The Dudleys: Finding Perfection

The day after Thanksgiving, our family took off with Grandma and Grandpa Dudley to find our Christmas tree near Vernon. We all dressed warmly, packed some lunch, a toboggan, and a saw and made the hour drive. Unlike Heber there are no white firs in this area but plenty of Pinyon Pine and Juniper. Curtis wanted a pine that was not too tall yet pointed at the top and thick and full. The problem with this combination of traits is that Pinyon Pine tend to grow more round than pointy unless you get a very very young tree. But we were determined to find a good tree for our family.

We took the truck and set out in the slippery snowy roads till our road literally ended with no where to turn around. So back down we went in reverse directly next to an edge. A little nerve wracking for most of us in the car… a bit exciting for me. We finally parked on the edge of the road, took out the toboggan, put the kids on it and headed out to find the perfect tree. Almost three hours later none of us had found a tree that would do except Mom Dudley who said if she had a permit, one in particular was calling to her. So we packed everything up and headed to another location. As the gals and kids ate lunch, the guys set up the hill to scope out a tree. They came down with a few in mind, ate lunch themselves and then took me up there to look at the line up. We quickly chose one that was a little short but healthy, fat, and full with a point. Reminded me a bit of how men used to like their women before thin was considered beautiful. Curtis cut the tree down and carried it carefully over his head to the truck, tied it down and hauled it out.

Our tree may not have been very large… definitely not the typical Christmas tree, but for our family it’s perfect and its filling our house with the smell of Christmas.

Kids were content with being pulled around while eating baked goods.