Well Fall is almost over and I have been on the trail sence september looking for edible mushrooms in the cascade mountains. my success has been rather good for the lil delights. most of my explorations are on Mt Hood and Mt Adams, both extinct volcaneos, perfect habitat for mushroom colonies. here are some examples
Fall king boletes - mt hood oregon
Mt Adams and Takalahk Lake - Washington
king boletus edulis mt adams washington
Large white chanterelle mushroom - Clackamas river drainage
A large matsutake in habitat
Pre fluff matsi in the snow
Lost in a forest - all alone
angel wings feasting off a rotting log, Clackamas drainage
The elusive blue chanterelle mushroom - Clackamas drainage
Another troop of blue chantys
more mushroom habitat with giant trees 8ft wide on the butt
Myself engaged in white water rafting on the white salmon river - Washington
watching the guys go thru a rapid on the white salmon river
Very large white matsutake flag
Cauliflower mushroom and matsutake
A matsutake on a bed of averaged sized hedgehogs - Oregon
older lobster mushrooms
same big hedgehog with a matsi
This is matsi town - where I do my shopping
Myself after finding an old large cauliflower mushroom
This is a recap of the fall events that made my days fun for the time being.I can only hope for better fun next fall.
Well got around to smoking them trout we caught 3 days ago, used alder chips for the smoking. 7 hours smoke time and 2 days soaking the fish in a special brine.
Brine Recipe
2 bottles of Henry Weinhards orange cream soda 2 cups of water 2 pounds of brown sugar 2 cups of sea salt 2 table spoons black pepper 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
and the whole business needed some MSG so I added some Johnnys seasoning salt, some what for coloring. even though, the fish had excellent color to begin with.
It all turned out good and have been sampling pieces here and there, a few chunks need to smoke a bit longer, due to larger chunks and cold spots inside the smoker, all in all, great eats.
Left for a fishing trip and took Joans grand kids to catch some over sized Rainbow Trouts, but first we needed some eats. Ate at the Historic Zig Zag Inn, http://zigzaginn.com/ about 25 miles East of Portland in Zig Zag Oregon and had a square pan pizza. The food and beverages are refreshing here and I visit as often as I can. a link below better describes, what they offer and a bit of history about the 1927 log built eatery.
We then back tracked Highway 26 to a wide spot in the road called BrightWood, Oregon, Here is the Rainbow Trout Farm. http://www.rainbowtroutfarm.com/ A cozy place to bring the family or friends and enjoy the sites of a working Trout Ranch. Unfortunately the place is up for sale, 27 acres, 2 creeks, 1 waterfall and 10 trout ponds, dozens of benches, dozens of BBQ pits, The owners place of residence and a rentable banquet house that would seat 40 folks or more. The whole premises are fully manicured with Rhodes, Douglas Fir, Hemlocks, Cedar and other tree species, for a bargain price of 2.5 million a steal in my book.
Lil Leo here, reels in a nice one, with his Gramma and his younger brother, he is developmentally challenged and loves the attention he is given, by her.
Many a child's memories began here by catching their very first trout, from the creek fed ponds, the creek has been diverted into 10 different ponds of all sizes and the place looks like a park. Joan reported in saying she had many of memories in bringing her kids, now adults and now bringing the grand kids to learn how to fish as well, it is quite the special place to spend half a day. Keep in mind all the fish cost money, so don't catch too many, we brought home 10 trout - cost $150 - all in the 17 inch range from the lunker pond, I hooked 4 fish for the kids and let them try to reel them in. I could not resist to catch one myself, a fine 19 incher about 3 pounds in weight. Joan will custom smoke all the trout in her smoker.
My memories were of the last lake fishing trip I went on, some place, we spent all day and caught nothing, Haha. At least here there is no way in heck to ever get skunked.
Due to the delicate life cycle of mushrooms there are a few things you can do to protect the species in your favorite areas. These few steps may help to sustain your mushroom picking pleasure into the future: 1) Pick only two-thirds of the mushrooms you find. Do not collect mushrooms from previously harvested areas; leave the rest for seed (spores) and food for wildlife. 2) Minimize the impacts to the actual fungus by not disturbing the ground habitat. This means do not use rakes, dogs, pigs or other methods to dig mushrooms. Use rock & twist, pop or cut at or above ground level. Aviod collecting in campgrounds or along trails. You Should not drive on water-saturated or muddy roads.
