May 8 - Louisville Swamp

Meet at 10:00 AM Saturday at the parking area just past the railroad tracks. Louisville Swamp is a part of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. To reach the foray site from the metro area, drive south on Highway 169 to about halfway between Shakopee and Jordan and on the right side of the highway look for a brown sign saying “Louisville Swamp”. Take the road west to the parking area.

May 15-16 - The Annual MMS Morel Hunt Get Together

MMS kicks off the 2003 foray season with a two day visit to the Whitewater Wildlife Area in southeast Minnesota. We will meet at 11:00 AM Saturday at the church located on the west side of Main Street in downtown Elba, MN. To reach Elba, take Highway 52 south from the metro area to Oronoco. There make a left turn and go straight east on Highway 12 and then Highway 247 to Plainview. From Plainview continue east on Highway 8 and then Highway 30 to Highway 74. There take Highway 74 south to Elba. We will have our usual foray on Saturday and for those who wish to stay over we will meet for dinner at the Elba Inn, time to be determined. We will meet at 8:00 AM Sunday at the Elba Inn for breakfast and start our foray at about 9:30 AM. There are no motels in Elba; however, there is one in nearby St. Charles called White Valley Motel. Rates are very reasonable. Their telephone number is (507) 932-3142. There is also a bed and breakfast in St. Charles called Victorian Lace. Last year the room rates were $85.00 for a double and $55.00 for a single and included a full breakfast. Their number is (507) 932-4496. On your way through Plainview you might check to see if there are any motels available. Rochester and Winona are also fairly close to Elba so you may want to stay overnight in one of those cities. For the more hardy souls, there is camping available at Whitewater State Park which is just south of Elba.

May - The Great Minnesota Morel Festival

This event is being sponsored by the City of Red Wing. It will begin at 8:00 AM on Sunday with a pancake breakfast at the city’s Levee Park in the heart of downtown near the historic St. James Hotel. Club member Kelly Larson will be overseeing the event and based upon her description of the planned activities it should be a lot of fun. Although this is not a MMS event, we do plan on having a booth there to promote our club.

May 22 - Lake Maria State Park

Meet at 10:00 AM Saturday at the picnic area parking lot near the lake. To reach the park, take Interstate 94 north from the metro area to Monticello and follow signs to the park, which is about 8 miles from the Monticello exit.

June 18-20 - St. John’s University

This will be a weekend visit to St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN. The activities will begin on Friday evening. Saturday we will have a foray on the grounds of the university and maybe one of the nearby state parks. Sunday morning we will have breakfast and review our mushroom discoveries and then pack up for the return home. Details regarding this outing will be made available soon.

June 26 - Afton State Park

Meet at 10:00 AM Saturday at the last picnic parking area. To reach the park, take Interstate 94 east from St. Paul to highway 95 and then south on 95 to Highway 20 and then east on 20 to the park entrance.