God's Great Outdoors

Guest (Male): Sometimes in life we make plans for our future and think everything is set for our years ahead. Everything is going well and suddenly God changes our direction. Everyone goes through these times. Some of us have this happen more often than others, and some in much more drastic ways.

On today's program, we'll visit with a guest that had his life planned out for him. But then what felt like a disaster hit. God had other plans. When we allow God to work in our lives, we can live with amazing peace. As you move through life, allow God to move you where he chooses. He'll direct your path. Let's join our host now, Dean Hulce, as we explore God's plan on the trail to adventure in God's great outdoors.

Dean Hulce: Welcome to God's Great Outdoors. We're on the trail to adventure in Texas again. We are in Georgetown, just on the northeast side of Austin, and we are with Chris Barton. Chris, good to have you with us.

Your name came from two sources. One just a couple weeks ago, I guess it's a couple months ago now, you were in New Mexico on duck hunt for Blast and Cast Ministries, whom you serve with, and with our grandson Micah. He sent me a text one day and he said, "Here's two guys you have to interview."

So I got a hold of Brody at Blast and Cast. I said, "Brody, you got anybody I should talk to?" Your name came twice, and Joel's name, and also then Lee Johansson. So you were highly recommended, anyhow. It's good to have you and as I mentioned, you work with Blast and Cast Ministry and you're regional staff. Is that what's your position?

Chris Barton: I was actually or am the first regional director for Blast and Cast. I was originally asked to be on the board of directors and went to the first gala shortly after that we have our annual gala. Brody was actually speaking to those in attendance of we need to pray about this position, regional director.

I was thinking about it as he was asking people to pray about it and think about it. Cindy, my wife, was with me and she heard everything. The next day, we're driving home and she looks across at me and she goes, "Why aren't you the regional director?" I said, "Well, I was waiting for some confirmation. I guess you're the confirmation."

Called Brody as we were traveling. I said, "If you want me to step off the board, I'll be more than happy to step into the regional director." At that time, Brody told me they had interviewed 70 people and hadn't found the right connection yet. So I went before the board, the board interviewed me and hired me.

Really my placement on regional director was to form and learn what the regional director would do for Blast and Cast. That has happened and since then recently we just hired our first two other regional directors, one in Florida and one in Central Texas.

Dean Hulce: Whom I'm meeting with on Friday morning, Lee Johansson. I'm excited because Lee told me with the Coast Guard he was in Alaska and we ran a lodge on Kodiak Island. Then he said, "Where in Michigan do you live?" I told him the U.P. He said he was stationed in the U.P. of Michigan at one point too.

When we've talked on the phone, he's bubbly about getting together and talking about where God's brought him through. That's an exciting point, which I'll cover with him, but you guys are opening up Alaska and putting a cabin there. Correct.

Well, I got to tell you quick that when I started with God's Great Outdoors, I had contacted Brody and I said, "Brody, would you be interested in a partnership where I really keep people up on what you're doing, what Blast and Cast is doing, interview the people, and tell me if that would work and if you have finances?"

Because of you, I didn't get that. He said you're welcome to do anything for us, but he said we're just going to put a regional person on like within weeks at that point. So it's really your fault, Chris. I appreciate the sacrifice. God provides. You said you're from Southern Florida originally.

Chris Barton: Originally I was born in Fort Lauderdale. Left Fort Lauderdale at around age 16. I went up to Hawthorne, Florida. I worked on a cattle ranch and actually a concrete company, both of those. I decided that the Lord was telling me I needed some discipline. I was a little wild child.

Went and signed up, and a few weeks later left out of Jacksonville for the Army. Nothing against Lee in the Coast Guard, but I went in the Army. I was in the Army stationed from Fort Bragg all the way over to Europe. I was in fifteen and a half years. There's an odd half year there because I went to flight school for a little bit.

Ended up coming back to the Carolinas in the Charlotte area and ran recruiting stations for the Army for about the last seven years of my tour. I got out in 1995. That's what took me from Florida where I grew up to the Carolinas. Met my wife Cindy in the Carolinas and really the Carolinas is where the Lord got a hold of me.

What had happened is I grew up with a single mother who was just trying to live and make it on her own, so I had no guidance. That's why the Lord had to get a hold of me. She was trying to live and do all that. I was on my own since I was about 16 pretty much.