Use caution, beware of your surroundings, study a map of the terrain you intend to hike in, take a friend along for support and always tell friends where you intend to be, in case you return late.
Be friendly and courteous to other who also use the forest.
If you see illegal activities in the forest, contact the local authorities and report the abuse - DO NOT intervene!
Safety First
Be safety minded; think before doing.
1 - Carry a light "survival kit" with matches, flashlight, map, compass, whistle, and first-aid kit. On extended trips it is wise to carry a shovel, sharp axe and a bucket for water. 2 - Inform someone where you are going and when you plan to return. Make sure your vehicle is in good running condition and take along sufficient gasoline for the trip. 3 - Obey Forest regulations. They are designed for your benefit. 4 - Be careful with fire. 5 - Drive carefully. Forest roads are often narrow, winding, and congested. 6 - A bottle of water and a few snacks, could help save your life in a emergency event, if stranded. 7 - Dont assume your cell phone, will save you, often times the battery goes dead and reception will be intermittent at best in the forst.
Well it got warm out and was supposed to be 90 degrees in the city. We decided to make a dash for the Oregon coast and skip the rat race of red light runners, road ragers and dill heads --- it worked. We drove to near Seaside Oregon but I never stop here - Too many kids and problems, we skipped on down to Cannon Beach Oregon and used their potty house for a break, then hit 101 south and stopped at some view points for pictures.
Here is a shot of the famous haystack rock, just off the beach from Cannon beach Oregon
Here are some other large rocks in the Pacific Ocean surf
Next we headed for a cozy lil town called Manzanita Oregon, not much for traffic headaches and is kinda out of the way for the passerby, makes this place perfect to retreat to and have some peace and quiet, well maybe.... OK this is a pet friendly beach so expect to step in dog shit and horse poooo on the beach and expect Ecoli in the sands from all the fecal matter - so wash you hand 100 times and ware your sunscreen.
We ate a kickin fine burger at the local tavern and was loaded with things a great burger should have, also came with a fist full of napkins cuz it ooosed with flavor.
Next we drove about 5 miles to the Nehalem Bay State Park Iv been going here sence i was about 5 years old, back in the 1970s this was the dungenus crab hot spot for fishing, and have fond memories of coolers and coolers full of fresh boiled crab from this bay, my Gramma and Grandpa Hoard used to dish up, we sorta held family reunions here every late fall or when times of great weather showed up. Now the fishing and crabbing sucks, cant catch any crabs and the salmon are non existant, the last time I crabbed here, we caught 2 crab but had to buy a few more to make a meal -- diffently not like the old days. We quit fishing here after I got pinched hard by a crab and aquired blood poisioning. Doc said it was from polution in the bay - AWW yes them dogs horses and cows poopin in the water.
The bay is pretty and tranquill, but can be mean and rough at times of stormy weather, the weather here can turn on you in a heartbeat, without notice, even in sunny weather.... we visited the old state park and noted a 7 yes counted 7 way to many 7 camp hosts for the camp ground -- good god no wonder Oregons parks are going under, with over run costs like that, its surly a waste of tax dollars, not well spent - I noted the evasive plants in the area are still running rampant and they seem to not care about that issue, so I guess their idea is it costs way too much to remove the scotchbroom plant that is choking out the native plants in the park. OH but theyll pay 7 park host teams the money that should go to pretecting and preserving the park, Geesh they should have atleast one of them hosts out destroying the evasive plants -- God have them earn their keep. was unheard of for me to see so many hosts in one place, might be due to crime, but still.....
OkeyDokey 6/24 left the house at 2pm and finally got on I205 @ 245pm. made it to a small town called Cottage grove oregon for our first tank of gas $4.26 a gallon here. 7 pm made it to canyonville Ore. and 7 feathers indian casino, ate some food downed some liquids and back on I5 at 10pm. drove untill 2 am when I stopped at the Hwy 89 and 299 junctions rest area and said its time for a nap.
