BigHornRam
Well-known member
They killed this one a few miles from my place. Wonder how much the taxpayer's paid for this!
HAMILTON - The subalpine fir from the Bitterroot National Forest that will be this year's Capitol Christmas Tree officially arrived in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
With blue lights flashing, a motorcade of motorcycle and automobile police vehicles, escorted the tree on its last short trip through the city's streets to the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol building in the early morning hours.
“We were up at 3 a.m. getting ready to go,” said Capitol Christmas Tree Coordinator Nan Christianson.
The caravan arrived at the Washington Mall a bit after 6 a.m. Three and half hours later, the semi-tractor trailer hauling the subalpine fir eased into place near the newly dug hole on the Capitol lawn.
Following a speech by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., crews carefully began unwrapping the tree in preparation for its replanting.
With that chore completed, a crane reached down and gently eased the tall cathedral-shaped fir out of its specially made cradle and set its base into the hole.
“I can tell you it looks awesome,” Christianson said, shortly after the tree was set. “It's quite a sight. It should make all Montanans proud.”
There is still a lot that needs to be accomplished before the Dec. 2 lighting ceremony. Thousands of LED lights will be wrapped around its form, and more than 5,000 handmade ornaments need to be placed on the tree's branches.
“Our goal was 5,000 ornaments when we first started out, but I think we ended up with something closer to 7,000,” Christianson said. “Montanans are so talented and so generous.”
Christianson is still reeling from the overwhelming generosity she and the other 15 members of the crew that accompanied the tree across the country experienced at every stop along the way.
“People were so supportive and so excited about the tree being in their community,” she said. “People wanted to be part of this. They all seemed to feel that this was something important.”
Early Monday, watching the motorcycle police leapfrog across the city to block intersections as the Capitol Christmas Tree caravan drove toward its final destination, Christianson knew this was an experience that she'd never forget.
“We were covering much of the same route that our president-elect will drive soon with a similar treatment,” she said. “It just gave you that sense that you're a part of something very, very special.”
For those fortunate to make the entire trip, there will be memories that last a lifetime. Christianson will always remember the school kids lining the highway just outside the tiny town of Savage, waving as the caravan passed their way.
And then there was the pair of ranchers who stood at the end of their lane in the middle of nowhere. They smiled and waved as the caravan came and went.
At a rest area along I-70 just west of Columbus, Ohio, a woman walked up to the crew hauling the Bitterroot National Forest tree to Washington and said she'd been waiting for this moment for a long time now.
She and her husband had been tracking the tree's journey across the country on the Internet and wanted a chance to see it for themselves. They took a peek through the plastic window and added their signature to the more than 10,000 that covered the banner attached to the plywood forms protecting the tree.
On Monday, as the Forest Service crew attempted to get a photograph of themselves with the tree and the Capitol building in the background, a police officer noticed them trying to jockey around the traffic. He pulled his car out into the middle of the street and blocked the road for the few short minutes they needed to get the photograph.
“That's just the way this whole trip has been,” Christianson said. “People have been so gracious. It's been just a remarkable journey. Everywhere along the way, this tree has brought out the best in everyone.”
HAMILTON - The subalpine fir from the Bitterroot National Forest that will be this year's Capitol Christmas Tree officially arrived in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
With blue lights flashing, a motorcade of motorcycle and automobile police vehicles, escorted the tree on its last short trip through the city's streets to the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol building in the early morning hours.
“We were up at 3 a.m. getting ready to go,” said Capitol Christmas Tree Coordinator Nan Christianson.
The caravan arrived at the Washington Mall a bit after 6 a.m. Three and half hours later, the semi-tractor trailer hauling the subalpine fir eased into place near the newly dug hole on the Capitol lawn.
Following a speech by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., crews carefully began unwrapping the tree in preparation for its replanting.
With that chore completed, a crane reached down and gently eased the tall cathedral-shaped fir out of its specially made cradle and set its base into the hole.
“I can tell you it looks awesome,” Christianson said, shortly after the tree was set. “It's quite a sight. It should make all Montanans proud.”
There is still a lot that needs to be accomplished before the Dec. 2 lighting ceremony. Thousands of LED lights will be wrapped around its form, and more than 5,000 handmade ornaments need to be placed on the tree's branches.
“Our goal was 5,000 ornaments when we first started out, but I think we ended up with something closer to 7,000,” Christianson said. “Montanans are so talented and so generous.”
Christianson is still reeling from the overwhelming generosity she and the other 15 members of the crew that accompanied the tree across the country experienced at every stop along the way.
“People were so supportive and so excited about the tree being in their community,” she said. “People wanted to be part of this. They all seemed to feel that this was something important.”
Early Monday, watching the motorcycle police leapfrog across the city to block intersections as the Capitol Christmas Tree caravan drove toward its final destination, Christianson knew this was an experience that she'd never forget.
“We were covering much of the same route that our president-elect will drive soon with a similar treatment,” she said. “It just gave you that sense that you're a part of something very, very special.”
For those fortunate to make the entire trip, there will be memories that last a lifetime. Christianson will always remember the school kids lining the highway just outside the tiny town of Savage, waving as the caravan passed their way.
And then there was the pair of ranchers who stood at the end of their lane in the middle of nowhere. They smiled and waved as the caravan came and went.
At a rest area along I-70 just west of Columbus, Ohio, a woman walked up to the crew hauling the Bitterroot National Forest tree to Washington and said she'd been waiting for this moment for a long time now.
She and her husband had been tracking the tree's journey across the country on the Internet and wanted a chance to see it for themselves. They took a peek through the plastic window and added their signature to the more than 10,000 that covered the banner attached to the plywood forms protecting the tree.
On Monday, as the Forest Service crew attempted to get a photograph of themselves with the tree and the Capitol building in the background, a police officer noticed them trying to jockey around the traffic. He pulled his car out into the middle of the street and blocked the road for the few short minutes they needed to get the photograph.
“That's just the way this whole trip has been,” Christianson said. “People have been so gracious. It's been just a remarkable journey. Everywhere along the way, this tree has brought out the best in everyone.”
