Some of you may remember my August 2010 blog, 'Cool Places to Visit during the Dog Days of Summer' where I featured half a dozen or more 'cool caves' to explore. Well, here it is the end of August and we are smack dab in the middle of those dreary dog days, when even our four-legged furry friends are looking for a place to cool off.
If 'spelunk in' is not your thing, and descending deep into the earth is not on your mind, then join me and your fellow blog readers in dancing around one of many 'cool' water fountains. We'll begin with Kansas City (MO), which is officially known as The City of Fountains and has more fountains than any other city (except for Rome) in the world.
What began as the City Beautiful movement in 1890 resulted in the creation of fountains, not just for landscape decoration, but also for practical purposes, such as one built in 1904 featuring spigots pouring water out of a number of lions' mouths so passerby's could get a cup of clean drinking water; while at the same time water poured into a granite basin at the proper height for horses to get a cool drink, with the overflow ending up in four small pools so dogs could lap up fresh water as well. The Humane Society of Kansas City was responsible for not only this innovative and useful fountain, but went on to mount more than 100 more fountains throughout the city.
Not near Kansas? Why not cool off in Chicago, Illinois Crown Fountain, or in Atlanta, Georgia's Centennial Olympic Park Fountain?
While there is some controversy surrounding public water fountains, citing disease, dirty water, etc., it would appear (and is so noted in numerous articles) municipalities that have public water fountains have a variety of filtration systems to assist in alleviating these issues, and continue to offer a respite from summers' heat for its citizenry.
Whether you elect to participate in romping through a fountains' man-made droplets of rain, or to simply admire the architectural beauty found in water fountains, one can't help but feel a little bit cooler in doing so.