I am not kidding.
At least part of you does. You will have to walk out in
constant-temperature spring water that is less than knee deep. If
you wish to get wetter than that, you may certainly do so. However,
to log this earthcache, it is only required that you go out into
the shallow water.
Welcome to Ponce De Leon Springs!
The posted coordinates lead you to a spot in the shallow part of
the spring-fed pool. To get there, take I-10 to exit 96. After
exiting I-10, travel north on SR-81 a short distance to US-90. Turn
right on US-90 and go about one-half mile to Ponce De Leon Springs
Road. Turn right on Ponce De Leon Springs road and proceed down
one-half mile to the park. Enter the park, park the car, and walk
the short distance down to the main spring. The park is open daily
from 8am until sunset. The park is open 365 days per year. There is
a small admission fee. The fee is $3 per vehicle. If you prefer,
you can park just outside the park and walk or bike in. If you do
that, the fee is only $1 per person.
The main spring of Ponce De Leon Springs is a second-magnitude
spring that is a convergence of water flows from two separate vents
from an underground aquifer. The water flowing from this spring is
some of the purest water in Florida. Also, there is also an
underwater natural bridge located here.
Florida has a very dynamic karst topography that is found in few
places around the world. Over millions of years, a unique recipe of
limestone, confining beds, organic matter, and moving water has
sculpted this area's seemingly flat terrain into a widespread karst
configuration that includes complex networks of interconnected
caverns and caves, drainage basins, disappearing rivers, flowing
springs, collapsing sinkholes, circular lakes, and subsurface
aquifers.
The aquifer that discharges at Ponce De Leon springs is composed of
limestone that is full of fissures and fractures. Over time, these
voids in the limestone have grown and enlarged primarily due to the
dissolution and erosion of the limestone by acidic water.
Water that originates from rainfall enters the aquifer through
various entry points, and flows through spaces and channels in
aquifer. Hydraulic pressure forces are at work here, and the
pressure differences are what drives the water flow throughout the
aquifer, and eventually out through exit locations, such as the
Ponce De Leon Springs.
Now, on to the tasks that you must complete...
LOGGING REQUIREMENTS:
In order to claim this earthcache as a find, you must complete the
following tasks.
Requirement #1 - Photo Of You Getting
Wet: Go to the posted coordinates and you will find the
pool that is fed by the main spring. With your find log, you must
post a photo of yourself in the pool. You have to at least walk out
into the shallow water (which is less than knee deep). Your photo
must clearly show that you are in the water. If you take a picture
of yourself next to the ladder that is in the middle of the water
that connects the shallow water to the deeper water, then I know
that you went into the water.
Click here to see an example of what I am talking about with the
ladder. I don't care about your GPSr being in the picture.
I expect I'll hear some resistance from people about going out in
the water. I can hear it now...
You: "bennet, I'm too old to pull off that
kind of stunt."
Me: "Okay, so you're old, but you're not dead are
you? So take off those shoes and go out there. And if you are
claiming that age is holding you back that much, you could use some
of that fountain of youth magic anyway."
You: "bennet, that water is too
cold."
Me: "No, it really is not too cold. It is a
constant temperature that is quite tolerable. So take off those
shoes and go out there."
If you are confined to a wheelchair, or you have some kind of
infection going on in your lower extremities, then we can make an
exception. Aside from that, go get those feet wet.
Requirement #2 - Email Me
Answers: Near the springs, at N30° 43.280' W085°
55.811', you will find two informational signs that are chock full
of geological information. According to the signs, Florida has lots
and lots of karst and aquifer formation. There are many natural
springs in the state, with some being among the largest in the
world. According to the signs, how many natural
springs are in the state of Florida? Also from these signs,
you will learn about the flow rate and temperature of the water in
this spring. How many gallons of water flow
from the two limestone vents every day? What is the constant temperature of the water? You
must provide the answers to the three questions in your email to
me. Do not post the answers in your on-line log.
Requirement #3 - Do You Feel
Younger: So now you have gotten wet with the water from
the fountain of youth. In your on-line find log, you must tell
everyone how many years younger the magical water made you
feel.
Logs not accompanied by email within a reasonable amount of time
will be deleted per earthcache rules. I don't like doing that. So
please be careful to get done what you need to get done.
Just simply visiting the spot (or having had visited the spot in
the past) in itself is not good enough to log this earthcache as a
find. Anyone can "be at the spot". The earthcache is not about just
"being at the spot". You need to complete the requirements. They
are easy and designed so that anyone can fulfill them. If you don't
complete them, then you don't complete it. That's the way it
is.
Remember Your Three Requirements:
Photo Of Self In The Water,
Email Answering The Three Questions, and
In Your Log, Did You Feel Younger?
I hope you learn something. And I hope you have fun.
Thanks go to Ronnie Hudson, Florida Park Service Ranger supervisor,
for approving this earthcache and for being so friendly and
enthusiastic about earthcaches.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)