In the mid-1980s I was fortunate enough to have a relative that would take my brother & I into the woods of Missouri's conservation areas to hunt for Morel mushrooms. Grandpa would fetch his hat and mushroom stick, a repurposed broom handle, that both hung on a hook in the garage. After he grabbed an old pillowcase, we would climb into his Chevy truck and head to the "Mushroom Woods".
Always a joker, Grandpa would tell me...
You need to be quiet or you'll scare away all the mushrooms.
Shush, the morels will hear you and they'll hide.
Try not to step on anymore.
By the year 2000 Grandpa was spending the winters out of state and was not back in time to mushroom hunt. I began photographing Morels so that I could tease him via email about what he was missing. Then, as time progressed, it became a way to share the hunt with him. I made the Morels harder to see so that we would have to hunt for them in the pictures. No longer needed, his hat and mushroom stick hung in the garage.
Grandpa passed away in October 2012. The following spring I headed out carrying an old pillowcase, an inherited broom handle mushroom stick, and a heavy heart. Even though I didn't have anyone to share the pictures with, I still took them. As fate would have it, 2013 turned out to be my personal best Morel Season.
In early 2014 CAMOREL.COM was born out of a desire to share the hunt with someone.
I am glad that you found me and I look forward to sharing the hunt again. Welcome.