Though the Upper Sacramento River was every bit as high as I thought it was - and no trout were hooked, seen, or even imagined - the fly fishing trip walk along the river (with Wally the Wonderdog) was exactly what I needed.

Well, actually it was a small, tiny piece of what I needed, but these days you take what's given, and besides it was a fishing trip; no trout were caught, few casts were made, and yet it remains a smashing success.

For those who haven't seen a pretty river in months - or haven't seen moving water for weeks - here's a photograph containing both:



After several days inside, Wally the Wonderdog never once stopped sniffing, running, whizzing or wagging, and because there's little in life happier than a working dog who's working, his huge dog grin says it all (this for the Wonderdog partisans):



(I know what you're thinking. Not since Fellini has anyone so gracefully mingled the pathos and existential baroqueness of the canine universe. And you'd be right...)

The Wonderdog basically goes crazy anytime I get the near Underground's BroncoFishMobile - a truck that's seen many of California's rutted dirt roads, and has barely lived to tell about it.

The Wonderdog loves the Bronco not because of the box of empty shotgun shells, or the fact the interior's so dirty you could irrigate it (so he gets to muddy up the seats without fear of retribution).

No, he loves it for the places it takes him, which often include lots of stuff to sniff and critters to chase.

See you on the river, Tom Chandler.