Mark has spent the previous several weeks in Africa with his friend Norm and the lovely Kit, who has obvious special feelings for Mark. The ivory poachers captured Mark and his friends, however Mark beat up the head poacher right there in the inspector's office!

December 1-6, 1997--Day -7 to Day 1: The poachers have gone to jail, however Mark decides to spend more time with Norm and Kit! Kit asks Mark to take a walk with her (just as Pat, the blonde bombshell, did in the episode preceding Mark's African adventure). She then tells Mark she thinks she's fallen in love with him. Mark stammers something about being a married man and the next scene shows him flying back to Lost Forest! Upon his return, Mark gushes about the great time he had in Africa and promises to take everyone there some day.

December 8-13--Day 1: Right after unpacking, Mark has to rush off to an outdoor writers meeting. He decides to take Andy along and drives off in the squarish station wagon he invariably drives. Mark decides to take a short cut through the mountains and keeps telling Andy how wonderful the scenery is. Of course he doesn't see the herd of deer jump out into the road until the last minute. Mark veers off the road, crashes and is knocked unconscious. Andy, who was not wearing a seatbelt is fine, and sets off looking for help.

December 15-20--Day 1: Some fishermen find Mark and carry him off across the lake. Andy can't find help and now is getting really hungry. He forgets about Mark and searches for food instead, soon smelling some fish a man is smoking. A wolverine also smells the fish and grabs one. The man hears Andy barking at the wolverine and grabs his gun, determined to do something about that blasted dog!

December 22-27--Day 1: The smoked fish man has chased Andy, tripped, and shot himself in the foot with his shotgun. Now realizing that the wolverine stole his fish, he befriends Andy.

December 29-January3--Day 1: The smoked fish man sends Andy off to the fishing camp with a note asking for assistance. The fishermen read the note and rescue the man, leaving Andy behind. Mark wakes up in the hospital and speaks to the old man.

January 5-10--Day 1:: The old man ("He almost shot his foot off!" said the nurse) confirms that Andy saved his life. Mark goes canoeing, looking for Andy in heavy rain. The rapidly rising water prompts a wolf to move her cubs to higher ground. One cub is still in the flooding den.

January 12-17--Day 1:The wolf cub is flushed from its den by the flood. Andy sees it clinging to a log and rescues it as Ma and Pa wolf look for junior. A moose charges the cub, but Andy saves it as Mark begins a portage. A boy warns his father about that old horse's mean temper.

January 19-24--Day 1:The boy, Joseph again warns dad about the mean horse, and asks for a puppy. Dad says, "Later," and tells Joseph to go pick some berries for a pie. Joseph meets Andy and the wolf cub while picking berries. Andy leaves, and the wolves come running to rescue Junior. Thus far we have seen no indications that events have progressed beyond Day1.

January 26-31--Day 1: Andy returns and fights with the wolves who retrieve Junior and leave. Joseph ties up Andy's bite wounds with his shirt and goes home. Joseph's father asks where the berries are; Joseph replies that he saw wolves and came straight home. Dad urges Joseph to not waste his dinner and asks why he's not hungry. Joseph says he is tired and knocks his dinner off the table. In the final caption, Joseph is seen sneaking out the door late at night with food for Andy as Dad sleeps soundly. It appears that at long last we are close to the end of Day 1. A day in which Mark Trail: returned from Africa, said "Hi" to Cherry, drove off to a writer's conference, wrecked his vehicle, was hospitalized and released and went canoeing in a heavy downpour.

February 2-7--Day 2: Joseph feeds Andy. We are at least at Day 2 because the action seems to be happening in daylight. Upon his return, Pops asks Joseph where he's been. Joseph says he's been building a lean-to in the woods and is ordered to clean out the barn and stack the wood. Meanwhile Mark visits the local newspaper office with a picture of Andy. The bandage is now off Mark's forehead, but the stitched wound is visible. Does anyone with a medical background care to hazard a guess as to how long a stitched head wound such as Mark's would have to have been bandaged?

February 9-14--Day 2: Pops discovers Andy. Joseph explains how he found Andy, saying that he hid him because he thought Pops would "be mad" if he knew Joseph had a dog. Pops replies that he IS mad, but mainly because of Joseph's deception.

February 16-21--Day 2: Pops tells Joseph to feed "that old horse," warning him once again about the horse's bad temper. Joseph brings the pail of feed to the corral, admonishing the old horse about his ill temper. Andy watches from afar as the horse rears ominously. Sure enough, the horse, now described as "the angry horse," rears and smashes open the paddock gate; immediately it charges straight at Joseph, who drops the pail of feed and runs. Joseph trips over a log as the suddenly "wild" horse bears down. Andy intercepts the horse, looking much larger than it in one panel. Andy drives the horse back to the corral and Pops shuts the gate. Joseph asks if they can now keep Andy and Pops says they sure can!

