Last year we cut our tree on the land of our very gracious hosts at Pioneer Guest Cabins. This year they weren't home when we checked out. There's something a little tacky about chopping a tree off someone's property without their encouragement. So, we headed for home.
About halfway there, we saw a bunch of cars with Christmas trees strapped to their roofs all coming off this one side road. On a whim, we followed the line of trees down a winding mountain road. After a while, the kids started counting trees. They counted 169 (!!!) but still no sign of a farm or national forest. Every once in a while Daniel would stop and ask a local and they'd say, oh, it's tree-cutting day down in the national forest but you have to have a pre-purchased permit. But just keep going. Maybe they'll let you buy one, but probably not.
The view wasn't too shabby, so we kept on driving. Talk about a leap of faith. We drove down that road for an hour before it finally dead-ended with traffic cones and a forest ranger. He asked for our permit. We said we didn't have one. He looked at the kids in the back seat, smiled, and said, "Well, how about I just give you one? Oh, and a saw, too? No problem."
This whole little excursion added about two hours on to our drive, but it was worth it.
It is such a joy experiencing the magic of Christmas with these sweet boys!
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