Morel Hunting RV Getaway During a Global Pandemic

Before you say it, I put a LOT of planning into how to do a mini RV trip to go hunting for morel mushrooms in my state so that I would be social distancing, safe, and quarantined.

In planning this trip, I considered food, gas, overnight locations, daytime spots, Wi-Fi for both my girls and me to be able to do distance work and distance learning, and water. I will explain how I handled each situation so that if you have a travel trailer, RV or some type of system for sleeping and bathroom use that is self-contained, you can figure out a way to get away safely as well.

But first, a little about my personal history of morel mushroom hunting!

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About six years ago, John came home with a bag of morel mushrooms that a friend had given to him. The friend asked if I would know what to do with them and John replied, “Yep!” And off course when he showed them to me, I had no clue.

I googled them, but was still to afraid to eat them, I mean seriously… have you seen one? they look like alien brains! I will eat just about anything, but this food looked WEIRD!

I’m so sorry to whoever that person was, their gift to us went…. well… it sat for so long while I tried to figure out what to do with them that they went bad. And then I felt really badly myself. After tossing them away, I googled them again, and fell into the rabbit hole of morel mushroom websites and YouTube videos. Fair warning to you if you become interested… it will soon become an obsession!

The next spring we went for a hike in the woods in early spring and kept our eyes to the ground for signs of these alien brains. My home is surrounded by state and national forests, it should be a treasure trove for morel mushrooms, right? Wrong. Apparently my woods is not a hotspot for these coveted treats!

We did find one mushroom that we thought just might be a morel, but when we picked it, I noticed that it was not hollow and the rule of, “If it ain’t hollow.. don’t swallow,” forced us to leave it behind.

Each year afterwards, I researched where to go, learned more about how to locate and identify elm trees (one of the most common trees to find morel mushrooms), and then made plans to go out again. Sadly, each spring for four years brought family medical situations and I wasn’t able to go out and search. Until this year!

I packed up my RV “CeeCee,” the dog, and my ornery teen-aged girls to hit the hotspots located a few hours from home, during a global pandemic no less!

Day One:

I stopped at a location about 45 minutes from my home where John and I had hiked with the girls many years before. The trail had been loaded with ramps (wild onions) and I had hopes of finding some of those as well. Morel mushrooms were my main focus, but ramps are much more plentiful so finding them would make me happy, too!

We hiked down some steep hills listening to the sounds of Kady moaning behind us. She hates hills, and she knew from past hiking experience that each hill we went down meant that we would have to go back up it because this was an “in and out” hike, not a loop.

I got to the area that had been carpeted with ramps years ago and found, well….nothing. Nothing! There were signs of the area having been heavily logged recently and I was left to wonder if that had disturbed the ramps. We hiked back slowly to the louder sounds of Kady complaining.

My second stop was at a recreational area where people had posted morel finds earlier. Did I tell you that there is a morel mushroom sighting map? Oh, yeah! This is some serious stuff! We hiked the flat trail deep into the woods, using my new app to help with identifying the trees. And? Nothing!

I decided to go to the real hotspot (which upon my return I learned was also somewhat of a hotspot for the coronavirus, at least compared to where I lived) and we spent the night at a truck stop. None of us left the camper.

Day Two

I woke up happy, despite my failure of mushroom hunting the day before. I was in CeeCee, and my morning cup of coffee was a quiet and happy one as the girls slept and I sat getting my daily writing completed for the day. Once the girls woke up, we got things put away and I headed to a local state park. Because of the pandemic, state parks in my state were only open for day use. All bathrooms, water supplies, and beaches were closed, but trails were open and I could park CeeCee there during the entire day if I wanted to. And I did.

We found a beautiful spot overlooking the lake and spent a few hours doing school work while connected to the internet through my phone. Once our online work was done for the day, we headed out on the trail in search of my mushrooms!

About 100 steps into the trail, I found myself staring at a tree that might just be the elusive elm tree which favors morels. I took a picture of the leaf and used my new free app “LeafSnap” to identify the tree and…. SCORE! It was an elm! I was as excited as a little kid getting their very first puppy! I hopped around telling the girls that there were elm trees here. They were less enthusiastic.