So I was almost my own God. Anything I needed I could get. I was a good hustler, so I was able to make money, do whatever I needed. My son now calls me a chameleon because I could fit in wherever I was at.

Dean Hulce: That's okay, Paul could do the same thing in the Bible.

Chris Barton: I did that for quite some time and got by that way. Met my wife, we got married, Cindy. Shortly after that she came down with cancer. That was probably the first thing that I wasn't able to control.

I went down on my knees one evening just prayed to the Lord. It actually I think it was a Saturday evening because next day we were in church. Had an altar call, went up there because I'd already been praying about it. I was trying to make a deal with the Lord. "Lord, you've got me if you save her for me." Which is funny because I was trying to make a deal with him.

Well, you got the better part of the deal. I got the better part of the deal. Fast forward 36 years later and I'm still married. But what it also taught me was I had to rely on him and not myself.

At that point, I turned over everything to him and I've been following his prompting ever since through the Holy Spirit and what he'd have me to do. Really my whole life has been geared toward that, my adult life. There's multiple God stories in how I ended up in Texas with Blast and Cast.

Dean Hulce: Well, we'll get to those too. Before we do that, we're going to take a break just so we don't have to take a break once we get into that. Our producer's going to come on and share who it is that makes the show possible and also remind people that we are seeing we didn't get the Blast and Cast endorsement. We've got to get other donors on board, but then we'll be right back with God's Great Outdoors on the trail to adventure.

Guest (Male): For over 30 years, God's Great Outdoors Trail to Adventure has been broadcast out to win men and women, boys and girls to Jesus Christ. This is only possible by the generosity of our listeners. Thank you to all who have supported us in the past. God has blessed us because of you, and we pray for you to feel his blessings as well.

Additional underwriting support has been provided by Matthews Archery, the leader in the archery industry. Mission Archery with revolutionary crossbow technology. Hunter Safety Systems, saving lives is what we do.

Center Shot Ministries, hit the mark with Center Shot. Wheelchair Whitetails, guided whitetail deer hunts for wheelchair-bound disabled hunters. And Hodgdon Powder Company, the gunpowder people, delivering reliable performance and precision you can trust every time.

God's Great Outdoors has produced many ministry tools, including tracts, DVDs, and books to help you reach others for Jesus Christ. You can access these items, other God's Great Outdoors items, and so much more at our website, godsgreatoutdoors.org. That's godsgreatoutdoors.org.

Dean Hulce: Welcome back to God's Great Outdoors on the trail to adventure in Georgetown, Texas. We are with Chris Barton and Chris is a regional director for Blast and Cast Ministries. I should say we've had two years ago we had Brody Cooper and Robin Purdy both in the same day and that was before Robin's wife had passed away. He was going through some pretty trying times, but I'll tell you what, I don't know if I've ever heard anybody that handled it better.

We got to interview those guys and I've known them both for several years. Just this year, two weeks ago, I interviewed Mark Street. That was really a pleasure. Mark's got a great testimony and I've been talking for three years to try to get Mark and it just never really worked out.

It did finally work out, but I had to drive through Houston traffic to get there. There's no place worse than Houston traffic. Luckily I got my wife with me and she doesn't trust my driving, so she's happy to jump in there.

Blast and Cast has been a good part of the God's Great Outdoors stories with it. I made a joke before of financing, but it really has been. Blast and Cast is growing like crazy and really impacting so many people. I love Brody's heart for why he's doing it. His testimony with losing his brother and everything was amazing and how God's used him. He's brought the right people around and is making a big difference.

Tell us the story from meeting Cindy and I'm assuming obviously she's doing well. And Linda and I have been through with Linda alongside of me when the doctor sits you down and says you have cancer. Cancer sure sounds different when it's attached to your name or your wife's name. Tell us where you went from there to how to where we're at now.

Chris Barton: I always call it when are you going to get kicked in the teeth? At some point you're going to get kicked in the teeth and that's when you need the Lord the most. Shortly after that, we were actually once I got out of the military and one of the reasons I got out of the military also was to stay in the Carolinas for treatment and all that for her.

Actually I always had a passion for building and doing development, so I became a real estate developer. Was a real estate developer for 10-12 years before the 2008 crash. Very successful at it. Worldly standards we were at the top of the hill.

The crash happened in 2008 and the blessing is that we, including Cindy, we had already given everything over to the Lord. So we basically lost everything in the crash, but it was not ours. We started rebuilding, started another construction company called Joshua.

