Fungus Among Us!

I went back to the 'Billings Creek' trail Monday afternoon. I had a hunch that there would be a lot of fungi to see.

I was also curious as to whether or not the KVR folks had removed the trail marker on the south end of the trail. They had.

I just wanted to hike out to the spot where the bluffs were and watch the river below. That particular area is perfect for all sorts of fungi.

The climate of the bluffs and the river make for a perfect 'fungi' wonderland.

The panoramic photo really doesn't do this justice, as it makes a rather curvy area take on a flat look. The little bluffs stuck out at angles not shown in the shot below.
However, Charlie and I dumped our stuff there and then took an hour or so to wander around under the trees and explore.

We also sat on the bluff and watched kayakers and canoers on the river below.

Everywhere under the pines there was fungi of all different kinds. The yellow ones stood out on this one bluff.

The new ones emerging looked like this...

I think they are Yellow Fly Agaric Mushrooms. Deadly or hallucinogenic? Well, there are all sorts of opinions about that. These little buggers are notorious for people trying them and ending up in the ER.

I think I will pass.

Here is one I have not seen before. I think it is a Flat topped Coral Mushroom/Fungi.

They were so abundant in one small area that I had to watch my step.

I found beautiful coral fungi in all sorts of stages. The old ones were withered and littered another area, while there were tiny fresh ones popping up all over.

I found Boletes? 

They literally lined areas of the old trail. And in other places they stood out with their brilliant colors. There were older ones all over the forest floor, but I was attracted to the colorful ones.

We took our time. I just had wanted to explore the bluffs and search for cool fungi and I hit the motherload.

It was a fun little jaunt.