The only excitement I recall is… well, I can’t.
On the nature front, we have a stand-off over what? Territory? a Meal?
Well, color me surprised… I guess it’s a thing…
Yakkity Yak
If’n I wanted a history lesson, I’da picked up a book… seriously.
Blah blah blah
Said the guy whose business it is to outfit and guide people looking for gold…
What are you burning?
Cactus? Sagebrush? A Tumbling Tumbleweed??
Yup… that ol’ excitement… the same way I feel every morning when I get to read and comment on yet another ripping installment of the Trail-verse… Where we learn more here by accident than elsewhere by design.
I will say it again… those are some big-ass tents given their relatively small packs with unpadded straps… No clothes but what they have on, I am guessing, and what they are doing for cooking and food one can only guess.
Buzz Killington…
Well, campers, with Skull Mountain checked off, and Doc’s sanity and memory validated, we are on our way again!
It’s difficult to know who is doing the talking in the long shots, but based on the last few days I’d have to say it’s Mark in the bubble above…
With JJ’s frown turned upside-down, I guess Mark feels like it’s his job to urge caution and set expectations…
…and it would seem that Leola is getting in on the discussion, trying to overcome Mark’s negativity…
Mark, really? Who asked you? You spend the days scowling and not saying a word, only to fall flat and put the crew on the right path… Now you are a regular Doubting Thomas… I guess you’ve never seen The Great Pumpkin either, have you!?
Mark, apparently, is the only one with eyes that can see…
As Mark swivels his head around to see where the sound is emanating, he is reminded that he is not alone… whereupon he shows a brief flash of empathy…
Really, JJ? #whocares… you are a means to an end, and will probably not survive this story…
Yea, Mark… we see it. Congratulations. Would you like a Scooby Snack®?
Falling Frontward Into Money…
Story of Mark’s life. Rent-free at Lost Forest. Complete freedom of movement…
Bad Joke.
Well, he didn’t find the actual cave opening, (as was suggested by a faithful reader,) but rather a critical landmark… Which could probably have been noticed by anyone looking up and not fixated on the map…
But what happened to the bees? Is Doc off camera getting stung to death!?
Honestly…
…Mark… Why do you even leave the house? You are the most accident prone, ill fated, dumb luck guy on the planet. Good thing your name is on the Banner Page, otherwise I might actually worry about you!
So with Mark about to become overcome with Africanized (are we still allowed to say that?) Bees, We are left to wonder, again, where the hell this story is going. To a “Vanishing Mine” supposedly, filled with gold, we think. Perhaps it’s time to reflect upon who else might materialize magically in this plot, something that will tie us back to other story lines… I picture a large yarn-board hanging on the wall in James Allen’s studio…
Not just any old bees…
…the one in the pink chamois-cloth shirt… he’s the wise one…
Run where, Mark? Your options are slim and none as you are now totally exposed in the desert- no water in which to wade , no car to climb into…
Can you tell the difference? According to the USDA, the Africanized (or Killer) bee is on the left in this photo…
And the spread throughout the south is well documented, below:
Another reason, despite the sluggish spring we are experiencing this year, that I will probably always stay well north of the Mason Dixon line…
OK, you can go home now…
What an idiot! Why don’t you just stick your tongue out and have a taste??
Rarely is it a good idea to immediately follow up “What in the world is that!?” with the immediate use of the touch or taste sense… Besides, Leola, do you smell with your finger??
When in doubt, introduce a strange sound…
In case you all haven’t noticed, I am choosing to let the plot line (or what passes for one) simmer before I weigh in… As futile as it would be to ram heads (see below) I am continuing to post, just not as often…
The “map?” You mean the drawing that is representative of some vague geographic features, now being mistaken for a detailed and trustworthy topographic treatment of the area?
Doc, please… that was decades ago, old man. Although as memory issues start to creep in, it’s often the case that the oldest memories burn brightest while you try to remember what you had for breakfast an hour ago… And while Mark and Leola are keeping their own counsel (snickering??) is looks like JJ is reading the Sunday sports page.
It’s Doc blowing his nose! What?!
Good night, John-boy…
Sometimes we reach new lows for this strip. Talk about wasted ink…
I think I could have lived a long and fruitful life never having seen Mark Trail yawn. Now I can add that to my experiences. <yawn>
Well, that explains it!
Penniless and bitter? Who wouldn’t want to emulate that? Or at least avenge that fate? I guess JJ took a lesson from history and appears to be making a living off the suckers with the same dreams of getting rich quick!
I wonder who actually offered JJ sympathy… certainly not Mark, who is probably still sullen and distant.
Speaking of gold, if you haven’t watched the Netflix offering “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” I heartily recommend it… It’s an anthology of six short films, one of which features a prospector and the process that he uses to actually find gold. I found that fascinating. It’s Coen Brothers, too, so that alone makes it worth a watch.