We thought that was fitting because right in the middle of a real estate crash, the Lord tells us start a construction company. He tore down the walls. I don't know if you want a construction company called that in that way, but we were actually at the house in two different rooms. We had a nice big show house that we used for ministry also, but we were in that house in two different rooms and Hurricane Harvey hit Texas.

Both of us were watching the news and was watching all the devastation. We came out of the room, got back together, and both said, "I think the Lord wants us to go down and help these people." So I made a couple of phone calls. Had a friend who's actually on the board of directors for a national ministry.

Called him and said, "How can we help?" Next thing I know the next day I was at their headquarters talking to a couple people. They flew me down to Texas and asked me if I would help start their manufactured home program for them.

Which was not in my wheelhouse. I was a custom builder. But the God story before that is six months before that I had set a modular home, so I knew all the terminology. So I was given a budget and asked to help so many people. I think it was 225 somewhere in there. So me and Cindy went and started that program. That put us down in Texas.

Halfway through that a year and a half after we started, they asked us to go to La Grange, Texas and build a subdivision called Hope Hill. We went there and we developed the subdivision for them and it was for those that had got flooded out from Hurricane Harvey because the Colorado River right there makes a big sharp 90-degree bend in La Grange and it had rose about 54 foot.

Washed out a bunch of people. We finished that project for them, probably about another year and a half and got out of working for that ministry. I'm an avid elk hunter. Love mule deer and all that up in Colorado.

I was just praying to the Lord and said, "Lord, you know I love doing ministry work, I love doing your work, but I also love to hunt." course I ran down the guiding, I ran down all those ideas and figured out they didn't pay real well. Okay well I got to figure out something.

Got on the internet, found Blast and Cast and called and left a message for Brody. It only took Brody three or four weeks to get back to me. He actually called and apologized because it got lost in the shuffle.

So we talked and the funny thing is we arranged a meeting. As I'm driving over to meet him, I'm probably 10 minutes from the location and my wife calls me and we have a major water leak at the house. So I called Brody and I said, "I got to turn around." Brody was like, "Well, let's just take a couple minutes since you're right here." I said, "Yeah," I said, "That was not going to get me that good."

Went in there and we met, had a real good meeting. Fast forward and now I'm working for Blast and Cast and been working on fourth year.

Dean Hulce: It's funny how Satan tries to trip us up and he could have just turned you around and they may have found somebody else. But God's got a plan in it. There's so many things that in my life and Linda's life that we can look back and think if we'd have done this differently, we would have missed out.

We always describe our life as a big pinball machine where God shoots us across and we think we're landing someplace where it's going to be this is forever type thing. Before you know it, he shoots us across to another bumper. When we look back, I'm sure you do the same thing, everything you look back on your life, you can see where God's brought you to where you're at. Tell about the call of the ministry, how you knew.

Chris Barton: It was actually on one of my trips that I've been elk hunting every year out in Colorado. I was driving out, and it's a funny story. I was going through Kansas, so I'm coming out of the Carolinas going through Kansas, headed over to Colorado. In Kansas, those roads are just straight, straight, straight.

As I'm driving, it's a four-lane, two each way, and one side's closed and they have all these arrows pointing straight ahead and telling me stay in my lane, stay in my lane. I remember those signs and as I'm driving the Holy Spirit said, "That's me." I kind of tucked that away.

I get up in the mountains. You know up in the mountains you've been elk hunting, you get the old curvy road signs. Same trip I see that curvy sign and the Lord says, "That's you." Thought about it and I was like, "Okay." The more I drove, he kind of put the two signs together in my mind and said, "I've always been the straight way. I'm the way. And you're that curvy road and you go away from me and you come back to me. You go away from me and you come back to me."

I was like, "Lord, I want to be on line with you." He said, "That's really not going to happen. You'll get closer. Your curves won't be so far." I knew at that point that as he's talking to me I knew I wanted to do the ministry.

I had also been involved in some other ministry for security for a mega church. I did that for 20 some odd years. I really wanted to do that and then after going down to Texas for Hurricane Harvey and being the program manager, I was able to really interact with the survivors and lead, well I didn't lead them the Lord led them but he used me to help out to accept Christ.

