After spending the prior week watching Rusty getting screwed out of a Woods Scout badge by his rival, Robbie, you might have forgotten what Mark’s current story is all about. Well…

Recall that Cliff invited Mark and the family to a “Woodsman Olympics” contest in Las Vegas. Some unnamed entity is sponsoring the event and had enough money to fly the contestants and their families over and put them up at a pirate-themed hotel. Mark and family arrived at the hotel to find Cliff already there. As they chatted, the sky darkened and meatballs fell from the sky when The Grungey Boys made a surprise appearance. Seems that they also entered the contest! They lost no time in accosting Mark, hoping to pick a fight. We all know there is no love lost between them.  Connor, especially, was prepared to go one-on-one with Mark right then and there.

To the consternation of longtime Mark Trail readers who keep wanting to see Mark exercise his Fists o’ Justice, Mark instead got a security guard to get rid of the troublemakers. Well, we’ve all seen how Jules Rivera portrays Mark’s fighting skills, so there really isn’t that much to hang on to.

Interestingly, Cliff hung back from the tuanting, but returned when it was over. Cliff explained his non-involvement by stating that he got along with the Grungey Boys. But that doesn’t say much about standing up for his friend, Mark. Apparently, Cliff’s neutrality did not weigh on Mark’s mind.

So, boys and girls, are we all excited about the contest!? I’m wondering if the Grungey Boys will try to sabotage Mark’s equipment or just create an “accident” for him? There has to be some amount of skullduggery! Perhaps we will see additional members of the Mark Trail Troublemakers Troop enter the contest (I’m thinking Cricket Bro, with his steroid-enhanced torso).

Rivera normally crafts a custom title panel around the Sunday topic. I fail to see any connection today. However, today’s topic is linked to Mark’s current location, so that’s a plus.

While reading up on this tiny fish (about 1 ½ inches long), I learned that they have a doubtful future. Their fertility rate is low and natural disasters keep making things worse. But the most shameful thing I read was the deliberate destruction of fish, eggs, and environment by a trio of deplorables who broke into the federally protected area. If that wasn’t bad enough, even though they broke federal laws, two of them only got probation. One was a felon and got a year in jail, only because he had a shotgun.

This is an interesting topic worthy of reading about, but it is marred by harried and dull artwork. The final panel is completely witless.