6/25 Wednesday 730am about 5 hours sleep and smoke everywhere, fire fighters, trucks, semis, tankers, bulldozers and so much noise, ugh... if I only knew what was next......
9am Subway Cave A lava tube created while a fissure or crack in the ground at Pottatoe butte near Mt Lassen pumped many of miles of yards of molten lava into the Hat Creek valley and left behind this awesome formation. Enter here to subway cave
After entering a look back to see new commers following me
Then the exit amoungst all the break down from a ceiling collaps, making a sky light and a way out.
Just beyond the Hat Creek Valley we encountered more heat more smoke and a pilot car for road repairs near poison lake. Eyes burning, sinuses glogged and we both have headaches.
11am - Made it to Susanville Ca. Diamond mtn indian casino a hole in the ground place, with maybe 200 slots. will never return here it was so not with the other indians program for a casino. ate some food has some liquids and off - out of Susanville Ca. only to hit not 1 but 2 Hwy paving projects in the desert, temps hovered over 100 and visability was less than 1 mile. UGH UGH
1:15 pm and in Reno made it and inside air conditioning, the Eldorado casino, 15 floor, room 1508 and a view of the city -well sorta, nothing but smoke smoke and more smoke, the trip was really begining to suck at this point, showered and cooled off, kicked back and atleast 6 mixed drinks before we left the room, visability only got worse and at best i could see 2 miles across Reno, 15 floors up, I was shocked, what no mtns.
Another days view
We hit up the usual casinos along the strip and didnt win much, ate our free buffet, was fine except the meat department sucked the meats were all too dried out, the ham was like rubber and the roast beef was tuff as raw hide, passed on this buffet 2 months ago and now know why - it sucked . . the Eldorado also had us ropoed into doing a treasure hunt, swipe your card and win --- yep all i won was 7 .00001 cent ink pens, joan got 3 of them, most people just ripped up the winning tickets for the junk they were giving away, I later did the same act.
6/26/08 Thursday
Up at 7am - can see orange glow sun poking thru the smoke, ate breakfast in the Eldorado and was a great meal at $3.99, pancake 2 eggs 2 bacons and hashbrowns, the true american breakfast, oh added chocolate milk for 50 cents more....... Mmm hit the slots and casinos along the strip all day. didnt do much all day but drink and eat and stay inside.
6/27/08 Friday
Now its 11am and need gas to head for Lake Tahoe, saw gas in Reno for $4.09 but got gas in Galena just south of Reno for $4.19 a gallon. stopped half way up the mtn at galena creek, looked like perfect habbitat for mushrooms and seemed moist in the pine and aspen trees, but no mushrooms, at this time, seems i was too late for them. also stopped at Tahoe meadows, a beautiful place to hike and do seasonal things, cornered a park worker and drilled them for mushroom info --- got asparagus and pine nut info instead...... Hmmm
OK we moved on to the view point over looking Lake Tahoe took some pics of smoke and headed for the lake its self.
After farting around the wet areas of the woods in the hills of tahoe, we went to find a beach to sunbath and swim at and here is what i headed for, Sand Harbor State Park, costs 8 bucks to get in but well worth it, for beach fun and live music. The harbor house sells beer and wine for the beach goers and all the snacks for the kiddies, but what got my interests was the champaigne infused slushies for $8.00, strawberry or mango, at near 100 degrees on the beach, this hit the spot baby.
Sand Harbor was just full of people later that day and the sites just kept comming to me.
Finally id had too much sun and needed some shade.
The views around this place is just incredible
Love the rocks
Wanted my private sailboat - maybe next time - anyhow the Hyatt Casino Resort has a nice bitchen catamoran sailboat for their guests .. next time baby
3pm now time to move on, headed for our room and check in at the Lake Side Inn and Casino, in South lake tahoe in State Line NV.
4pm in our room of 253, nice digs, made a few drinks and headed for their pool and hot tub to wash the sweat off from beach going at sand harbor, spent a few hours doin nothing but swim and sunbath at the pool. got cleaned up and went for dinner at the Inns resturant, I always have the same thing every time i visit - their Prime Rib special for $10.50 always good and filling with all the works one would expect for a dinner.