That was just so heart-filling that I've always wanted to be in ministry since. You can have the worldly stuff, been there done that, it doesn't fill the void. The ministry does. So that's how I knew I wanted to be in ministry.

Dean Hulce: Then from there the calling at the meeting or at the gala when Brody was speaking about putting on a regional person?

Chris Barton: It was actually funny. The ministry that we were working for, Brody's presentation was built around the gentleman that had started that ministry and his quotes and all that. So he hit home with us because we were in that ministry and so it was just a fulfillment of what I felt the Lord was doing.

Really doing this position, I just felt as that Brody was talking to me and Cindy confirmed it and really felt that's what I need to do. Our gift has always been me and Cindy to start businesses and start new things. This regional position wasn't in place yet to be able to step in and help develop it. Now we have really two really good hires that I'm looking forward to working with them.

Dean Hulce: And Joel came on recently as well. In the last few months I think, new ops director. I think that he's got a heart that's going to help drive some things as well.

Chris Barton: Joel is just a good man. I was actually on part of his hiring board and he leads humbly, which I appreciate. He's very humble, comes across very humble, a good guy and a good leader by example.

Dean Hulce: It's exciting to me because I was here six, seven years ago and I had never heard of Blast and Cast to be honest with you. I think it was Brody, somebody, either Brody saw my writings online or somebody else had told him and he called and said, "Hey could you come to Rockport?" I didn't know where Rockport was.

I looked it up and we talked about it. If somebody calls me and says, "Hey could you come do this?" and I'm available, I figure that's God's calling. So we came down and did that. To have that connection with a ministry that's really, some people would look at it and say just a bunch of guys playing, but it has very little to do with the fishing.

It has to do with leading men and women too, but more men. It's more of a men's ministry leading people to Christ. We just saw that, you just saw that. Maybe you could share quick what happened. We got a couple minutes left, but share what happened in New Mexico just recently.

Chris Barton: Sure. So we had a New Mexico duck hunt on the San Juan River. The evening of Friday evening we were part of our events usually three days. Usually we do a little hunting and have a little devotion Friday evening.

During that devotion there was a young man there that was in my group of four or five guys and he was really questioning. We were going around just talking and he was very honest and very forthright and said, "I hear what you're saying but I don't really understand."

Took some time and talked to him and just was so happy that he had those questions that he was brave enough to ask. We were talking and I just asked him after we got done explaining everything, "The Lord's here for you. If you would like to receive him I'm more than happy to pray with you to receive Christ. But I want you to wait. I want you to think about it tonight and we'll talk tomorrow."

Tomorrow came and there was five of us that were in my group. He actually rode out there with me and we drove to the location that we're going to go hunt and went down probably about a mile and a half, felt like two miles, walked down to the water carrying everything.

We get all set up and we're on the San Juan River and we're in four batches of men. I'm on the far right and I'm calling the ducks as they come in. He's on the far left. As I'm sitting there, we just got settled in, freezing cold. I'm trying to get warm and the Holy Spirit says, "You need to go down and pray with him."

I was like, "Can I just wait till I get back in the truck?" I said, "He's riding with me. I'll just wait till we get back in the truck." Spirit said no, wouldn't leave me alone. Said, "You need to go down there."

Literally I didn't even take my rifle, my shotgun, I left it sitting right there. Jumped in the river and I go walking down. Funny thing is I passed two of the guys that were with us and didn't know it at the time but they fell in right behind me and I got down to that young man. He actually came out of the blind and met me in the water.

I just asked him, I said, "Did you think about what we talked about?" Big smile on his face. He said, "Yeah." I said, "You want to pray to receive the Lord?" He said, "Yeah." I said, "Would you like me to lead you?" He said, "Yeah."

Put my arm around him and led him in the salvation prayer and he accepted the Christ right there in knee-high water on the side of the San Juan River. Funny thing is there's a beautiful picture going around of me and him we were praying.

As we lifted our heads up, it looks like I have paparazzi because these two guys have their phones out, they're taking pictures. It was a great moment for him, it captured it for him, something he'll always remember. To this day I still check in with him about every week or every couple weeks. He is getting mentored at that location. One thing about Blast and Cast is we're more evangelistic. We're trying to get those saved, but then we also have relationships in the area that we can refer them to a church or something like that in the area for discipleship.

Dean Hulce: I was kind of hearing that story minute by minute. Micah was texting me through all that and he was so excited when he told me someone in the duck blind just came to Christ. He had told us the night before that there was a really good discussion and said that was the best part of the hunt. He really enjoyed that trip with you guys.

