U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Cutting
U.S. Forest Service employees Alex Jess, center, and Michael Rude hand Jim Beckwith a saw at an eighty-eight foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, in the Colville National Forest, in Pend Oreille County, Wash., on Friday, November 1, 2013. (Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander)
Smokey the Bear, left, hangs out with (left to right) U.S. Forest Service employee Gayne Sears, Chelsea Earls, her 8 year old daughter Olivia and 5 year old son Oliver before an eighty-eight foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, is cut, in the Colville National Forest, in Pend Oreille County, Wash., on Friday, November 1, 2013. (Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander)
4 year old Maggie McClure, left, and her 7year old brother Connor eat cookies and drink hot chocolate, as their mother Erin watches, before an eighty-eight foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, is cut, in the Colville National Forest, in Pend Oreille County, Wash., on Friday, November 1, 2013. (Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander)
Kalispel Tribe Cultural Program Assistant Director J.R. Bluff keeps a drum warm before an eighty-eight foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, is cut, in the Colville National Forest, in Pend Oreille County, Wash., on Friday, November 1, 2013. (Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander)
Sonia Wirth, left, holding her 20 month old daughter Sadie, and Stephanie Wirth wait for an eighty-eight foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, is cut, in the Colville National Forest, in Pend Oreille County, Wash., on Friday, November 1, 2013. (Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander)
U.S. Forest Service employee Ben Curtis, center, reviews some procedures before an eighty-eight foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, is cut, in the Colville National Forest, in Pend Oreille County, Wash., on Friday, November 1, 2013. (Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander)
Kalispel Tribe Cultural Program Director Francis Cullooyah speaks before an eighty-eight foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, is cut in the Colville National Forest, in Pend Oreille County, Wash., on Friday, November 1, 2013. (Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander)
Members of the Kalispel Tribe perform a flag song and an honor song before an eighty-eight foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, is cut in the Colville National Forest, in Pend Oreille County, Wash., on Friday, November 1, 2013. (Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander)
Debbie Lutz, left, and her husband Bob photograph and film during the cutting of an eighty-eight foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, in the Colville National Forest, in Pend Oreille County, Wash., on Friday, November 1, 2013. (Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander)
U.S. Forest Service employee Cally Davidson, left, and Pend Oreille County Public Works employee Bernie Nelson place a bag on the base of an eighty-eight foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, in the Colville National Forest, in Pend Oreille County, Wash., on Friday, November 1, 2013. (Young Kwak/The Pacific Northwest Inlander)