Searching for Morels is a lot like deer hunting.

With temperatures in the low 70′s and high-skies, it was a great day for a walk!

To find the elusive mushroom, you must use all your deer hunting instincts!

Pictured Right: Ryan with our first find of the year.

Questions will flow through your mind, like: “If I were a mushroom…where would I hide?” Start looking in those areas where your mind takes you.

We intensely watch the ground to catch a glimpse of a Morel, but did you see those footprints? Perhaps, from another mushroom hunter that has already been here? Make corrections to your plans if you feel things are not right.

It’s very dry this year. The local forecast calls for rain. This will be good for mushroom lovers next week. Today, I must use my hunters instinct.

I decided to concentrate on the north and south-facing hills where it’s cool and shady. I walked straight to bottom of the hill to the first tree with bark falling off. Turning to my buddy Ryan, I said, “Guess what I see?” Sure enough. It was a Morel — twenty to be exact!

Morels will evade those who give up to quickly. You must use your instincts!
Your determination will help fill your desire to find Morel mushrooms.

Special Reminder: It’s Turkey season! Wear at least one article of clothing (above the waste) that is blaze orange.

Fat Man’s Landing, MN

“Wild About Morels!”

Wow! Another season has quickly arrived! Once you see Lilacs blooming, it’s time for a walk in the woods! Now — if you’ve never hunted Morel Mushrooms, please don’t be discouraged if you don’t find them right away. It takes patients, a good eye and a whole lot of luck. Listed below are my hottest tips:

1. Wear light clothing (Ticks are attracted to darker colors, plus
   they are more easily seen) and use rubber bands around cuffs
   and tuck your pants into your socks.
2. Look for areas with dense tree growth (Your local parks
   are a great resource)
3. Look for trees that are loosing their bark. (Not completely,
   but just starting to!)
4. Walk slowly around trees. Using a stick, look under the leaves
   covering the ground. The mushrooms my be 20-feet away!
5. Oh! I’d go now! Before your neighbor picks them first!

See our Outdoor Recipes section for Morel Mushroom Soup and other tasty concoctions.

Fat Man’s Landing, MN

The Upper Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River located in the northeast corner of Iowa. This weekend we canoed the most picturesque portion, bordering rolling hills and shear limestone cliffs, from Bluffton to Decorah, Iowa.

There’s a wonderful campground just outside of Decorah called, Pulpit Rock Campground. We arrived late Thursday night. Once our tents were assembled, we cracked-a-cold-one and proceeded to sit around the fire-pit swapping stories and conversing about the news.

We didn’t have any firewood so, I placed my Coleman LED lantern in the middle of the fire-ring, which gives-off a yellow glow when set to low. As the cold night air began to take over and the conversation grew wearisome, I quickly scooted off to bed.

May 15, 2009

A 50-percent chance of getting wet

It was my turn to cook breakfast. I had Salmon patties with mixed fruit prepared. We used Craig’s old rusty, but trusty, Coleman gas stove to reheat the patties. The smell of white gas on my hands while cooking at the picnic table, brought back nostalgic images of my father.

We eventually got on the river. The landing was washed out from last year’s spring flood. Like a regatta, we pushed-off for Decorah. Well, some of us did! Craig’s canoe sat vicariously on a rock and overturned sending Craig head-first into the water. He quickly changed into dry clothes.

No sooner did we start paddling, our canoe turned sideways against the strong current and pulled us into a tree laying across the river. We took on water but never capsized. Behind us, Tom and Josh did the same thing and found themselves cutting through the middle of the tree. We pulled ashore and emptied our canoes.

Back on the river — the rain did come and so did the wind! We slipped on our rain gear and continued paddling. The rain clouds would break periodically — just in time for a shore lunch. We ate our lunch, as we stood on a recently formed sandbar.

Last spring strong floods created many new obstacles. The shoreline was overturned with sand and small chunks of limestone. I started looking for agates. As I sifted through the quarry of limestone and shale I notice — what looked to be a fossilized sea shell. I found three more fossils consisting of shells and coral.

Shown above: These fossils are reminders of an ancient ocean found along the Upper Iowa River in Decorah, Iowa.

When I got back home I Googled, “Iowa Fossiles” and located a Web site that featured similar images — dating them back 400-million years!

For the experienced canoeist and avid rock collector, I recommend this trip to anyone. I’m sure I’ll be back soon.

As we pulled out of the river Saturday, I noticed a red pickup truck parked next to mine. We proceeded to load our canoes. I heard someone in the woods. A young college kid carrying what I hoped were mushrooms. It was exactly what I had hoped — Wild Morel mushrooms!

Morel Mushrooms — As beautiful as the day my daughter was born!

I talked to him for a little bit and tried to get some inside (or shall I say, outside) tips. He said, “Look for the tree with the bark falling off.”

I read about this but didn’t realize how important that information was — until later.

The following day was so windy that we didn’t dare go canoeing, so I asked my buddy Tom to go Morel mushroom hunting. He seemed intrigued by the prospect, having heard legends of the wonderful flavor of Morels.

We drove away from our campsite where I saw the beginnings of a housing development. The lots were sectioned-off but the trees had not been removed. I figured this would a save place to park without trespassing.

Once in the woods, I quickly started looking for trees without bark. I was gone for quite awhile and soon lost sight of Tom. As Abby (my dog) and I headed deeper into the woods, I started to find larger trees without bark.

My eyes focused intensely on the ground. All of a sudden my pupils went blurry — and then clear. As I concentrated my vision to the bright yellow spot against the green undergrowth. “Could it be?” I thought to myself. Sure enough, as I lifted the leaves I could see two Morel mushrooms! The only way I can explain my feelings at that moment was like a child being born! It was beautiful! (Pictured above is that exact moment) I quickly found a stick and began looking around the nearby trees. There’s one! — There’s another! All together, I found fifteen Morels!

As soon as I got home, I grabbed a venison tenderloin and wrapped it in bacon. I then dipped the Morels in buttermilk and tossed them in a mixture of cornflake crumbs and pancake mix. With the deep fryer hot and the steaks almost done…I submersed the mushrooms for a few seconds and out they came — looking as beautiful as the day my daughter was born.

For the past two years, places like Rochester and Zumbro Minnesota have seen extreme flooding. As a result, massive areas of dead-fall have been created.

See our Outdoor Recipe section for Morel Mushroom Soup and other tasty concoctions.