Sam Owen Campground, Hope, Idaho

What a great weekend we had for the end of the season!  Skipping Stone Loop was almost full!  The sounds of children playing, and smells of campfires, permeated Sam Owen Campground.  They were all gone by Sunday afternoon.  Sunday was our last camping night but we had no campers.  We closed the gates on Monday.  As I walked down the beach, to pick up for the final time, I thought I saw that someone had left a colorful beach towel on a rock up ahead.   Imagine my disappointment when I found out that it was child-grafitti instead!  I know the group who is responsible.  It was a group of about 3 families (locals from Sandpoint).  Don’t you think someone would have thought, “where are the children going with all those paints?”  Why do people bring paint camping?  I wonder if all the campers will appreciate the artwork?  Actually, I know the answer and we’ll be working all week to try to remove it.  Yep, we needed more work to do.

Rock Grafitti

Okay, well, onto a more pleasant topic… We saw some bighorn sheep, grazing in a meadow, just west of Thompson Falls.  A couple butted heads together but were done before I could snap a picture.  There were a couple little ones with this herd too.

Bighorn Sheep

Now for my Mushroom Expose’…  Maybe our friend, Diane (or anyone else), will help me identify these.  Now, keep in mind, I am not looking for something to eat.  I just think they are interesting.  Some are cute.  Some are really ugly.

Mushroom Village

Don’t those look like little creatures peeking out from around the stump?

Tiny White Mushrooms

Look at these tiny mushrooms!  They are, at most, about an inch tall and somewhat translucent.  It’s like a tiny army marching through the twigs and grass.

Ugly Black Mushroom

HHhhhmmm – maybe ‘mushroom’ isn’t the right term?  Fungus sounds more appropriate for this black blob.  I had to nudge it with my foot to make sure it is attached; probably to a root close to the surface.

Shelf-type Fungus - you can carve this like wood

I wish I remembered the name of this one.  I think it has the word ‘shelf’ in it.  I’ve seen these carved.  They are as hard as wood and they don’t decompose.

Small, Textured, White Mushrooms

Look at the texture of these little mushrooms.  They are probably about 1″ x 1″ in size.  But, instead of a smooth cap, they have little bumps.  I’d think they were puff-balls if they were smooth.