It really is pretty amazing - there is such mycological accessibility. I ate more species of mushrooms from Berkeley bowl than I had in the entire length of my life previously.
Actually, this cordyceps mushroom, although the most generally interesting, actually provided me with the least amount of content to write about from first hand experience. many of the other mushrooms I purchased should clearly available spores and gills to examine, which will be excellent practice.
So cool, @dber! The North American Mycological Association's national foray is in Salem, Oregon this year, Oct 11-14. Maybe you will be up for another western US trip by then! It should be a great time and place for finding a lot of different mushrooms!
That's a great idea - I'm trying to build up points with southwest, so maybe this would be doable by then!