February23-28--Day 2 to Day 3: Joseph and Andy go to the mailbox to pick up the newspaper and mail. Joseph sees a large photo of Mark and Andy on the front page. The headline reads: "MARK TRAIL LOST DOG." Joseph says to Andy, "Hey, that's you!" Joseph has Andy bring the paper to Pops, who immediately notices that dog drool has completely saturated it. As he holds the paper, drool is splashing wildly onto the floor. Pops kindly says he will read the paper after it dries up. Joseph has a troubled expression. Since Mark visited the newspaper office on Day 2, it is now at least Day 3, since the article "Mark Trail Lost Dog" has been published.

March 2-7--Day 3: Andy has lost his appetite. Pops says Andy must miss his owner. Joseph asks if Andy will return to normal as he and Pops stand in the yard. When Pops replies, he and Joseph are in the kitchen. What th'?? Pops says some pets miss their masters so much they die. Joseph looks very guilty. Pops discovers that Andy is owned by Mark Trail and says he must be returned. Joseph reluctantly agrees.

March 9-14--Day What Th'!: Mark tells the newspaper editor he must return to Lost Forest and leaves the office wearing a strange, troubled countenance. Andy gallops up and is reunited with his master. Joseph cries and Mark gives him a basset puppy. Mark's forehead wound is completely healed, so either a substantial amount of time has passed or a miracle has occurred.

March 16-21--Day What Th'!: Mark and Andy drive home; Mark is chattering away to Andy about old times (we can almost see Andy's thought balloon here), paying no more attention to his driving than he did at the beginning of this episode when he ran right off the road. What's worse, this time, incredibly, both Andy AND Mark are cruising without seatbelts! That blow to the head may have been more serious than we thought. As Mark arrives at Lost Forest, Rusty and Cherry both appear to be somehow changed. Rusty is combing his hair in a weird way, as though to cover a receding hairline. Cherry's face is somewhat puffy. Rusty watches from a distance as Mark and Andy embrace Cherry, and disappears from the action at this point. Apparently, since his car wreck in December, Mark telephoned Cherry exactly once to apprise her of the situation. Cherry asks Mark if he will be home long. Mark replies that he will be leaving shortly for a "short" project on sea turtles that his editor wants him to cover. Cherry thinks this will be "fun." Cherry announces that she is packing a picnic lunch, and Mark immediately says that he enjoys picnics and that he and Cherry should have them more often. Cherry drily replies that there WOULD be more picnics if Mark were home more than he is! This could be the beginning of a fight.

This is the episode which preceded Cherry's BWCA adventure.

March 23-28, 1998--Day 1: We will call this Day 1 of the new episode on sea turtles. A shrimp fisherman named Joe (presumably unrelated to the boy Joseph from the previous episode) tells patrons of a diner that he is not responsible for sea turtles getting caught in his nets and that he won't install protective equipment for the turtles. A man in a skipper's hat reminds him that Joe's own daughter is leading an effort to save sea turtles. Mark tells Cherry he doesn't feel bad about leaving Lost Forest so soon since things are going well. During the picnic Cherry looked more or less like her usual self, but at dinner she has a massive jaw and looks more like a man than a woman. Cherry looks more normal as Mark leaves for Washington to meet deputy administrator Rolland Schmitten of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Rolland tells Mark the sea turtles are in such trouble due to nets, pollution and people using their eggs as aphrodisiacs. Rolland has a strange irregular "X" across the front of his suit jacket, as though the button were missing and he duct-taped the jacket shut. What th'!?

March 30-April 4--Day 1: Mark and the bureaucrat discuss TEDs (turtle excluder devices). The duct tape is still on Rolland's jacket. While Rolland is carefully drawn (traced?) and looks almost like a photograph of a real person, Mark is looking more cut and pasted than usual. On one panel in particular (Thurs. or Fri.), Mark has no neck and looks as though his head was excerpted from elsewhere by someone using an exacto knife and rubber cement.

April 6-11--Day 1: Joe's daughter, Kay, is discussing her father's refusal to use TEDs with Rick Blane, her apparent boyfriend. Rick picks up Mark at the airport and promises to show him around. Joe and his "friend" go cruising in Joe's boat; Joe deliberately runs over a sea turtle. Mark and Rick go cruising as well. Rick has promised to introduce Mark to Mary (no middle name) Moore, also known as "Crazy Mary," and are just coming upon the anguished turtle.

