The Finest Christmas Tree Experience Ever

For some reason or another, through our 10 Christmases as a married couple, we've always purchased a Christmas tree from a lot or not purchased one at all.  We've gone to timeshares with family several times, so we're not total humbugs.  

This year, we did not have an infant (too cold to go out), I was not in school (no time), and I really wanted to cut our own tree.  So Katrina looked around and found a web site that features a bunch of local tree farms.  She looked over several in our area and settled on Christmas Mountain.  I left work early, and we were out the door about 3:30, kids, camera and coats all loaded up.  The farm is up in the hills where I do a lot of cycling, so I took us on a little roundabout path.  

The road to get there is lined with signs until you make the final turn onto Dixie Mountain Road.  We arrived at the farm just after 4.  Aria woke up and asked if she could stay in the car.  She 

was too tired.  That didn't fly.  We all got out and headed over to the tent.  

The farm is cool.  Yeah, it was Dec 3 and 1000' higher than we live at.  But it's a good setup.  The parking lot is large, level, and gravelled.  There is a large tent where you can huddle if it's raining.  There's hot water and packets for making hot chocolate and cider.  There's coffee.  The drinks are free.  There's also candy for sale, and some chairs set up around a portable fire pit with a fire going.  (The tent I rave about is not in the picture - it's off to the right)

After we confirmed that we were looking for a tree, the owner of the place (I'll call him Troy) started up a tractor with a huge covered wagon on it.  It looks like it would hold 30 people, maybe more in a pinch.  We had the wagon all to ourselves, and started up the road.  Troy kept looking back at us as he drove, and when we found a good-looking spot, he stopped the tractor, told us to grab a saw, cut our tree, and then put it by the side of the road with a tag on it, and took off.  We had 100 acres of Christmas trees to ourselves.  

This was fun.  We wandered through the trees, mostly Noble Firs, and saw some good looking candidates.  The trees are really healthy, well-shaped, and full.  The branches are long; it seems like longer than a tree you'd get at Home Depot.  They're just beautiful.  We picked a tree, marked it by putting a large dead branch on it, and walked around some more.  We decided in the end that we really liked that one, and I took our the more-than-adequate saw that Troy provided and cut it down.  Doing my part to increase Global Warming.  

Katrina and I hauled it to the road (just a few feet, really), and I stuck a tag on it.  Then we took a walk up the road.  As we passed a ridge, I saw the prettiest view of St Helen's my eyes have ever beheld.  Rainier was visible in the fog, and if you walked another 100 feet, Adams was visible, too.  As my kids hit the same spot past the ridge that I did, they each gasped.  "Wow!"  said my 8 year-old.  10 seconds later, "Wow!" said my 6 year-old.  My kids will easily say "wow" when they see something big, but rarely do so when it's just something pretty.  This was cool.

After the light had left the mountains, we heard the tractor coming around.  We waited for him to come by, got on the wagon, and chatted as he took as back to the tent.  Troy is a 3rd generation tree farmer.  His family has been doing this for 40 years.  He's a really engaging, friendly guy who seems to take great joy in his job.  And it is his full-time job.  These 100 acres provide a livelihood for him and his family.  We later learned that this is only his second year selling trees to the public; he's been a wholesaler before.  The sky looked like it was on fire as we talked.  Unbelievable.

When we got back to the tent, Katrina and 3 of the kids got some hot chocolate and sat down by the fire.  Christian and I headed up the hill for a kid tree.  We ended up with a 5' Noble Fir and carried it back down the hill.  In the mean time, 

our 7' Noble had been picked up from the road, carried back to the tent area, and was being bailed.  After I got my hot chocolate, the guys who had bailed it asked if they could put it on my car.  I let them.  

We hung out for a little longer, chatting with one of Troy's friends who used to work on the farm with his father, bought a little tree stand, and headed home.  By the time we left, too-tired Aria was smiling hugely.  "Can we do this again next year?" I asked.  "Yes!"

What's cool about Christmas Mountain:

Really really really nice people

Great trees

Reasonable price

Unbeatable, unbelievable, incredible, wonderful views

Free wagon ride, saw use, bailing, hauling, hot chocolate, coffee, cider, a tent for rainy weather and a fire for clear weather.  Did I mention all those things are free???

Beautiful drive

They take Visa and Mastercard

They charged us for a full foot less than the trees' actual length.  We got a 7' for 6' price, and a 5' for 4' price.  I don't know if that's normal practice, but it sure seemed like good customer service to me.

What's not so cool:

It's a little out of the way - right on the ridge of the hills between Hwy 30 and Hwy 26, where Skyline meets Dixie Mountain road.  Given the experience they offer, it was well worth a little drive.