Wednesday, December 18, 2013

A Frigid Search for the Perfect Christmas Tree

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Our adventure to find the perfect tree this year took us into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. We did this last year and had a great time doing it. Plus it gave us a chance to get one-week-old  Gideon out into the world an into the forest. We stopped in Carson to pick up Brian, who came with us to find our Christmas Tree. Magnus had fun seeing Brian’s neighbor’s chickens.

 

The temperature out there was a crisp 21°F, with beautiful blue skies. Where we went for a tree had gotten some snow, but only a few inches. Magnus liked how his feet made foot prints in the snow. Ruth fed Gideon in the car, while the rest of us searched for the tree.

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It was truly a beautiful day and there were several good trees. Several pictures look like Christmas cards.

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Magnus spent a lot of time on this stump because the snow started getting deeper.

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A good candidate:

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When we found a few good ones, Ruth and Gideon came to help make a decision. This is the one we picked. Brian was a big help getting it attached to our van to make the ride home.

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Some more playing in the snow. Even Gideon got a turn.

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On the way home Dana and Brian went to go see Panther Creek Falls. There wasn’t much snow around the falls, but the freezing temperatures made it so the water spray coated everything with a layer of ice.

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Even the delicate little needles, ferns, mosses, mushrooms were coated with ice. Everything frozen in time. It was really cool.

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This is the icy mosses on a large tree:

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The waterfall was very nice looking that day, and a bit fuller than normal.

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