[edited down] Okay, the cryptid hunt was all downriver, not up. I reckon that, living along a river, you’d be more inclined to want to know what’s coming toward you (i.e., from upriver), so you might be less knowledgeable about what’s going on downriver. That might explain Mark’s lack of awareness regarding the croc cove, but I’m being kind. Many rivers flow north-south (more or less), so “downriver” matches what we inherently consider “down”. Maybe that’s from our reliance on maps? However, there are many rivers around the world that actually flow south-north. So, “upriver” is then moving south.

The most striking example is the Nile River in Africa, which flows over 4200 miles from the Sudan and Ethiopia, emptying out into the Mediterranean Sea after passing through Egypt. Reinforcing how geography influences our thinking, in pharaonic times, “Upper Egypt” meant the south, and “Lower Egypt” the north.

Otherwise, today’s strip is just a traditional Mark Trail Nothingburger:  superficial filler stuffed between two adventures, with cheese.