Fountain of Youth Movie (PG-13: 2025)
Ah the infamous "Fountain of Youth." I was excited when I saw this, but quickly realized it has nothing to do with Ponce de Leon and his fountain. From the first frames, "Fountain of Youth" invites viewers into a world where ancient tales and elusive springs are more than stories passed down through centuries. The film draws on a rich mix of folklore, magic waters, curses, and cures; subjects that have fascinated both scholars and explorers for generations. These themes aren’t just footnotes in legend; they live at the crossroads of belief and science, where archaeologists and storytellers alike find meaning.
Animism & Ai
If you've ever shouted at your stubborn laptop or thanked your car for starting on a cold morning, you're in familiar company. Animism, the belief that objects, nature, and places can hold spirit, soul, or essence, slips quietly into daily life, often without notice. It's in our DNA. Thousands of years of evolved belief systems around this central focus. Across ancient and modern cultures, the idea of a supreme being (or numerous Deities and/or Spirits) watching over the living world has shaped stories, rituals, and how we speak to the things around us. We also often not only give inanimate items a life force, but we also often give them a gender.
Stratton Spring (Manitou Springs, CO)
Stratton Spring was drilled in 1936 by the Myron Stratton Foundation., The soda-type spring has a controlled flow of two gallons per minute and is drilled to a depth of 167 feet. This site was the junction of early Indian trails and several major mineral springs. Later it became the major access to the Mount Manitou Incline and the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and was the loop were Stratton's Trolley Line reversed to return to Colorado Springs.
The Magic and Minerals of Manitou Springs
The little touristy village of Manitou Springs is most famous for its mineral springs, which well up through eight fonts (previously ten fonts, upwards of 50 springs) peppered throughout the town. These springs are free to visit, and each holds its own variation of minerals, magic, folklore, and healing properties that visitors have sought throughout the ages. Each has its unique flavor, natural carbonation, and effervescence.
Lithia / Twin Springs (Manitou Springs, Co)
This is one of the more popular springs along Ruxton Avenue due to its high Lithium content. Two springs combine into one, pouring through this font. The water is very sweet, high in lithium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, and a top-rated water source for making sweet carbonated lemonade water. Others describe the taste as sweet, tangy, and minerally. Of all the Manitou Springs, it has the highest concentration of magnesium. The font is located outside a storefront entrance.
Old Ute Chief Spring (Manitou Springs, Co)
One of Manitou's former famous springs now closed off to the public and no longer running. It was famous back then and was one of the sources for the "Ute Chief Mineral Water" and Manitou Springs bottling company. While it is no longer on the Springs trails given out by the Chamber of Commerce, its font still stands even though shut off.
Iron Spring (Manitou Springs, Colorado)
Way up towards the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad and Dinner Theater is the historic "Iron Springs" or "Iron Springs Geyser." Originally a natural spring drilled deeper, making it an active geyser, it has played a vital role in Manitou's history.
Cheyenne Spring (Manitou Springs, Colorado)
A sweet-tasting natural Artesian soda spring called Cheyenne Spring is located right on Manitou Avenue in downtown Manitou Springs, Colorado. This bubbly elixir is believed to be over 20,000 years old and healing for digestive issues and osteoporosis. Drinking water, this old one empowers the soul with the geology of the Earth and peps the spirit. It comes from aquifers located a mile below the earth’s surface. This is one of the seven most popular springs in the area.
Hag of Beara Stone
the infamous “Hag of Beara” stone – also known as An Chailleach Bhéara or the White nun of Beara, The Cailleach, “Hag”, “Old Crone”, or Old Woman of Dingle. In Irish lore, she is known as the Cally Berry or Cailleach Bheara.
Aztec Ruins fallacy – Aztec, New Mexico
Aztec Ruins is a misnomer regarding Aztec, New Mexico—ancestral Pueblo people built here.