Bolete land

We have entered into the world of mushrooming. Mike and Jennifer gave us an awesome guide to mushrooms for a wedding present, and off into the woods we went! Now, the weekend didn't begin with mushrooms. It began on the night of Jay's birthday in Newport, Oregon.

We were super lucky to not only be hanging out with Mike and Jennifer, but old friends from RI - Erik and Jared. Erik lives in Corvallis, OR and Jared was out visiting Oregon State University to check out a graduate program there. We met up at the Rogue Brewery because we heard that Jay could get free beer there on his birthday. Alas, you had to be a Rogue Nation member and you couldn't sign up the night of your birthday. Lame. We had a bunch of tasty beer anyway and a grand time.

Erik with a king bolete

After a super lazy morning with huge wild mushroom omelettes, we eventually pulled all our rain gear together and headed out for a nice hike. Before we even got to the trail head, we stopped to check out the huge surf from the big storm that pounded Washington and Oregon. The surf was so huge there was a massive amount of sea foam on the beach and in the intertidal. This monumental amount of foam was irresistible to Mike and Jay. I've provided a video, thanks to Erik, of what happened next.

After we pulled ourselves away from the foam, we hit the trail. What a hike! Not only did it rain, it POURED, complete with thunder, lightening, and then, (to make it even more entertaining) hail. But, it didn't matter. We were outside with good friends, relatively dry in our rain gear, and finding mushrooms!

Heceta Head Lighthouse

The next morning Mike and Jennifer broke all the rules of collectors and showed us a hot spot for king boletes. We hit the jackpot! Mushrooming is super fun, especially when you find TONS of these tasty morsels. Here is Mike showing off a biggie.

More photos can be found here: http://picasaweb.google.com/globalscents/November2009#