Christmas Tree Hunt

This is the first year we've been home for Christmas in a very long time.  Since we are usually in Idaho for Christmas our decorations have been minimal--an artificial tree with a few ornaments.  This year we are staying home which is heartbreaking because I'm missing my dad like crazy.

At my dad's funeral I spoke about a few of my favorite memories of him.  One of those was our "Christmas tree hunts" in the national forests when I was a kid.  This year I asked Irv what he would think of going on our own hunt to get a real tree.  He thought it was a good idea too.

Being the law abiding daughter of a forest ranger, we went down to our local ranger office and purchased a permit.  What a deal--$10, but don't get too excited.  Next year they're going up to $20.  Why, you ask?  The current administration has no respect for our national forests or national parks and they're having to do whatever they can to raise their own revenue, but that's a subject for another blog.

On Friday morning we bundled up with coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and snow boots and headed to the mountain with map in hand.  The Forest Service does a fantastic job of letting everyone know where they can legally cut a tree.

They recommended a 4-wheel drive which I totally agree with.  You can't see it in the picture above, but these were the most wash board roads I have ever been on.  Rattle, rock n' roll, and a little bit of sliding around even in our big truck.  Do you see what is missing though?  There's no snow which made me a little sad.

We found a place to park then we headed off with our saw and backpack full of emergency provisions in case we got lost in the woods; however, we left all that warm weather gear in the truck.  It was 50 degrees which is crazy (it's a good thing global warming isn't a real thing).  I found some snow!

Up and down the hills we went looking for the perfect tree.  It's not as easy as you might think especially if you're a little OCD about symmetry.  I now have a much greater respect for why my dad always spent time rebuilding our Christmas trees.

More snow!

At the bottom of a ravine we finally found it!  Yes, it's a little tall, but the top eight feet looks almost perfect.  The trunk of the tree can't be more that 6 inches wide and this tree fell well within that guideline.

I had a moment of silence for the tree who before Irv starting sawing.  I know it's important to remove some of these smaller trees for the health of the whole forest, but it's still sad to lose a tree.

This tree was at the bottom of a steep ravine, but my amazing hubbie lugged it up the hill and then left me with the tree while he hiked back to the truck.

We loaded it in the truck and started the drive home.

This is a reminder of the Forest Service road where we found the tree.

Beautiful views on the drive back, but where's the Colorado snow?

For years we've driven past the Hungry Bear in Woodland Park and it's always packed.  We decided to stop and give it a try.

We both had the breakfast burrito.  Mine is smothered in green chili and Irv got half green chili and half sausage gravy.  It was delicious although we should have shared one.  Irv took our leftovers for dinner at work on Friday night.

We got it home and trimmed it down to 8 feet to fit in the family room.  I plan to use the leftover greenery for a wreath or garland.

Time to go into the house.

And then to the rafters of the garage to get down the tubs of tubs of Christmas decorations that haven't been used in years.

So far only the lights are on it, but hopefully we can get it decorated today.  Although I love this tree's imperfections I have a couple limbs that I'm going to put in that right side where it's a little sparse.  All those years of watching my dad rebuild a tree are going to be useful.

A little Christmas cheer on the outside too.  We can't put lights on the house because we sometimes have hurricane force winds out here on the prairie.  We've tried it before and the lights get beat to death.

I miss my dad like crazy this Christmas, but I know he's looking down telling me where the branches need to be added to this tree and I hope he's proud that I love our national lands as much as he did.