Man… Mark sure looks peeved!
What does Mark have against JJ? This is not the first withering glance he has delivered…
Now DOC is getting in on the Mark Trail as Cliff Clavin routine… “They, ah, might look like pigs, but they are actually NAUGHT related…”
Well, JJ, your math is fairly accurate at today’s spot price of $1,275 /oz… as Mark continues to circle him like the Legion of Doom…
Hold on thar, desperado… who ever talked about YOU being cut in on the deal… You are a contractor, not a principal…
Oh, a-hiking we will go…
JJ really is a sour-puss, isn’t he… I mean, for a guy in the service industry, he’s a real cuss.
Cha-ching! What are you charging for guide services? Providing a quick panning lesson is one thing, but this is actual guiding…
Thanks for the summary, James! I am sure we all appreciate it when you tidy up the story line and let us know what’s going on… I think we call that a “re-set” in the business…
Nice gear… Why, those pack straps won’t dig in at all… And Poor Doc- his bunions are already screaming! But seriously… it’s about JJ’s nose… and the look from Mark… What’s that supposed to mean?
Four Campers, four tents… that, um, makes sense…
Trusting, aren’t we??
With map in hand, Ol’ JJ has no use for his clients any more… why, he could just dispatch them and put us all out of our misery…
Odd, but real…
But let’s soldier on, campers. There is sure to be a mesa-load of manufactured tension right around the corner…
More wildlife than a zoo!
One thing that struck over the last few days, other than the glacial pace of the story, was the introduction of old-school Trail “wildlife” in every strip. That was a reliable feature of the Dodd/Elrod era. We seem to be returning to that as we join our characters in mid conversation:
That’s right, Mr. “I know everything about gold and panning for it… that’s why I keep working my little shop- it’s really just a side-hustle to conceal the fact that I have a fortune in Gold stored in the basement!” YES- WE HAVE A MAP!
Doc, sincerity drips from your craggy face! How could anyone doubt you??
JJ is keeping his poker face on… but deep down he has a little tingle running up his leg… I mean, how could he not??
Wait… I thought we had a map?
Grooooowl! Cluccckkukokk!
<yawn>
Oh Leola, or Leona, whatever your name is…
Subtle… very subtle! Inside a peak? wouldn’t that be a cave?
Victorio Peak Treasure
The Victorio Peak treasure (also seen in print as Treasure of Victorio Peak, Treasure of San Andres), describes a cache of gold found inside Victorio Peak in Southern New Mexico. While there have been multiple documented expeditions to the peak, no gold has been officially recorded as being recovered from the site.
Theories abound on the origins of the alleged treasure, from eighteenth-century Spanish Missionaries to wealth pilfered from Mexico during the reign of the French puppet Emperor Maximilian. Some years after Doc Noss was killed, his wife Ova asserted a claim that she was entitled to access to the cave in Victorio Peak and its contents. Eventually she brought her case to the military, but the alleged bonanza had vanished.
Many years following the Doc Noss discovery local newspapers had reported different accounts of possible treasure finds and hikers falling in the Hembrillo Basin. One story made headlines in the early 1990s after two bodies were found trapped inside the peak.
Today’s lesson: Wild Cats native to the Desert Southwest
Mark’s eyes grow wild (as wild as two dots of india ink can get…) and Leola flashes her baby-blues… while JJ utters the family-friendly version of WTF?!
But fear not (like we were…)
It’s Mr. or Mrs. Ocelot! Native to these parts…
It appears that the stripe/spot patterns are variable… Allen has chosen a stripier version to represent this small carinvore, who apparently has sights set on bacon, and not human, for lunch!
Are there really big cats in the desert?
As we continue to watch the “excitement” unfolding in the desert southwest, we are reminded of a couple of things…
…that Doc is still fairly spry, Mark is the captain of obvious…
…and James Allen really has trouble writing a story.
That is a most disturbing picture of JJ, from that low angle, but how better to reveal that he is about to be attacked by a misplaced puma(?)…
Oh, Mark… Chivalry is not dead…
Bring on Nature! A herd of Javelinas!
Mark was correct in having everyone take to high ground… lifting the young and defenseless lass onto the rocks and leaving the old and spry Doc to his own devices…
According to the Wiki, these are also known as Peccary and Skunk Pigs…
By rubbing the tusks together, they can make a chattering noise that warns potential predators to stay away. In recent years in northwestern Bolivia near Madidi National Park, large groups of peccaries have been reported to have seriously injured or killed people.[10]
I guess the CLUKCLAKCLUKCLUKCLUK is the Aforementioned chattering noise…
The Daily Trail 