Soak Away Winter by Les Thomas

Here's a place where the water is always hot, even on the coldest days of the season.

I forgot to bring the potatoes and carrots. Otherwise I think I'm done. I've been simmering for an hour in the hottest springs in Florida. It's 87 degrees in here. Now I know what soup feels like when it cooks.

Nine million gallons of mineral saturated waters gush daily into a 1 1/4 acre pool at Warm Mineral Springs, just off the Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41), halfway between Sarasota and Fort Myers. On a brisk winter morning, some swimmers can't wait to get into the water. They go straight from the bathhouse to wade neck deep in the circular pool. It's warmer in here than it is in the open air.
"We have many people who come every day," say Patricia Ullmann, who bought the springs with her husband, Ed, five years ago. There are many European visitors who believe in the curative powers of the springs for ailments from psoriasis to arthritis.
Many regulars stroll for hours around the shallow water at the edge. Eight laps equal a mile. Dozens join free water aerobics sessions offered at 11 a.m. daily. Half-hour massages begin at $30 in the spa.
Before I leave, I swim over to the center of the springs, where the water looks dark and mysterious. It drops to a depth of 230 feet. Over the years, divers have recovered bones of a saber-toothed cat and other Ice Age mammals from the depths. The skeleton of a Paleo-Indian man was found in 1973. He was in surprisingly good shape, for an 11,000 year-old.