Cloudy skies during the morning hours followed by thunderstorms in the afternoon. High 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%..

Thunderstorms during the evening, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 44F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.

Jose and Alfredo Quintero with the puffballs they found on the side of the road driving through Rico. (Photo by Eva Thomas/Telluride Daily Planet)

Jose and Alfredo Quintero with the puffballs they found on the side of the road driving through Rico. (Photo by Eva Thomas/Telluride Daily Planet)

Telluride has seen an abundance of rain this summer, which means an abundance of mushrooms. Locals and visitors venture out into the wilderness to forage for mushrooms when it is not pouring down rain. With the Telluride Mushroom Festival in full swing this week, mushrooms will most definitely be the talk of the town. Popular mushrooms, like boletes, chanterelles, hawk's wing and puffballs, start to grow in July along with the summer rains and can be found in forests between 9,000-11,000 feet.

According to Lucas Boyer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Grand Junction office, 2021 was a stand-out year regarding precipitation in southwest Colorado.

"Last year was considered, by the locals, to have been the best year in a half-century. And strangely, this year seems to be every bit as good," added Dr. Britt A. Bunyard, Telluride Mushroom Festival executive director, as well as founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of the mycology journal “FUNGI.”

The Telluride Mushroom festival, which began on Wednesday, will continue through Sunday. Throughout the schedule, the festival offers multiple organized "forays." A foray is when a group of people go and forage for mushrooms.

The monsoon air, which causes precipitation across western Colorado, is expected to continue at least through the next week, Boyer said. From data gathered in Montrose County, 2021 saw 3.43 inches of rain from June to August. Since June 2022, Montrose County has seen 1.22 inches. Boyer said he would be very surprised if rainfall hit the three-inch mark by the end of August.

Despite the differences in rainfall in 2021 and 2022, Bunyard has been happy with the amount of rain the region has received this summer and the growth of mushrooms.

"There's been a steady amount of precipitation most every day for weeks, which is just what the fungi need. Too little, and there won't be so many mushrooms ... and if there is a lot but all at one time, that can be bad as well. The rains that usually fall, starting about late July, hit this year right on time (and they've continued!) so that the moisture is happening at exactly the right time for all the other proper conditions, including temperatures and timing of season for the trees," said Bunyard.

The prized and sought-after mushrooms in the area are king boletes and chanterelles. King boletes are large mushrooms with a tan-brown cap and thick white stem. Chanterelles are small yellow-and-orange-like fungi. They have a solid base, and their cap is flat on the edges and funnel shaped.

They can be picked, thrown into a stew, frozen or thrown into many tasty dishes. Laurie Lundquist is a local environmental artist and member of the board of trustees for the Telluride Institute. Lundquist said her favorite mushrooms are typically boletes, but this year it has been chanterelles. Lundquist cooks the chanterelles "with toasted pine nuts, butter garlic and a splash of white wine."

"I love to cook and eat mushrooms, but I also savor the experience of walking through the forest, sensing small details of topography, ground conditions and exposure," added Lundquist.

Alfredo and Jose Quintero drove from Arizona to Telluride to attend the mushroom festival. As they drove through Rico, they spotted two giant puffball mushrooms on the side of the road and pulled over to pick them up. The puffballs weighed between five and nine pounds. Although the puffballs were a sight to look at, they were too old to eat, so the Quinteros were planning on taking them to the festival display table.

With afternoon storms projected through the end of August, mushroom enthusiasts will continue to forage even after the festival.

"We are incredibly happy to see the rain after several years of extremely dry conditions," Lundquist said. "Forest health is fantastic this season. We know that the mycelial networks are benefitting from the moisture."

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.