Kent and Loralee Merrill invited our family to join them in this year’s search for the perfect Christmas tree. Thanks to this "love affair" between Jason and Shanna, we've spent some fun times with the Merrills......
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| Jason and Shanna in the back of the Exped! |
We joined the Merrill clan in Preston and headed for the hills…literally. At Swan Valley in Idaho, we left paved road to find dirt and snow waiting for us at the first bend. It was apparent that 4-wheel drive would be a must for the remainder of the trip.
Blue skies and sparkling diamond snow in the rolling hills of Idaho are a sight you need to see if you haven’t already. Discussions of location and how all the roads fit together with other roads more frequently taken ensued in our vehicle as we wound our way on paths we hadn’t ventured on before. Ahhh, Nathan was wishing for GPS technology so we could see the big picture.
When the lead truck found the snow too soft to move forward (stuck is the key adjective), we all parked and commenced to dress for hiking in the mountains.
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| Road blocked up ahead...waiting to see if they can get out by themselves... |
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| Getting out of the drift...everyone jump in the back for more traction and a ride one more mile up the road... Yay! |
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| Parked and geared up to start our real adventure. |
At this point, I had discovered I have failed my children. We have truly become “city slickers”. What was I thinking? Obviously it has been a long time since we did any wintertime activities besides downhill skiing. Not one of my children have any snow boots and we didn’t think to bring our snow pants ….well, Nathan did. Luckily the Merrills had planned the right way. We borrowed a couple of snow pants and Jason donned Nathan’s insulated shoes. His retort to my lamenting his lack of snow protection was..."I'm like the elves and can float across the top of the snow". Well, there were a few times when we asked him how his special powers were holding out when he was tromping through the forest...apparently, he does contain some magic...he didn't get wet or cold.
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| This is what snowboots look like in case you were wondering. |
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| Linda, Nathan, Trevor and Jason |
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| What a great shot of young love! |
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| Riding from the parked vehicles up to the trailhead in the unstuck truck. |
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| A sunny day in the mountains of Idaho...What a great time. |
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| Making a snowman in the snow...I love the joys of youth. |
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| Shanna and the youngest member of our group. |
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| Footprints in the snow...made by elves...I think not! |
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| No vehicles beyond this point---4 wheelers broke the trail the rest of the way. |
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| Trevor at the top of the bridge. |
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Trevor, Nathan and Jason
My men!!! |
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| Cutting a tree for Arica...She only wanted a 4 ft tree. This one is at least 6 foot! |
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Our perfect Christmas tree
-- choosen by Jason, supported by Trevor, cut by Jason, felled by Nathan,
height questioned by Linda, carried by the 3 men! |
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| Trevor giving his support for the chosen tree... |
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| Jason getting a good line for the cutting of the tree. |
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| Dragging the tree off the mountain... |
We finally had our tree. As we returned to the group, there were several trees that joined the ranks of "fallen" pines ready for the trip home to be garbed with the tinsel and lights of the season.
We made it back down the hill and over the washed out bridge. With the number of trees needing to be hauled back on 4-wheelers or the one lone truck, Nathan decided it best to start walking and carry the tree back to our vehicle....He and Trevor headed the attack and Jason was the end guy. He had the most important position. He was the key player so the tree wouldn't drag and loose needles. He is hidden from sight, but I got the sidewise shot that shows his worth.
It took a couple of stops to let their arms rest from the fatigue of lifting and exchange the key person in back. The sunshine felt good on our faces and the clean air was invigorating...don't you love that word.
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Carrying the tree for over a mile makes one sweaty and tired...
Can you find Trevor? |
As I walked behind them, the whole tree was like a bowl of green jello...jingling and swinging with the rhythm of each step from the three separate people bearing it towards its new home.
The next challenge was to get the tree on the Expedition. The branches hung so far over the car that we couldn't shut the doors.
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| The first attempt to load the tree...Griswald Christmas seem familiar? |
So back off the car and the next idea was to wrap the tree first with rope so that the branches would be tight. (Apparently, Jason took credit for this idea.) It was a better plan and we were ready for a refueling of our energies with hot chocolate and donuts.
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| Teamwork, I say! |
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It takes many years to grow these lovely trees and about 3 minutes to kill it...
I'm not really a true "tree hugger", but sometimes I do feel bad about
destroying things in nature that are so lovely. |
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| The Whole Gang!! |
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Nathan, Linda, Trevor, Jason and Shanna
What a great day!! Thanks Merrills for inviting us.
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The end result of all this fun is a huge fresh tree in the only space it could possibly fit...the bonus room with it's huge ceiling....even as tall as we thought the ceiling was, we had to cut 2 feet off the tree before we could stand it up. It will be a bigger challenge to find enough ornaments to hang from it's branches and lights to string on it. If we're lucky enough to find the perfect Christmas tree next year, I hope the boys listen to a gentle reminder about "height restrictions"....but probably not!
