Christmas Tree for U.S. Capitol on Way From California
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this photo supplied by the Stanislaus National Forest, a 65-foot white fir tree is loaded onto a truck for its 20-day journey to Washington Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, after the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree was cut from the Stanislaus National Forest near Sonora, Calif. (AP/Stanislaus National Forest)
A 65-foot white fir tree selected as the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree was cut down and removed from a picturesque setting in the Sierra Nevada mountains on Saturday, then loaded on a truck for a 4,500-mile journey from Northern California to Washington, D.C.
When crews arrived at the tree Saturday morning they found it covered in snow, said Jeff Crider, a spokesman for U.S Capitol Christmas Tree Tour, a nonprofit project overseen by the U.S. Forest Service.
The Stanislaus National Forest tree was selected based on its shape and fullness and color, officials said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Work crews will box it up on Sunday, with a portion encased in Plexiglas so that people can view it during its upcoming nationwide tour. A bladder bag attached to its base will be filled with water on a daily basis to keep the tree fresh, Crider said.
The tree is scheduled to arrive in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 28, with a lighting ceremony at the front of the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 6.
It will be decorated by 5,000 ornaments handmade by California residents, and House Speaker John Boehner and a child from California will light it.