This year, the Colorado Mycological Society hosts the annual meeting of the North American Mycological Society (NAMA), from August 12-15.  The foray will be held at the same location as the memorable 1983 foray, YMCA of the Rockies Snow Mountain Ranch. It is 80 miles from Denver, 14 past Winter Park and 7 miles before Granby, CO, high on the western slope of the Continental Divide at 8700 ft.  It will be the 50th anniversary of the NAMA foray!

Make plans now to join us August.  You must be a member of either CMS or NAMA to attend, so be sure to pay your dues!  We promise you'll enjoy this special event, which will take the place of the CMS Fair that is normally held in August, but we can't promise that you'll find the tons of chanterelles we found in '83.  That was probably a once in a lifetime event.  But, stranger mycological things have happened.  That's one of the reasons we love fungi, isn't it?  They never fail to keep us guessing!

For more information about the area see these sites: Snow Mountain Ranch, www.skiwinterpark.com, www.winterparkgov.com, or www.winterpark-info.com.  For more information about the Foray, plan to keep checking this page which will be updated frequently as we get further into the mushroom season.  If you would like to volunteer to help with planning, or at the Foray, please contact  NAMA50th@gmail.com.

Click here for the schedule of events. Click here for the talk titles.

Open the registration form. Fill it out (you can type in the form online), print it, and mail it to the address on the form along with your check.

The fee for the foray is $150.00, and in addition, room and board at the YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch ranges from $132 per person for all three days if there are six in a room, to $315 for one in a room. All rooms can sleep six.

1. ROOM AND BOARD AT SNOW MOUNTAIN RANCH

To book lodge rooms and campsites at Snow Mountain Ranch:

Call Snow Mountain Ranch reservations: 800-777-9622 (option 2, then ask for Snow Mt reservations) and be sure to give them our group number: 76175, to get group rates.
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If there are no rooms left:
   - To check if we have any rooms at the ranch because of cancellations - call Linda DeLeon at 303-278-9582
   - If she doesn't have space, you will need to make offsite reservations (below)

Please indicate your needs on the registration form or email us at NAMA50th@gmail.com. We will keep this site updated as we get more information. Tell us if you find a good deal!

The distance from DIA to Winter Park is about 95 miles, and time required is about 2 hours, depending on traffic conditions. MAP and DIRECTIONS

Home James is the only shuttle company with scheduled trips to and from Winter Park.  The current summer schedule (effective June 27, 2010 to Sept. 6, 2010):
     From DIA to Winter Park: 10 AM, 1 PM, and 5 PM.
     From Winter Park to DIA: 7 AM, 10 AM, and 2 PM.

Reservations may be made on the Home James web site, www.ridehj.com, or by calling 1-800-359-7535.
Charge is $65 each way.  See web site for family rates if booked at least 72 hours in advance.

Car rental rates, if booked to pick up at DIA and with a specific company, are quite high, around $70-$80 a day.  The trick is to keep checking until you find a good rate.  Note:  last minute bookings can be very cheap if companies have unbooked cars sitting on their lots (even at the airport). 

I found good rates (on 2-20-10) by searching Kayak (These are off-airport-site rentals, within 10 miles of airport. Other options: 5 miles, 1 mile.  Taxi fare to off-site locations should be less than $50 max.) From the Kayak site, click on the link to Hotwire. Rentals are from $34.10 per day for a total for 6 days of $192.84.  I had checked Hotwire directly just 30 min. before and rate was $61.95 per day, total $415.90.  (I suspect the companies might provide free shuttle service to their lots.)

I continued checking and found another link to Hotwire for rentals ("drive away cost, no hidden charges") within "the next few days" (2-20-10) for $20.95/day.  Link (an ad?) from Expedia site.

Then from the Travelocity site:
"Book with confidence knowing that you’ve gotten the best price out there. That’s because if you find a lower price online for the item you booked with us, we’ll match that lower price. Here’s how it works:
     •     You check online rates and let us know if you find something less expensive
     •     For hotel and vacation packages, you can notify us anytime until the day before you check in
     •     For all other products, you must notify us within 24 hours of booking
     •     We will refund difference in price, plus give you $50 off your future travels"

Talk about cut-throat competition!

So, I think our best advice is to check the above sites frequently until you find a good price.

"Field Mycology: Collecting and Documenting Specimens for Scientific Study" by Michael Kuo – all day Thursday, August 12.

The workshop is full.

NAMA50th@gmail.com