It was a lot smaller group than normal because of a blizzard that went through and really was nothing compared to the blizzard that just went on up at our house at home, but it was still a bad one. Listen, we're out of time for the radio program and I really appreciate it.

I think that as believers, we have a responsibility to look for every opportunity that God gives us. We can bypass them, but God's going to get his work done with or without us and we're the ones that miss out on the blessings. I appreciate all you've done and all Blast and Cast has done.

We're going to go on. I want to talk some elk hunting in a podcast portion and some of your experiences out there because I have a lot of similar things. But for right now we're going to sign off. Thank you for joining us. If our listeners can get on the podcast, please follow us there and if not please join us every week as we head down the trail to adventure in God's great outdoors.

Guest (Male): For over 30 years, God's Great Outdoors Trail to Adventure has been broadcast out to win men and women, boys and girls to Jesus Christ. This is only possible by the generosity of our listeners. Thank you to all who have supported us in the past. God has blessed us because of you, and we pray for you to feel his blessings as well.

Additional underwriting support has been provided by Matthews Archery, the leader in the archery industry. Mission Archery with revolutionary crossbow technology. Hunter Safety Systems, saving lives is what we do.

Center Shot Ministries, hit the mark with Center Shot. Wheelchair Whitetails, guided whitetail deer hunts for wheelchair-bound disabled hunters. And Hodgdon Powder Company, the gunpowder people, delivering reliable performance and precision you can trust every time.

God's Great Outdoors has produced many ministry tools, including tracts, DVDs, and books to help you reach others for Jesus Christ. You can access these items, other God's Great Outdoors items, and so much more at our website, godsgreatoutdoors.org. That's godsgreatoutdoors.org.

Dean Hulce: Welcome back to the Trail to Adventure podcast. We are here in Georgetown, Texas, just north of Austin, and we're with Chris Barton with Blast and Cast Ministries. We've been talking about Blast and Cast and we really didn't talk any of the fishing that goes on really.

We talked a little bit about duck hunting, but you did mention that you have a real passion for elk hunting. Have you mostly hunted around the Telluride area, is that what you said? Area 70.

Chris Barton: Area 70. I'm going actually usually second season, which is rifle season. The reason being the camp that I own with seven other guys, a lot of them are coming from outside the area, as far away as the Carolinas and Texas and all that. They want a combined season. So until recently, the second season was the only combined season. They changed that two years ago, so now the area that we're in first season has both.

Dean Hulce: Yeah, that frustrated a lot of hunters for a while to go where if you wanted the combined you couldn't be there for the earliest. There's still a little bit of bugling going on, a little more early the first season than the second, but it did change it a lot. You talked about your passion for it and how you're really a meat hunter and you take what God gives you, if it's got antlers or if it doesn't.

My dad was a builder and loved to build and he was very good at it, he was very sought after. He also loved to elk hunt, so as you were talking I could associate with all of it. He hunted for 50 some years in Colorado. He went to Idaho once, he killed his best bull in Idaho actually, but he bow hunted only for elk in Colorado and he loved it.

You've got a print on your wall that is a mixture of black timber, looks like the edge of black timber and into an aspen stand. I can see it in my mind literally. I've been on a hundred hunts like that. We hunted one of the best ranches in the world for elk.

But it doesn't matter, being in the mountains, you're there a little after most of the leaves are down when you're there, but there's something about being in the mountains. We're higher up in the mountains and it feels like we're closer to God. We're really not because God's all around. But you do feel that way when you're there.

Chris Barton: Definitely. When I first started going, they used to have the old cameras where you would roll the film. I think I went through 15 of those just taking scenery pictures and being up there in the mountains and the air and hearing the bird's wings as they fly by you and just the crisp air and no sound other than the wildlife around you. Yeah, you just can't beat it. If you can't find God in that situation, you might as well go toes up.

Dean Hulce: I just as you were talking it's funny how I write a devotional every day and hopefully our listeners if you haven't signed up for that go to the website and get a daily devotional. I remember one time sitting up on this big knob and it was called Cold Butte. It was just a big knob on the back end of a property.

It was hot in the middle of the day. It was too far to go back to camp so we decided that we're going to wait it out. So we're sitting up high and I remember a golden eagle flying right below my feet, probably 15 feet away, just soaring back and forth around this knob, catching the updrafts there.

