I have been morel mushroom hunting this week, and after several tries, today I finally struck gold!
This is really my first time trying seriously to find them. The only other time I remember coming across them in the wild was by happy accident a few years ago during a short family vacation at my great-grandparents’ clubhouse near Piedmont, Mo.
It all started on Easter Sunday. Ludi and I decided to take advantage of the day and hike somewhere. We settled on Pere Marquette Park in Illinois. We knew it was close to morel season, so we came prepared with a knife and some collection bags, and kept our eyes open as we hiked.
We enjoyed the scenic views of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Usually we come out here in summer or fall when the view is obscured a bit by the leaves on the trees, so it was fun to be here at this moment when there was a lot of emerging green, but not a huge canopy.
We found a monarch butterfly, which was cool to see so early, and lots of interesting plants and flowers. Ludi pointed out mayapples, which thrive in similar conditions to morels, and some people say are a good indicator that the time is right to find morels.
But, alas, we didn’t find any. As we were nearing the end of the trail, though, we came across a group of guys who seemed like they might be mushroom hunting. They whistled to communicate, as they quickly climbed hills and looked through the brush.
Monday evening, after dropping off Yoli at her guitar rehearsal, and Josie at her fencing class, I headed over a nearby park that I thought might have some sports where mushrooms could be found.
I had a lovely walk both on and off the trail, and I found several places with lots of mayapples — but no morels.
I had struck out again — I was 0 for 2.
Which brings us today.
Because it’s Election Day, I’m going to be working in the evening, which left my morning open for an adventure. It was chilly, but I decided to take a bike ride. Along the way I stopped off at a polling place to vote, then continued riding to a park make my third attempt hunting morel mushrooms.
Again, I went off-trail in several places, trying to find promising spots. I found several areas with mayapples, and worked my way back toward a creek. While I was there, suddenly a wild turkey walked past. Somehow I managed to avoid spooking it, even though I was close and wearing fluorescent colors.
But after spending an hour or so in the park, I had nothing to show for my time.
I was about to give up and head home, when something caught my eye. One golden morel mushroom peeking out from the grass. At last!
Then another. And another. And a pair!
I hadn’t brought a bag — I guess I didn’t really expect to find anything — so I had to use my balaclava to carry them on the bike ride home.
Ultimately, I came home with 13 morels!
We cleaned them and fried them and they were GOOD.