Watery Destinations

Magazines and newspapers dressed in photographs of trout, fly-rods, and remote waterways draw my attention like fish to a fly.  The images are a combination of sport and solitude and are glimpses of the secrets held within its pages, a tease I find difficult to ignore.  Today's New York Times printed an article on floating a lesser known section of the Colorado River, below the Glen Canyon Dam.  The article provides good detail of the float, local outfitter contact information, and streamside attractions worth pausing to appreciate.  The accompanying images of fly-fishermen, kayaks, sandstone cliffs and tranquil waters, whet the appetite, which leads to brief descriptions of other "Rivers Less Paddled".


I enjoy photographs and reading articles of remote, lesser viewed destinations, and I understand the irony.  It's a sad fact that broadcasting the location and sharing the allure of lesser known watery destinations immediately makes them less so.  Because, through print, the secret is out and people will come.  Sad.


But... I am a hopeless addict.  This understanding won't stop me from picking through the news kiosk in search of more articles to peruse and learn about new destinations.  This, in turn, fuels the commission of more fishing articles and the sale of more destination magazines.  I am part of a sad cycle.  And the funny thing, the sadly humorous part, is that in the gathering of all this information, I hope to never find reference to my secret places, my fishing spots.  Because... until it reaches major print, it still a secret... in my mind.