But he just soared there and that just impressed me so much that I said I'll never forget that. Haven't thought of it in a while, but as you talk about hearing the bird's wings and there's so much things in the mountains that just seem to wake up your senses towards God. You've gotten to take some elk and got those experiences, but that's really secondary. Does Cindy ever go out with you?

Chris Barton: No, she's not a hunter. I think her roughing it would probably be Holiday Inn or Hilton. No, she's always supported me in going. She likes the new me when I come back. So she's always supported me in that but she's not.

It's funny you talking about birds. They bring back a memory of mine that do you remember the little gray birds up in the mountain they used to call Camp Robbers?

Dean Hulce: Whiskey Jacks, Camp Robbers.

Chris Barton: So we're pretty high up on the mountain and the good thing about elk hunting is you can come together with your friends. So we're out morning hunt, we meet back for lunch and we're sitting on this fallen log, fallen tree, me and my buddy Russ.

We start talking and that little gray bird comes flying over to us and literally landed on the tree next to us and just sitting there looking at us. So Russ takes out a handkerchief he had tied around his neck earlier and he goes, "Watch this." He makes a little tablecloth.

Then he pulls out a thing of nuts and peanuts and all that little snack and he starts laying them out. Don't you know that bird comes over and lays down or stands on the napkin and starts eating like he's prepared table for him. Just made me an off story just I remember that bird as soon as you said that.

Dean Hulce: We used to, when you were butchering, they somehow they knew when you might not see one all day long. You get an elk on the ground they're right there. But I remember my dad would hold a piece up in his hands and they'd come take it right out of your hands. Not afraid of you at all. Yeah, there's so many things there you don't see anyplace else.

I was just down at the Mariposa Ranch, you familiar with that down we were down there and I guided a turkey hunt for some friends. But the animals there were like the animals in the mountains because a lot of times in if an elk smells you he's gone, but if he sees you he might hang around and watch you for a while.

If he hears you they just lots of times they just think it's elk walking. Well that's the way the animals were on Mariposa. There's not much pressure evidently. And that's one thing I loved about the mountains is I'd go out every morning.

If I didn't have hunters, I was out every morning photographing elk because the place we were at when the rut was going the elk were coming up out of the bottoms in the mornings. If we didn't have hunters I was just up just loved to sit there and watch the sun come up, listen to the birds and listen to the elk bugle.

I could get four or five 6x6 bulls. It was really not it was fair chase hunting obviously. But it's something that everybody ought to experience that kind of hunting back you saw the old outdoor life pictures 40 years ago of these big herds of elk and that's what it was like and it was an amazing experience. You have any good elk stories?

Chris Barton: I've got a bunch of them. The neat thing about the area that we hunt is actually mountain to the canyon. Depending on where the migration is when we get out there because that second season is kind of it's not too cold, it's not too you know that issue. Had a good storm to push them down.

So we're always searching for them whether where they're at in their migration down toward because they'll hit the canyons and go down into the flats for the winter. Probably my stories I love the most is catching that migration when you have a herd coming by instead of one or two you have a herd coming by and you're kind of checking them out trying to see if I can maneuver around to get around this thing.

But just the beauty of them coming through and one thing that took me a while to realize coming out of the Carolinas and Florida is hunting whitetail is totally different than the elk and I mean you can actually feel the elk coming. Ground moves it moves.

Dean Hulce: And you can smell them for sure.

Chris Barton: Probably one of my favorite ones is from my first elk where I was going across a ridgetop. Everybody had kept telling me about wallows, wallows, wallows. So I'm like okay so I'm walking and I come across a wallow, first time I seen one. I'm like oh okay now I know what everybody's talking about.

It was right on top of a ridge and then I went a little farther and there's another little saddle. And as I'm approaching it's still the first thing in the morning so the fog's still lifting up. It looks like a ghost of a elk in the fog in front of me and I'm like did I just see what I thought I saw?

So I eased up to the edge of this saddle, actually I crawled up to it and I looked over and sure enough there was a I think that one was a 6x5 was in the bottom on another wallow. He had cows around him and he was just in charge. He literally walked down to the other side of the ridge I was on, turned around, posed at me so I could shoot him.

And I did. And went over and but that was the beauty of seeing him with the fog and the actually the sun was behind me shining off him also was just one of the big big especially for my first second one so really big.

