Summary: Monday and Tuesday were devoted to Hallmark-style greetings between Mark, Rusty, and Cherry as the duo arrived home from their alien hunt. Cherry did not discuss her own adventure. The rest of the week carried a series of discoveries and conclusions—in between slices of pizza—regarding the horse head mask and pink crystals (Himalayan salt) found at the abandoned campsite. With Rusty’s online discovery of former TV prank star Tad Crass’s dangerous (according to Mark) survival guide, Mark found confirmation for his suspicion that there is somebody in Lost Forest who is not only lost, but in physical distress.

Analysis: The pacing feels rushed, with Rusty’s and Mark’s discoveries and conclusions happening just a tad too quickly. This isn’t a 30-minute TV show. Giving Rusty more time to carry out his research, for example, would be an improvement in tempo and veracity. That research time could partly be filled by having Cherry discussing her Kudzu Crusader problems or having Doc Davis drop in to say  “Howdy!” and grab a slice of pizza before retiring to whatever cell they keep him in. Rivera could even show Rusty going through his Internet searches to ferret out his evidence. After all, that kind of stuff worked well for the “CSI” TV franchise.
But speaking of pacing, we’ve spent enough time on this, so let’s move on to today’s nature post:

Rivera adds a Halloween theme to Mark’s discussion of the hybrid CoyWolf. The “dog” DNA of the Coywolf is hardly surprising, given the domestic dog’s wolf ancestry. My online reading (A-Z-animals.com), states that all wolves, coyotes, and dogs can interbreed because of their DNA similarities, and that such interbreeding has been going on for a long time. According to the site, a coywolf is a coyote with measurable amounts of wolf and dog DNA. Apparently, much of the interbreeding took place to 100 years ago and not so much these days. (For more details and how the term “coywolf” is a nickname for the eastern gray wolf, see: https://a-z-animals.com/blog/coywolf-coyote-wolf-mix-everything-you-need-to-know-about-this-hybrid/.