A few more steps and Alena calmly said, “That was one weird looking mushroom back there!”

“WHERE?” I almost screamed with adrenaline instantly causing my heart to race. “Show me!”

We took a few steps back, and there it was. A real morel! I hopped around with joy, having finally found one! I didn’t care if this would be the only one. Reports online had said this was a terrible season and many morel hunting veterans had come up empty. Kady got out the pocket knife and cut the mushroom from it’s home on the forest floor.

“Is it the real kind?” Kady asked me. We looked at the base of the morel. It was hollow! “Yes,” I responded with excitement. Where there was one, there should be more!

We kept walking, spending about an hour looking around various trees, and getting better at noticing elm trees. We found five more morels. I carried them proudly back to CeeCee and we headed off to our evening home at a local WalMart parking lot, once again never leaving the camper except to take the dog out for bathroom breaks.

Day Three

I woke up happier than I have felt in a long time. CeeCee was working her magic on me. After my morning cups of coffee I forced the girls up and out of bed, I headed to another state recreation area that allowed foraging.

The first parking lot was really small, so I went to the overflow parking area and found a great spot to call home base for the day. Alena didn’t want to hike, and dogs weren’t allowed on these trails, so she stayed back in the camper as Kady and I walked a wetland trail.

I could hear the sound of heavy machinery and wondered what was going on in the middle of the woods. As we got closer to the first pond, I realized that I had been hearing the sound of frogs! Kady was thrilled. We hiked around the second pond, sitting at a bench for awhile as Kady practiced whittling some branches of wood with the pocketknife.

On the way back, we stopped at the first pond and watched dozens of frogs swimming, floating, and living the perfect frog life. Kady gave me her bundle of sticks and the pocketknife to hold as she caught a few of the frogs and spoke to them, telling them how much they would love coming home with us. After much convincing, she gave in and put them back on the ground. We may not have found any morel mushrooms, but we sure enjoyed the hike! If I’m in the area, I would love to go back. It was that beautiful!

We went back to CeeCee, ate some lunch, and then I decided to try one last time before heading for home. Again, Alena wanted to stay in the camper and sleep. Kady and I went on a service road lined with both hardwood and softwood trees. I scanned the ground carefully, hoping to find another morel mushroom. There were ash trees, and then an apple tree, known as another producer of the morel. I stood quietly and scanned the ground… until…. I noticed a small alien brain-like mushroom hidden underneath the leaves. Instantly excited, I carefully brushed away the leaves and sure enough, it was a morel! I quickly cut it from the ground, put it in my bag, and hunched over as if I were on the sneak attack for morels.

Kady was talking and showing me her most recent whittling job when I shushed her…. quoting Elmer Fudd, “Be Vay-wee Vay-wee quiet! We aww hunting mo-well mushwooms!” She had no idea what I was talking about, but I giggled.

I searched for another hour, but this was the only morel of the day. We did find another strange mushroom which I couldn’t identify but was later told it was called a pheasant back, and it was also edible, but not nearly as good as the morel.

Back at the camper, we packed up and headed for home. I felt fulfilled in my mission and would have stayed longer if it weren’t for the anti-do-anything attitudes of my teen-aged girls! That, and the fact that my fresh water tank was almost empty and there were no refilling stations open.

So, with the music turned up loud, I drove us the few hours back home. Once everything was unpacked, I promptly started thinking about both my next RV getaway and my next hike in the woods for more morels… and ramps!

How I Did This Trip Safely

Here are some tips that may help you to plan a safe RV getaway during the global pandemic.

Food

This was probably the easiest part of planning. I was only going to be gone for a couple of nights, so it would be easy to bring all of the food we needed directly from my house to the RV. For longer trips, I could utilize free store pick-ups at either WalMart or a local store by checking online.

Gas

This was another easy thing to plan for my trip. I used typical gas stations and paid from outside as I had done on previous RV trips. The only difference this time was that I used either a glove or a disinfectant wipe to touch the screens and the pump handle.