April 13-18--Day 1: Mark stands precariously in the boat as the cruiser approaches the injured sea turtle. Mark and Rick decide to attempt a rescue. Almost all of the miscellaneous items in the boat as of last week's captions appear to be missing. Mark and Rick haul the turtle aboard and take it to Kay who works at a clinic for injured sea creatures. During the past two week's strips, Mark has not uttered a single word. Rick and Kay chatter on while Mark dourly stands by.

April 20-25--Day 1: Joe Walker rants to his wife about Mark Trail, wildly waving the newspaper article about Mark's project. Mrs. Walker tells him to settle down. Joe then rants about Rick going with Kay. Mrs. W. insists Joe support Kay because she loves Rick. Joe tells his wife, "YOU support her. Not me!" Joe has a sparse moustache. Mark and Rick cruise to Crazy Mary's house. As they near it there is a huge BLAM and Rick's hat jumps up in the air as he utters a "What th'." BLAM is followed by WHAM, prompting Mark to observe that he thought Mary was Rick's friend! Rick yells to Mary that it's only him and Mary lays off on the artillery, explaining later to Mark that she has to be very protective of her sea turtles.

April 27-May 2--Day 1: Crazy Mary goes on about her nephew trying to persuade her to sell out to the developers and allows that she is rather eccentric. Rick suggests Mark spend some time with Mary as he leaves for the office. Mary shows Mark the predator-proof cages she protects the turtle eggs with and invites Mark out on a cruise, to be followed by . . .dinner. Arriving at the store across the bay, Mary is accosted by jug-headed townfolk, but a friendly policeman assures her they won't bother her. After picking up supplies, hecklers again greet Mary as she gets on the boat with Mark. She tells them to eat their hearts out, and declines Mark's implied offer to go beat them up. Mark and Mary cruise back to her place, picking up Pete the Penguin enroute. Mark appears edgy about being alone with Mary and keeps his camera plastered to his chest on an abnormally short strap except when it inexplicably disappears in certain frames.

May 4-9--Day 1: Mark, Crazy Mary and Pete cruise to Mary's place. Mary says that she will make a nice salad while Mark grills the steaks. Mary notes that her nephew used to be a nice guy, but now seems to be in perpetual need of money. He already has most of Mary's money, but she refuses to give up her property. After dinner, Mary suggests that they take a walk on the beach. Mark agrees, noting that he may get pictures of sea turtles. The sun is setting magnificently as the couple stroll through the sand, and, sure enough, a huge sea turtle is waiting for them.

May 11-16--Day 1 to Day 2: Rick returns to pick up Mark. Mary tries to convince them to stay. Mark is still having verbal difficulties. He is speaking more now, but using grammar poorly: "I appreciate you spending time with me, Mary, and for the great dinner." Rick and Mark go cruising; it is now Day 2, for Rick says he wants to "check on the injured turtle this morning," and visit a shrimp boat. "Sounds good, Rick!" says Mark. The sun is low in the sky. Having been aced out by the paper hogs and unable to see the strip on Saturday and Monday, I can't say for sure, but it's possible Mark spent the entire night with Mary and that Rick only returned in the morning to pick him up. That sun low in the sky may have been a morning sun, not an evening one. Did Mark and Mary watch sea turtles on that beach all night? Wha'! Mrs. Walker asks Kay where she's been lately. Kay says she's been spending her time caring for the injured turtle. Mark and Rick visit the injured turtle and greet the veterinarian. Joe Walker comes home and blows a fuse when Kay mentions she's helping Rick with the injured turtle.

May 18-23--Day 2: Joe is looking for Rick, and he's not very happy. Upon confronting him, Joe insists that Rick stop seeing Kay. Rick responds that he intends to ask Kay to marry him with or without Joe's permission. Mark stands by in the background. As Joe advances on Rick, determined to deck him, Mark steps in and advises the boys to not do something they will regret. Joe replies that he doesn't like Mark either and takes a swing at him. Mark deftly avoids the blow (with the same awkward movement he used in the '80s when attacked by an embezzler), grabbing Joe's flailing arm in his iron fist.

May 25-30--Day 2: Mary's conniving nephew visits his big city lawyer and asks him to get Mary declared incompetent, assuring him that there is a lot of money to be made. The lawyer tells him to get something he can take to the judge and they'll both get rich. Nephew then visits Joe Walker (having a cup of Joe in the diner), and, saying he understands that Joe hates sea turtles, asks to have a private conversation. Joe instantly cooperates. Nephew offers Joe $5000.00 to wreck the turtle nests on Mary's property, figuring that it will drive her "over the edge," and that she will be declared incompetent.

