CHRISTMAS TREE CUTTING

In my family we've always had real or natural Christmas trees. My parents were against the artificial ones and argued they were a fire hazard. I believe Kevin's dad said the opposite. All I know is that real, natural Christmas trees are my favorite. I love the smell of pine, it's tradition, and to me is part of the whole celebration.

We cut our very own Christmas tree in 2002 near Vernon, Utah. Five years ago we went near Strawberry Reservoir. The Forrest Service sells permits each year around the first week of November across a handful of different ranger stations. These last few years we've had to buy trees because I always forget when they go on sale. It usually means waiting in line for 30-60 minutes in the cold just for a permit.

This year we went to the Spanish Fork district and bought a permit for $10. This year it took hours of driving to find it. Next  year I plan to go to the Heber/Kamas Ranger Station. The map of the area is below. The green is all the areas open to cutting, the white is private property, and the blue thick lines are the areas we went to. It was a struggle, but fun.