OK, where did this vehicle come from?  Not the International Harvester Travel-All that we are accustomed to seeing Mark pilot… but rather a snappy (and it appears relatively new) Jeep CJ with the top off and seats with headrests!!  I have never seen a white one in my life, though, and what’s with the green sky in the background??  Need to have a word with the color team!  And it looks like the Jeep agrees (!) declaring that “we’ll get some pictures of them playing on the banks!”

Yes, Mark, that’s right, Otters ARE “carefree little creatures…” Until of course we discover that they are missing!  Didn’t show for their curtain call?!? What nerve!  Don’t they realize that we are on a timetable here, that part of the bargain with respect to living in the Trailverse is to appear and perform on command?  Even for the misshapen little ward with the camera??  Love the cowlick on top of Rusty’s head… doesn’t it just make you want to squeeze him??

Now serve me coffee from what looks like a BUNN model coffee urn…  and make sure that you don’t leave that on the burner empty- you know what happens then!!  I mean, what are they running at Lost Forest, an Inn??  What meal are we enjoying here?  Oh who knows… coffee is a staple at any meal!  Do you think Mark has ever POURED a cup of coffee in his LIFE?  Doubtful.  So much for servant leadership.  Remember, this is all about WWMD, not WWJD…  There will be no role reversing here!

Uh, Yea, sure rusty, those should be great pictures, of inky black shiny-coated animals, with heads barely poking through he surface of the water…  I mean, what, with that fish-eye/wide angle lens you have on that camera body, we should almost be able to make them out!  Or, better yet, why don’t we try to get real close-ups of the otters… I hear tell that they have razor sharp teeth for cracking mussels and other shellfish…

So the only question now is what happens next- does trouble and excitement pay a visit to Lost Forest or does Mark have to go find it elsewhere?  We should really be keeping track of the MTTLLF- the mean-time-to-leave-Lost-Forest…