After dinner
We headed for Harveys Casino, loads of action here, has the Hard Rock Cafe store and Sammy Hagars cobo wabo bar and the largest poker room for miles the only winnings i got was here I finally hit 3 red 7s for 450 quarters, about 100 bucks, then I hit another machine that hit 2 tripple diamonds and a single bar for 45 bucks, was a low blow but ill take it. A Oklahoma couple hit a michine for 12k - 6k in cash and 6k in a check, they gave it all back in the 3 days they stayed..... lol I gave up, went back to the room and got baked and fell asleep.
6/28/08 - Saturday
up at 730am a lil hung over, had a bloody mary while we waited for a table and ate. Mmm 2 pancakes 2 eggs, 2 bacons a biscut and hashbrowns for $4.99, what a deal. Morning was awesome over the lake and saw a hot air balloon pass over the lake.
Headed for Reno for the BBQ Brews and Blues event the Brew Brothers at the Eldorado sponcers this event every year and is a happenin thing to see, even in smoke and 100 plus degree heat., the place was packed out.
Ok the videos suck but you get the idea, i tried to convey with my cheap unit.
It was an event id attend once again and hope for better cooler conditions, mass crowds, lots of heat and plenty of beer and BBq ribs and chicken, the atmospere was great.
4pm
Back in Tahoe and guess what, Californias fires have smogged in keep tahoe blue and I cant see a damn thing, really sucks to have to put up with such state incompatance that california cant control. Talked to 2 forest service workers who told me - as a quote - the State sent billions in fire fighters - portable showers, cook stations, laundry stations and tents to the wrong stagging area, 100 miles from any fire, way to go california.... nothing like johnny on the spot...... Reminded me of our last trip to Reno not 2 months ago for spring break and we couldnt get a parking spot in the parking garages cuz of a tax payer fire fighting convention, that obviously did nothing but waste tax dollars and didnt fight any of the up comming fires, most all the state vehicles were of California orgin and the rest were from other states - I tried to calculate the costs and the resoning for all the waste and not getting a parking spot close to my floor... My words and the impact - proves to me the total waste of goverment spending at the Silver Legacy casino - What a low blow.
Kind obvious the 100s who attend the fire seminar learned nothing at the casino last spring when I took this photo, what a waste!
Done with my RANT
OK
Rested up in the room got spruced up and hit the local casino, couldnt get on the machines I wanted to play and fittel farted around, I debated on playing this 1 machine and sat at the wrong chair only to see a lady hit it for 3k and she didnt even know what she won or knew how to play that kind of game - I was so pissed off, I left the small amount of cash in the my machine and split for the room to get drunk, didnt care what few dollars I gave away for free to the next person, point was id been playing it for 2 days and they let some idiot win the jackpot on 5 bucks and not betting all the lines - told me it was time to leave and kiss my ass.
June 29, 08 Sunday
Up at 6am and forced to have my breakfast order taken by someone who cant undstand english or speak it -- no BUTTHEAD I want my Hashbrowns Extra crispy, ill repeat it 4 times for you, make sure you get it right. IM half done with my meal - wheres my milk I ordered.......... Grrrrr So So tired of this anti english speaking nonsence in America, esp in places it is required. so tired of having to repeat myself while placing an order, WHAT , what, What... Grrrrrr Cant be America - cuz - It dont sound like America
After the meal We hit the road and headed for Carson City - Carson $4.11 for gas here.
10:30 am Reno airport on 395 N
makin good time
11:48 Susanville Ca. 98 degrees still full of smoke cant see more than 5 miles anywhere on this hwy. headache, watery eyes, and sinuses are F'd up for the both of us. gas here was high at $4.63
2:50 pm we hit I5 - 365 miles to portland
3:15 pm Yreka Ca. gas $4.63 and 99 degrees out. light smoke out
5:00 pm Ashland and Medford Oregon bad bad smoke, visability back down to 2 miles and really really sucks.
7:00 pm cottage Grove Ore. for ice cream cone
9:00 pm I205 at wilsonville Ore.
9:30 pm Home - still 85 out and had rained and thundered, trees down in the street, tree limbs everywhere, all unloaded and done for..... the trip wasnt near as exciting as I had hoped for.