Dean Hulce: Reminded me of took a gentleman bow hunting one year and he killed a bull after he hunted with us about 10 days. And he drew a rifle tag the next year and he was the only hunter on 83,000 acres of private. First thing in the morning the very first day of season it was really foggy on the side of the mountain.

And we had a bull bugling down below us and there was cows calling and you couldn't see any of them but they were close. I mean all of a sudden you'd see just one kind of materialize and the fog would move a little bit and they were 20-30 yards away these cows and they'd disappear again.

And your heart's beating, I mean you're just waiting for that and your heart's beating. And the bugle's coming closer and you're looking and thinking okay hopefully the cows don't smell us. And this bull and the guy should have killed him he was just a 5x6 but he was huge.

He was an old bull and he had actually gone downhill some. We actually shot him a year later. This guy passes him up. He comes out at 20 yards, tremendous mass, really and he just comes in out of the fog. And it looked like a movie. It looked like now you'd look at it as AI.

Just came out of the fog and he stood there and bugled right in our face and the guy said "it's too early I'm going to let him go." Well he ended up being I think he scored like 315-320 inches which for the area we were at wasn't huge but he was really at that the next year just a 5x5 which for a 5x5 is big. But I just remember that bull just materializing out of the out of the fog and then it enveloped again and he was gone. Yeah the mountains if people haven't been there you got to see it once.

Chris Barton: I've got a story where I'm walking down from that mountain I'm telling you about there's it drops into that canyon and in the afternoon I used to always like to go walk the edge of the canyon. Catch the elk coming out of the canyon.

I get to the very end where it's time for me to turn around and get head back in. And the sun was beautiful sunset so I sat down against the cedar tree I think it was a cedar. Anyways had it on my back and so the canyon is directly behind me and I'm looking at the sunset.

As I'm sitting there you know the feeling you get that something's watching me. I peek around that cedar and there's a beautiful I think he was a 6x6 stepped out and he was right there and the sun was shining on him and it reminded me of the old insurance commercial with the Hartford Stag.

I looked at it and I was like oh so I slid back around the tree and got everything ready and then rolled around and placed one on his staring right at me placed one on his front shoulders and he disappeared. So I started heading over to see if you know wait a little bit and then head over see if there was a blood trail.

Literally he was on the side of the canyon when I shot him and it knocked him back a little bit and he was probably about 10 foot over the edge. I'm looking at him going how am I going to get this thing off because it was it was steep.

So I was hunting with another gentleman and he came over and at that time you could ride your ATVs right up to the to the kill to the elk. So he rides up to me and he says "I heard you shoot." I said yeah I said "I got a little predicament." He said "what you got?"

So we walk over and I show him that elk and we're not sure why it's on the side of the hill because I mean it's steep. Then I start noticing his horns when he spun are dug in and he's piled up on the horns. And the only thing keeping him from rolling over is the horns are underneath him.

So we get the ATV strapped me off and I go down my old Army repelling. I go down the side and literally at that time it was actually my uncle that was with me I would tell him he'd say "unstick" so I would literally pull the horns out he'd pull them two or three feet I'd stick them back in.

And I'd straddle it and then I'd pull it up and we just walked it up that incline to get them up on top but if not that that elk would have been gone he would have been down the canyon but yeah I remember that story that was that was interesting.

Dean Hulce: I had a guy was guiding one year and he came in at dark and he said "I shot a bull up on the side of the hill behind camp a little ways" and it was a 5x5 two-year-old raghorn. But for him it was a trophy any elk's trophy.

That was a rifle hunt. So we went up and we walked up the mountain where he said it was and we got up there and it had fallen on some I think it was probably mountain mahogany but it had hung up over the side straight down. So I skinned and quartered it hung up over there?

Yeah so I go out in the morning and the daylight and I look up and if we'd have given the thing one push it would have rolled right onto the road about 100 yards below. And I thought man we hung on by our toenails there and yeah there's so many good memories of of the mountains and it's such a blessing.

And when we started in Colorado on the last ranch we were on on Cielavista, my brother and I had taken and a friend had taken chainsaws and we went up and we built little some log benches. And then we took some logs and we split them we stood them upright and split them made it so you could lay a Bible on it.

