Missouri Mushroom Hunting

A mushroom hunting we will go...

Angela tackles the bramble.

Me picking mushrooms along a steep riverbank.

A close-up of the mushrooms I was picking on the riverbank.

The mighty fungus hunters.

Pretty spring scene along the river.


A little tree frog.

Me taking a picture of Andrea taking a picture of the frog in my hand.

Mayflower in bloom.


Wild Sweet William in bloom along the roadside.

Bluebells or Virginia Cowslip along the river.

Geese flying over Mom's cornfield.

Big Creek (or Big Crick if you are from Northern Missouri).

Mushrooms on a log.

Andrea holding morel mushrooms.

Morel mushroom.

On Friday, Andrea, Angela, Mom and I went up to the farm to go mushroom hunting. When we left Independence, Missouri, it was cold and rainy. We stopped to eat lunch at Ma & Pa Kettle's restaurant in Cameron, Missouri, where I had a delicious open faced roast beef sandwich with real mashed potatoes and sweet tea. A delightful meal.

By the time we reached the farm, it was about 70 degrees and sunny. Andrea found two "baby" morel mushrooms right away, then we didn't find anymore for about an hour. I think we were too close to the road and they had all been picked. As we got further into the woods, we started to find several mushrooms but by that time we were getting tired of walking. We ended up picking about a gallon.

Interestingly, I love to hunt mushrooms but I hate to eat them. All mushrooms taste like dirt to me. Besides I refuse to eat anything I have to soak in salt water to get all the bugs out. So maybe I just like walking in the woods in the spring. Chuck, however, finds all mushrooms highly delicious.

When I got home at 8:30pm, Chuck was literally waiting with a coating mixture, eggs and a hot skillet. He coated his mushrooms, fried them and sat down and gobbled them up. It was disgusting. I told him I hope he really enjoyed the mushrooms because they basically cost him $65.00, what I spent in gas to make a round trip to the farm. (330 miles at $3.61 a gallon). He did a little Internet research and showed me that morel mushrooms are currently bringing about $168.00 a pound (they are considered a gourmet delicacy). Chuck said he thought he got his meal at a bargain. Had I known how much morel mushrooms were bringing, I would have set up a little roadside stand on the way home and told Chuck I couldn't find any. I also probably could have found a little more energy to keep looking for more.

I also dug a few wildflowers (Sweet William and Blue Bonnets) to plant in my yard, though I'm not sure they are going to make it. I don't think I dug down deep enough to get good starts. I guess we'll know next year.

Below is a little video I shot of Andrea at the farm. When Chuck saw it he said, "What was the sweet tea spiked with?"