Once I finished pumping, I immediately tossed out the wipe or glove and used hand sanitizer. Yes, this may be overkill and you wouldn’t be the first person to say this to me. Each of us has to make decisions about what makes us feel as safe as possible, and these are the decisions that I have made.

Overnight Locations – Urban Boondocking

If the term boondocking is new to you, it basically means that you are “camping” without using any hookups for electricity, water, television, or sewer.

BLM Land

There are places in most states where you can boondock for up to 14 days or more without paying a fee on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Do a google search for “BLM land in….” and list the state you are interested in. There will be an extensive list of places for free “dispersed camping” which essentially, is boondocking.

You can also use a variety of other websites to help you locate dispersed camping in your area. Freecampsites is one tool that I have used. I select a spot that looks good and then use google maps or another online mapping system with satellite view to make sure it is accessible to my rig.

WalMart

WalMart is a popular boondocking choice while on the road, but you need to do your homework first to see if a given WalMart will allow overnight parking as many do not. Here is a post I wrote about the websites and apps I use while traveling in my RV.

When you have found a WalMart that will allow overnight parking, there are many basic rules that have allowed WalMarts to continue to permit RV travelers to stay. Call and ask permission or go inside and ask permission when checking out with your purchases. Park out of the way. Do not set up awnings or get out chairs, basically don’t make it look like you are camping. Make a purchase while you are there. Arrive late and leave early.

Gas Stations/Truck Stops

One of my favorite places to park overnight and get some sleep is truck stops/gas stations. I use an app to locate places near my destination and then use google maps to see if the lots are big enough to accommodate me.

There are spots for the truckers to park overnight, and at times I have gone back there. I always park in an area out of the way for the trucks while also being in a spot that they couldn’t use. Truckers are limited by the time that the can legally be on the road each day, and I would hate to take a spot away from them.

I often boondock in the front, sometimes in designated RV parking spots, but also along the edge of the paved area. I try to stay out of the way of people needing to use the gas station and I ask permission before settling in for the night. In the morning, my gas refill is right there!

Daytime Spots

With restrictions on travel due to the coronavirus pandemic, this became a new hurdle for me. State parks in my area are open for day use, but not for camping, and beach areas and toilet facilities are all closed. I purchased my state park sticker online and found a place to park during the day where we could do school work in the morning and go hiking in nature in the afternoon. It worked out really well, and the sites I visited were pretty busy, but everyone was able to practice safe social distancing.

Wi-Fi

Reliable Wi-Fi is always an issue when RVing. Most of the time, I’m not worried if we do not have a signal, but this time we were travelling at a time where both my girls needed to be online to complete schoolwork and so did I.

As we drove into the park, I turned my phone into a hotspot and repeatedly asked the girls, “Do you have a signal?” much like the Verizon commercial of years ago. Luckily, this state park offered a signal strong enough for us to use three devices at the same time to complete our online work. If I had not had a signal, I would have gone back into town and found another area to park for a few hours, possibly at a local public school. I could check their website to see if they were offering free Wi-Fe service in their parking lot as many schools in my state have been doing.

Water

This was by far my biggest challenge. I filled my fresh tank 2/3 full as I usually do when heading out on the road. I like to keep the weight down. Water weighs a lot, so I don’t normally fill the fresh tank all of the way and we are able to get by for three days of heavy use on 2/3 tank.

I forgot one thing. This was the first fill of the trip, and even though I opened up my water heater bypass before we left, it didn’t fill until later. This used up a good portion of my water.

Once on the road, I was out of luck. Luckily, I had brought four gallons of bottled water, but even with that, my fresh tank was empty on our trip home. And so were the water jugs.

With the global pandemic, the state parks have turned off their water sources. I have heard people say that they can fill up at gas stations, but I didn’t go inside to ask. If I go on another trip, which is very likely, I will have to make better arrangements for water to be able to stay on the road longer.

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Once I returned home, I immediately began thinking about planning more trips, maybe checking out some more state parks that I have never seen before and staying relatively close to home compared to previous trips until things feel even more safe to head out on the road for a major adventure!

If you would like to go RVing, here’s everything you need to know!