This year (2011) the Capitol Christmas tree will come from somewhere in the central Sierra Nevada mountains. The tree will be cut on November 5th and loaded on a tractor trailer truck to begin a 4,500 mile journey that begins with a jaunt through California’s heartland.
The exact location of where this particular tree is today is top secret. The Stanislaus National Forest was chosen competitively to provide the tree and once it is on its way to D.C. it will be heavily guarded 24/7 against both saboteurs and terrorists.
(What a tragedy it is that in today’s unpredictably dangerous world we have to guard a Christmas tree from potential terrorism.)
The U.S. Forest Service recommends 8 to 10 trees to the superintendent of the capitol grounds, who makes the final selection. Several aspects are considered to include shape and fullness of the tree, the tree color and foliage condition, and species characteristeics of needle retention and branch pliability. Finally, cutting, loading and transporting are also considered.
On December 6, House Speaker Boehner will light the tree with the assistance of a child from California. Below is a picture of only a section of the chosen tree to avoid identifying landmarks and to keep its location guarded.
