The Gator Hunt

Here in Alabama the past two weekends they have held an Alligator Hunting Contest.    The alligator is a protected specie, so it is illegal to hunt or kill alligators, except for these two weekends in August.  The hunt starts at 7:00 PM and runs to 7:00 AM.  So it’s a night hunt.

There are only a certain number of tags and Mandy Stokes drew a tag.  

 On the third day of the hunt this year,  a new record gator was hooked.   The 15 foot, 1,011 pound gator was caught here in Camden, on the Alabama River, just about 2 miles north of us.  Of course it has been the talk of the town.   The five people in the boat said the gator didn’t go down without a fight.  Once the family got some large hooks into it, Mandy aimed her 20 gauge shotgun at the sweet spot behind the alligator’s eyes.  His head ducked under the water and the shot only made him mad.  The gator surged forward and towed the 17 ft boat across the creek at a startling speed.  The towing continued until the boat crashed into a tree stump in the creek.  Eventually Mandy got off another shot.  “This time, water just exploded on all of us.”  This time, she killed the alligator.    There have been all kinds of

“gator stories” about this gator.  Tonight we heard from a reputable source that inside the gator, was a small deer, part of a small cow and several beavers.”  Pretty gory stuff, but thought the hunters in the family might appreciate the talk. 

The previous Alabama record alligator was 14ft 2 inch , 838 pound gator also captured here in Camden on the Alabama River in 2011. 

We have been to see this one.  It is on a special travel rack and it has traveled all over the state to Schools and fairs. 

I wanted to go up to Roland State Park just up the road about 3 miles to see the weighing in and try to see a real alligator, but they said I would have to go up and 7:00 in the evening and just wait until someone brought in a gator and I could have to wait until 2 or 3 in the morning and I didn’t want to see one THAT BAD. 

Mission wise, we had another wonderful trip to the temple with Edward, one of our Branch Members.  He was very hesitant the first time we went and now he is so happy to be able to serve there.  We had 7  members at our Family History class on Thursday.  This time we worked on Indexing and they really have taken to it.  We set a goal of 800 names for the adults in the Branch, but we will more than make that goal.  The youth goal is 150 names and we had our new Beehive at our class and she really liked it so I think we will reach that goal as well. 

We think about you every day and know that you would love to see where it is we live and to meet the people we have grown to love.   We will bring pictures.  They have seen your pictures on our wall and on our fridge, so they are beginning to “know “ you.    We love you and are so grateful for the love and support