Getting away at Timberland Ranch
Published 6:20 pm Monday, November 20, 2017
When Robert Noland and Belanda Velasco want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Lake Charles, they head out to Timberland Ranch, a 1,650-acre Dry Creek property.
Timberland Ranch includes horse tack storage and stalls with an apartment overhead, a “bunkhouse” where Timberland Ranch employees are served wholesome hot lunches, equipment buildings, a large vegetable garden well-protected from wildlife, a moveable chicken coop with specially-ordered laying hens and a rooster and a wellstocked fishing pond.
Noland raises Black Angus cattle and grows timber at this location. Timberland Ranch is also home to five draft horses — one standard and four Belgium — and three donkeys. Donkeys can calm horses and help protect livestock such as colts and calves. They’re noisy and will trample the predator.
“Here at Timberland Ranch, we still use horses — not ATVs — to work cattle,” Noland said. “The four-wheelers can spook the cows.”
Noland promotes and supports McNeese State University where he graduated and taught agriculture economics. He knows the size and specs of every engine in every piece of large equipment on the ranch. He and Velasco love music. When asked to name a favorite singer, he and Velasco agree on Pasty Cline. The coffee table is stacked with spy thrillers and magazines.
The house has an open, spacious floor plan designed for relaxing or entertaining. Arched stonework, inside and out, is a marvel, seemingly held in place by air.
The lighting is customized with Noland’s cattle brand.
“You can’t see any mortar,” Noland points out.
The kitchen has the largest pot rack ever photographed by the American Press to date. Guests can be seated for dining in the formal dining room. It’s decorated with framed prints of Louisiana songbirds and the table holds Remington sculptures. Seating is also available at the large kitchen island, at the separate bar or at the kitchen table. More seating can be found outside on the back porch that runs the length of the house.
Noland cooks and is especially proud of his smoker, which is often loaded with a beef brisket. The view from the back porch includes pine trees, pasture and on occasion, deer.
The master suite has his and her closets and bathrooms. On the other side of the house are two guest bedrooms. Overnight guests have included Irlene Mandrell, the youngest of the Mandrell sisters.
Noland and Velasco both like to cook. Appliances, including the large pot rack, are commercial grade.
To the antique wool rugs that bring color into the neutral room and the genuine leather sofas and chair, Noland has added a lava lamp. It’s his way of reminding others to expect the unexpected and that he marches to his own beat.
If Noland has a small crowd to entertain, the get-together might begin at the Broken Branch Saloon at the front of the property. The name is a nod to Noland’s forestry business.
The bar features swingin’ doors and a screened-in wrapping porch. Décor includes vintage advertising, which was a gift from a McNeese professor, hunting trophies, jukebox, humorous signage, lighting customized with Noland’s cattle brand and an antique Anheuser-Busch light.
Noland said the rare light with the Budweiser World Champion Clydesdales is from the Anheuser Busch warehouse. The company uses rice from Farmer’s Rice Mill, owned by the Noland family, to produce its beer.
Comfortable leather seating, beautiful wool rugs and the massive fireplace give the Nolan home a lodge look.
When asked what makes a house a home, Noland and Velasco, who are engaged, look at each other and say almost in unison, “the people.”