Mushroom season

I LOVE hunting for mushrooms. I've joined the Oregon Mycological Society which organizes educational presentations along with field trips to study, identify and collect both edible and non-edible mushrooms. This week we went hunting and found lots of lobster mushrooms and some chanterelles.

Chanterelle

Chanterelles and bright orange lobster mushrooms

If once wasn't enough, I went hunting a second time with people I'd met earlier in the week. Today we found king boletes (also known as boletus edulis, porcini, or cèpes.) Yumm!

Quinn, our guide, with king bolete

 We found these gorgeous mushrooms near Mt. Hood, and I was able to get some more postcard photos.

Trillium Lake with Mt. Hood in the background

But even more than hunting for mushrooms, I love living near Rachel and Philippe. Yesterday evening we had dinner together and shared the bounty of my recent hunt.
Life is good.

Columbia River Gorge

I love being retired! I can take off to go sightseeing whenever the spirit moves me. Earlier this week I explored the historic scenic highway along the Columbia Gorge.

Columbia river looking east

With several waterfalls within short hiking distance of the road

Latourell waterfall

 And stunning views of 5 volcanoes from the top of Larch mountain

Mt. Hood

As I returned to Portland at the end of the day, I stopped to enjoy the view from Vista Point where lots of other people were also waiting for sunset. The couple below were part of a crew filming a tourism video.

 They were good photo subjects!

 As were this couple waiting for sunset on top of their car.

Sunset on the Columbia looking west

Mt. Hood

This was the view from my window seat on the flight from Portland to Denver yesterday.
I'll be staying in Colorado until the end of August.

Mt. Hood

Hunting for mushrooms

It's morel season! At least it was two weeks ago when a friend of Rachel's came back with these:

We went out last weekend to the same area hoping to find more of the precious treasures. It was a bright sunny day with a rare view of Mt. Hood.

Wind surfers on the Columbia river with Mt. Hood in the background

 As we neared the target area near the base of Mt. Adams, we found plenty of flowers

Fairy slipper orchid

Huckleberry

Don't know the name of this one

 But we found no mushrooms. :-( 

We came home empty handed, but with lovely memories of a fine hike.

Rachel and Philippe with Mt. Adams in the background