Thursday, December 30, 2021

Oberg Loop - Mushrooms / Azufrosa and the Hippies

'Tis the season for mushrooms, right?  Must have been, because there were all types springing up, from the forest litter to the fallen tree trunks, as we've seen already in this Minnesota series.

Can't help but remember how funny it was to hear the mushroom stories of my Mexican neighbors in Allende, Coahuila, back in 1980.  One day we were at Azufrosa exploring (between Allende and Villa Unión) when my friend pointed to a mushroom growing at ground level.  He laughed and laughed to think that hippies from the States in the 1960's would come down there and pay good money to collect these guys, which the Mexicans had seen all of their lives and considered to be worthless.  But these campesinos just shook their heads and happily took the money for such a simple chore.

Though I was a bit young to have joined the hippie culture, having been born in 1958, I clearly remember hearing about mushrooms and their psychedelic properties among my older peers.  I couldn't help but laugh with my friend at how ridiculous it must have been for the Mexicans to see these wild-eyed long-hairs making their periodic pilgrimage to this spot for such a purpose.

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