To the mOunTaiNs for MuShrooMs

When on the coast of Oregon we like to go to a few of our favorite mushroom picking areas.

We drive east from the coast on to narrow winding mountain roads into the     Siuslaw National Forest.

Onto narrow winding roads.. 11 miles looking for our favorite spot..

..we never find it.

A few of the dirt roads are not marked and we must have missed our turn.

So..Instead we go to plan B

and stop at a few areas that look promising.

We walk up hills to see what shrooms may be hanging out.

Into the dark woods..

We are looking for Chanterelles

We see many Varied Thrush.

  Golden-crowned kinglets are chattering all around us.

I start finding Chanterelles 

While moving on to the next spot i spy a small Cauliflower mushroom.

Too small and a bit old to pick…

Below..

A nice Cat mushroom

Mock Matsutake or Swollen-stalked Cat - Catathelasma ventricosa

I pick this edible..at the time I was not 100 percent sure and was hoping we would see someone who could confirm my ID. Luckily, later in the day we met a fella who recognized us as attending one of his mushroom walks four years ago.

He confirmed my ID and I took this home and cooked and dried it.

The head of this mushroom is the size of my open hand. The stipe is 10 inches long.

We drive out of the mountains with bags full of Chanterelles and huge smiles..

We decide to take one of our favorite walks in Cape Perpetua..through an old growth forest by the coast.

Some sort of Coral mushroom..

Its magical here…

Giant Spruce dot the trail..

Slugs like mushrooms too!

A conk type mushroom..with droplets.

 A fallen spruce gives birth to a family of shrooms..

Everywhere you look moss and lichen..

Another type of coral mushroom..

Fern shadow..

Do you remember eating dots of colored sugar off of paper as a kid?

I didn't eat these dots..

Jeff passes an huge old spruce tree..

A mushroom I have yet to ID..

No gills.. pretty smooth underside..

We added some Chanterelle mushrooms to our daily bounty..and head out of the forest…

it was time to go back and clean our finds.

We stop to take in the views..

Its beautiful here..

We are so very happy to be back after four years..

Back to the campground to clean the shrooms..

Chanterelles, Hedgehogs and a huge Cat mushroom!

I sautéed Chanterelles with garlic and oil and froze several batches. I cooked and dehydrated the Cat mushroom and used the Hedgehogs in a scalloped potato dish.

More picking to follow!

I am in search of Porcini! Boletus Edulus!