Christmas Tree Hunt

Yesterday Jason introduced me to his family's annual tradition: Christmas tree hunting in the mountains. We drove with his family, cousins, aunts, and unlcles to the Caribou forest with our $10 per tree permits (twice what they've been in the past, I guess, but still a good deal) and set out in couples to find the perfect Alpine. Jason and I tromped through the mountain for hours looking for one that matched all his requirements: no "doubles" (two trees growing in one), no "bald spots," no dead spots, not too tall, not too short, not too fat or thick or bushy or skinny....Those poor trees had no idea of the strict criteria that needed to meet by this fall.

While we looked, I collected a beautiful fall boquet of a velvety red star leaf, cream seed pods, etc. The mountains are so beautiful! It was the most perfect day to go out. Pine saturated the air, reminding me of camping on Mt. Lemon as a little girl. Birch trees covered every space in the forest, though. Jason told me they all share one (or a couple) root systems. That's amazing. It felt good to be up there with my husband.

When we didn't have any luck finding a tree within a mile or two of our cars, I took my first ride on a four-wheeler to look for other clearings. It was fun! We just stayed on the trail and then walked to any trees we thought might work. They always look so perfect from far away. I can't wait until we have a 20-ft. ceiling in a billion years and can put up one of those gorgeous tall ones...

Well, we eventually found our tree. Jason expertly cut it down with a big chain saw. Now it's resting in Eric's yard completely oblivious to the fact it's no longer standing in the forest. Jason says it will wake up from its dormant state when it gets into our warm (yeah, right) living room. Then, it thinks it's spring, and a lot of times it even puts on new growth. That's cool! I'm enjoying my introduction to live Christmas trees.

Jason's aunt and uncle left a chainsaw by a tree they'd cut down somewhere in the middle of the forest a few miles out, and then they headed toward another tree that looked just perfect. Awhile later, they realized they were completely lost and had no idea where they were, let alone the chainsaw. A couple of hours later they finally found civilization, but all the guys formed a search party for the tree and chainsaw. After an hour they came back with both, and then as we were starting the Yukon to leave, it wouldn't start! The trunk had been open all afternoon because people had been getting food out of it, and the battery had died. Luckily, ONE out of five vehicles had a jump cable. Sad, isn't it? I'm just glad one of them had one! We were half an hour late for stake conference, but at least we made it! It was a great day.