50 Years Later

50 years after Dad started taking us to Michigan to hunt mushrooms, we took him back to the starting point. Don and Grandpa picked me up at my house at 3:55 A.M. on Friday. After getting Kenny at his house, we lost no time driving north on Rt 127. We hit the woods near Wolverine, Mi. at 10:38 A.M. We had our first finds within 3 minutes.

At noon we were at Silver Lake, a pristine body of water nestled along Peters Road. There we enjoyed pork chops, salad and dessert before hurrying on to our next stop at an old gravel pit. We picked about 5 there and then went to the snowmobile trail and followed my GPS setting to an area that has produced for us in other years. There we picked around 60 in a small area.

We harvested 183 mushrooms in two partial days of hunting. On Saturday, we stopped by the old roadside park, where 50 years ago in May, Grandpa had stopped the car and asked a park worker where to hunt. The man showed Dad a large yellow morel that he had found nearby. We have hunted near that area for the last 50 years.

We had fun, took some pictures, ate at Gobbler's Restaurant and had a wonderful time together.

Going North

It is that time of year. We have decided to go to Northern Michigan once again in search of the morel mushroom. Dad and Mother began the tradition in May, 1958 when I was being carried by Mother. I was born in Nov. of 1958. Somehow, I got hooked on mushroom hunting. They went to an area near Wolverine, Mich., and we continue going to the same woods. Some of the exact area still produce morels in certain years and conditions.

In the 70's, during the great elm die, we found them by the bushel. They are not as plentiful now.

This year, Grandpa is joining me, Uncle Don and Kenny on the trip. We plan to leave Friday morning at 4:00 from my house. I will report on our trip when we return. Yesterday, it was snowing in Wolverine. The weather report calls for 60's and sunny for Fri. and Sat.

See ya when we get back.