And we would take people up and pastors up and just let them just stand sit up there. And I could sit up on the mountain for hours and just watch out over and there's some of the prettiest sunsets and things we've noticed is depending on what the cloud cover is it'll change every minute or two the colors change and the majesty and God's glory in the mountains is like nowhere else.

Yeah you get that somewhat on the duck marsh or it's but it's a different feeling when you're above everything looking down and it is an amazing feeling.

Chris Barton: Yeah we last year had the privilege of hunting with a good friend of mine for many years and he passed away quickly. So last year we actually took and made a rock monument had it engraved and those of us in camp took it up on the mountain and found him his favorite hunting spot and that monument's up there right now so yeah it's just so special place.

Dean Hulce: Well it is and God's given us that and it's funny because when I think of the mountains I think of my dad told me one time he said "you know we we grow in the valleys." He said "we go to the mountains but we can't stay on the mountains. Because when we stay on the mountain we're removed from everything else. And we're removed from the work that God's got for us."

But you go to the top of the mountain there's not much soil, there's not much rainfall because it runs off quick if it does. But when we go through the valleys we've got if you look at the lushness of the valleys in the mountains and I remember my dad saying that and it's true.

If we stay all our time on the mountains I remember my dad just telling me that about you can't grow on the mountain. You can grow for a while, I think spiritually we can grow. But if we don't bring back that down to the to the valleys and to the people where we're called to serve, we lose we lose it.

Chris Barton: Well if you and if you don't have the valleys you don't appreciate the mountaintops. Absolutely.

Dean Hulce: Talking with our grandson Micah that was he loves the mountains and he loves ranching. As you said you worked on a ranch he's wants to see where God's calling him. I said one of the problems with living in the mountains when it becomes work and as compared to going for a few weeks every year there's something about waiting all year to go to the mountains because you that's it's like Christmas morning for a five-year-old.

And you can't wait to get there and you go up there but there's times where it's time to go home. If you live in it all the time and you work it's just not the same thing for you. For some people it is. But I I love the anticipation the thought of when you you came across Kansas, I would come across sometimes Kansas we'd take 70.

Usually we come across 80 and cut down highway 76 into Denver. And that first view of the mountains just the silhouette of the mountains and and your heart would jump and it was it was something special.

Chris Barton: You see it way off. Yeah I miss that. If you came across 70 your first view is almost Pikes Peak. Well so I have family in Colorado Springs so we'd always go to Colorado Springs they live under the under the peak. Yeah it's pretty amazing. Actually the Garden of the Gods you can see Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak.

Dean Hulce: We went through there many times. Linda always wanted to live there's a there's an exit for a road there just on north side of Colorado Springs I think it's called Happy Canyon Road. And Linda always want to say that's where I want to live is Happy Canyon Road. Of course it's all city now so it's not the same as it was back in that day.

Well thank you for our thank you for the time and for the the memories and and the and the ministry life that you're living and it's a big life change from from where you started and how God how amazing it is that God uses us. But anything else you want to share?

Chris Barton: No, I think we're good.

Dean Hulce: Okay well it's been a lot of fun and it's a lot of memories that for me and I don't know that I'll get back to the mountains. I I would like to someday if God allows it I'll I'll go do that. It's there's something about just being there, shooting or not shooting.

It's worth being there and I would I would challenge our listeners if you've never been, try to find a way to get there because you'll you'll never forget it. Unfortunately as elk hunters I remember my brother telling his wife, "just let me go one time. I just want to go one time."

And then he went every year and ended up guiding out there every fall and living there through the falls and so it is an addiction as well. I tell them come with us. There you go. Well thank you again for joining us.

And thank you to our listeners for for joining us on the Trail to Adventure podcast and God's Great Outdoors radio and we'd love to have you have you join in every week with us as we share these stories and experiences and and God sightings and the way that God works. And if if you have a desire to partner with us we would appreciate that as well. Join us every week as we head down the Trail to Adventure in God's great outdoors.

Guest (Male): We can find rest in God. As life throws us curves from time to time, we can be shaken if we trust our own strength. If we allow God to move us where and when he wants to, our lives can be filled with peace and joy.

If you've enjoyed today's program and would like to hear the extended podcast version, you can find it by looking for Dean Hulce or Trail to Adventure wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. This program is provided by and can be contacted at God's Great Outdoors, P.O. Box 414, Powers, Michigan 49874, or on the website godsgreatoutdoors.org.

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