2016 Capitol Christmas Tree
The 2016 Capitol Christmas Tree on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
This beautiful 80 foot tall engelman spruce was cut on November 2, from the Little Ski Hill just west of McCall, Idaho on the Payette National Forest.
The Capitol Christmas Tree is an ongoing tradition since 1964, this year we called it "An Idaho Mountain Gem."
The tree was lit by Speaker of the House, Paul D. Ryan and Isabella Gerard, a fifth grader from Boise.
The entire state of Idaho was involved in this project.
Kids from all around Idaho made over 18,000 ornaments for this tree and 70 smaller companion trees that went in congressional offices all around Washington D.C.
This tree is a gift from the state of Idaho and the U.S. Forest Service. Photo taken on December 7, 2016. Credit: US Forest Service. Original public domain image from Flickr