June 1-6--Day 2: The offer is upped to a total of $10,000. However, Joe Walker who thus far hates sea turtles, hates environmentalists, hates Mark Trail, hates his daughter's fiancee and probably just about everyone else on the planet tells the scheming nephew that although he hates turtles he hates lowlifes like him even more! At home, Mom and Kay worry about Joe who is home with a headache. Kay asks her father what is wrong and he replies that he doesn't know and that he isn't sure of anything he does anymore. Interestingly enough, the entire Walker family (Mom, Pop and Kay) wears work shirts with the sleeves rolled up. Joe returns to his trawler and is chastised by his partner for leaving the boat tied up for so long.

June 8-13--Day 2: Mark and Rick decide to visit a trawler and approach Joe's on the high seas. Joe is irritated with Rick. Looks like Joe's going to get whacked by part of his trawler.

June 15-20--Day 2: Sure enough! Joe gets knocked overboard. Mark reports that Joe is unconscious and sinking! Rick dives in as sharks circle, losing his cap. He rescues Joe and tells Mark to work on Joe as they head for the hospital. At the hospital Kay thanks Rick for saving her dad, who has no serious problems.

June 22-27--Day 2: Mark visits Mary Moore's lawyer and asks for suggestions to help protect Mary's property from the unscrupulous nephew. Something is funny, for the lawyer, though clean-cut, begins his response with, "Uh," before going on to say that there's nothing to be done at the moment. Sure enough, after Mark has left the office, the lawyer telephones Frank, the evil nephew and warns that "we might have a problem," since Mark is going to try contacting and working with local conservation groups to save Mary's property. Frank replies that Trail needs to be discouraged and visits a thug named Buck, telling him he has another job for him.

June 29-July 4--Day 2: Mark, in his stocking feet, is sitting in his hotel room talking to himself about his plans for the next day. Buck and a mustachioed confederate come to take Mark for a little sight-seeing trip. Mark is confused, so Buck pulls a gun on him. The next thing we know, Mark is tied up on Buck's boat. Buck tells his compadre that they'll take Mark a few miles out and dump him. Mark unties his ropes with a gaffer hook, throwing off the bonds and assuming the action position. He bursts through the cabin door and touches Buck on the arm as Mr. Moustache, holding a beer, gapes incredulously. It is still unknown whether Mark is still in his stockings.

July 6-11--Day 2: Mark knocks out Buck with one punch, knocking down Mr. Moustache with Buck's falling body. The boat hits a sunken barge with a terrific "WHAM!" The next day's strip again shows the boat hitting the barge with another "WHAM!" Mr. Moustache was attempting to escape in the skiff, but Mark knocks him out with one terrific punch, sending him tumbling through the air. Mark then uses his casting prowess to hook the escaping skiff and hops in. The shoe mystery is solved. We clearly see Mark's high-top work boots as he is hauling in the skiff, so Buck was considerate enough to allow Mark to put on his shoes before kidnapping him. Buck insists that Mark cannot leave them stranded, but Mark says he'll send out the coast guard "in a couple of days." Pretty brutal for Mark Trail. Mark goes to see Mary, who is overjoyed to see her new friend again. Mark warns her about her lawyer.

July 13-18--Day 2: Mary has a competency hearing coming up in two days. Mark confers with Rick to see if they can do something to counter "all the evidence" of Mary's incompetency. Exactly what this might be is unknown. Mark and Rick visit Joe Walker, who is now pro-turtle and a nice guy; that bump on the head really altered his personality! Joe gives Rick and Kay's union his blessing.

July 20-25--Day 2 to Day 4: Joe agrees to testify. Suddenly it's Day 4. Mark tells the judge about the thugs trying to kill him and Mary's lawyer's involvement. Joe testifys that the nephew asked him to wreck Mary's turtle eggs. The judge dismisses the competency hearing against Mary Moore. Kay says that everyone is invited to her wedding. Mary tells her nephew that she had intended to leave him her estate, but will now be leaving her property to the state so that it cannot be developed. She encourages him to have a nice day.

July 27-August 1--Day 2 to Day 4:

Mark says goodbye to Rick at the airport, wishing him luck with his soon-to-be father-in-law, Joe. Mark flies back to Lost Forest and tells Rusty, Cherry, Doc and Andy that he had a great trip. As the crew hangs out on the porch, Mark mentions that he didn't know so many people volunteer to help sea turtles. Rusty says he would like to help sea turtles, but Mark admonishes him, noting that there are plenty of animals at Lost Forest to protect. Rusty still thinks it would be fun to volunteer to protect animals. This is the official conclusion of the Great Sea Turtle "short trip" which began last March!