Louisiana III

If you are going to go to Louisiana in September, you better go gator hunting. Scott Broussard lined up an alligator hunt for us today. We were not disappointed. 

Lee, Scott, and Neil all came up to Wyoming last year for our Catholic Cowboy Way retreat. It was fun to get together again. This time on their home turf. 

Scott has connections. Derrick manages this clubhouse on the marsh in south Louisiana. He, and his boy Brooks, were our hunting guides. 

Our water of choice was the Intercostal Waterway. Wild country.

To hunt gator, you set a hook with rotting meat hanging a descent distance above the water. Those gators will come and leap out of the water, swallowing the hook that has a rope on it that is tied to a tree. Derrick set five baits. This one was't taken so we took it down. 

But this one was!

We saw the gator from a distance. Big looking guy. When we pulled up he had limbs broken down and the rope all tangled up. 

Once untangled, Derrick started to real him in. My job was to shoot him when he got to the surface. Mission accomplished. 

We used a .22 and put a bullet in the top of his head when he came to surface. Tough target, all sloshing around and such. Once dead and before we brought him in, a couple more bullets were added to the equation. 

Nice looking gator. Biggest of his season so far, Derrick said. 

This was cool for all of us. It didn't matter who pulled the trigger, this hunt was a team effort. 

Once docked, we off loaded him with a mini-ex. 

So wild. I was a bit indifferent as to whether I got a gator or not. After four unsuccessful traps, we were starting to think we might not get one. Knowing that was a disappointment, I talked to God about this. In my heart I heard Him say, "What do you want?" To which I thought and replied, "I want a gator." Recognizing this desire, I prayed a prayer that we find one. Right then Derrick hollered, "We got one!" All glory to God! 

After we loaded him in the truck, we hauled it to down to Scott's processing plant. 

Mainly a crawfish operation, they do buy and have alligators processed and sell the meat. The big question for all of us was how tall he was. 

10' 3". That's a good sized alligator. They can get up to 14'. 

Then we lowered him into a crate. 

About the only thing that has value on a wild alligator is the meat. The hides aren't of value because they are usually beat up from fighting for survival. 

To cool it down, the guys threw ice in him. 

And loaded the crate with water. 

Thanks, Scott. That was a hunt of a lifetime! The fun thing about it is that it wasn't just for me. This was a team effort and all of us enjoyed the thrill of a big catch. Alligators are becoming a problem in these parts. With the market down because of commercial raised gators, guys aren't spending the time and money to hunt them. Consequently, they are coming further inland and even eating calves when the opportunity arises. If we are going to live in harmony, we have to manage the population of wild game. Thankfully, our successful hunt has the added bonus of providing meat for people. Thanks be to God for a fun time in beautiful country. Let's ranch on! 

Louisiana II

After rounding up the cows yesterday, it was time to work them. 7am, we all met back at the Habetz Ranch to ride out, round up, and run through two different bunches of calves, getting them ready for fall weaning. A fun day was had by all. 

That's one big crew of Catholic Cowboys.

Once loaded up, we headed out.

First up was to gather the bunch we moved yesterday.

And push them through the gate.

That led to the working pens.

After they settled a bit, we pushed them into the corrals. 

Fall conditioning on the calves was our main bit of business. Adam, Josh, David, and Ronald, ran the important jobs. 

Calves look good.

After that bunch was done, we headed out to get the second group of cattle. 

This time they were mostly Brahmans crossed with Angus. 

A little more on the obstinate side, it took all hands on deck to get them moving.

And pushed into the corral. 

Kind of a goofy looking critter, they work well down here because they are fairly heat tolerant. 

We'd grab a group of calves. 

And push them down the alley way.

Good stuff. 

In little time, we were all done and found some shade.

And a cold one.

Then back to the ranch for some shrimp étouffée. 

Awesome. Special thanks to Adam Habetz for having Lee and I out. Keep up the Good work!

Louisiana is the real deal. The caliber of Catholic Cowboys down here is stunningly high. Good ranchers and faithful Christians. Let's take a break for chasing cows and see what the rest on this great state has to offer. On to the next one. 

Lousiana I

Years ago, I crossed paths with some Cajun Catholic Cowboys out of Louisiana while they were in Wyoming for the National High School Rodeo Finals. Ever since then, we've stayed in touch. I always said that some day I was going to go check on them. Well, today was the day.

Once I landed in Lake Charles LA, Lee Kinney picked me up and gave me a quick lay of the land. Then I jumped in with Josh LaVergne and went to move some cows.

At a ranch down the road, they were fixin' to go move some cows.

So they gave me a horse and we got ready to ride.

But first, we had to watch Josh's son ride saddle bronc in Pendleton through the Cowboy Channel.

Then we headed out to the pasture. Plenty of green grass around here. 

Josh and Chris were my riding compadres. 

This is alligator country. See his yes sticking out of the water from the culvert? 

They cows wanted to go to the corner.

Most of them ducked out but a few we had to dig out and get them moving.

Then we bunched up all the pairs. 

Once gathered, we got them moving.

And crossed the highway to another pasture. 

Looks like everybody's done this before. 

Then we went up a gravel road a bit.

And kicked them into a new pasture. 

After all that fun, we went back to Lee's house, where some more family and friends awaited us. This time we had to wait until Mitch's grandson bulldogged in North Dakota.

Then we enjoyed some crawfish étouffée.

Good stuff, all around! Fun start to a little southern vacation. My goal on this trip is to connect all these Catholic Cowboy dots. Looks they are definitely cowboy and the more we visit it is clear that they are deeply Catholic, as well. I look forward to understanding this Cajun Catholic Cowboy culture more during my few days in Louisiana. Let's see what other experiences I can take in.