The Bees’ RV: December 2019

Sometimes family traditions are borne out of necessity. Take Christmas tree hunting with a shotgun, for example. (See the picture above. Chuck captured this awesome image last weekend in Pine Valley, Utah. Bridger is carrying on a three decades' long tradition of shooting the Christmas tree with a shotgun. Look at the tree shuddering the snow off its branches, and the red shotgun shell flying out of the gun. PERFECTION!)

Waaay back in 1989, when Dylan was nearly three, and Sierra was a brand-new baby, their dad took our family up in the hills above Annabella, Utah, in search of a Christmas tree. We finally found the tree we wanted, but soon realized we had forgotten anything to chop down the tree. Not an axe, or a hatchet, or a saw.

No worries. A quick inventory of the old pickup revealed another option; a shotgun. A shotgun, you say? Well, sure. It works pretty well, if you shoot the gun enough times at the base of the tree.

Little Dylan hoisted the gun up to his little shoulder with the help of his dad, and they blasted away at the tree. Once the tree was on the ground, Dylan "tagged" the tree with the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) tree permit, just like hunters do with their deer. He was so proud that he "shooted" his first Christmas tree when we were hunting.

That week, he shared his exciting hunting adventure during show and tell at preschool. No one believed him. I picked up a very distraught little boy after work that day. "The kids said I lied, Mom, but it's true, isn't it? I DID go Christmas tree hunting, and I did shoot that tree, didn't I?"

I smoothed his soft, blonde hair, and wrapped him in a big hug. "Yes, you really did, Dylsy. You shot that tree and tagged it, too. We really did go Christmas tree hunting. Your friends don't understand because we are probably the only family who shoot down trees with a gun. But we know; you DID shoot down that tree with a gun, and you DID tag it. You are a good Christmas tree hunter."

Dylan, the first Christmas tree hunter, with his wife Jamie.

This year, Dylan and his wife Jamie, invited us to go tree hunting with them. I was so excited for Chuck to experience this first-hand. He'd heard the family stories; he wanted to document it for himself. We're so glad he did. That first picture at the top of the page is incredible!

After a beautiful drive to Grass Valley, near Saint George, Utah, we tromped through the snow in search of the perfect tree. It all sounds so idyllic, doesn't it?

Well, like most family outings, this one wasn't without its problems. The pickup got stuck in the snow, and Dylan had to shovel to get his truck out of the rut. Jamie lost her cell phone in a huge snowdrift, and didn't realize right away. Lucky for her, she found it pretty quickly. Sierra ended up injuring her knee when she fell on a big rock hidden under the fluffy snow. I'm happy to report that my knees held up wonderfully hiking through the deep snow, but during the 27 hour car ride back to Illinois, they reminded me every time I tried to relax that they'd had a big workout.

Our time in Utah was full of family time, and my heart is overflowing with the good memories. We celebrated Thanksgiving with our Utah kids, and had a little Christmas while we were all together. We ate so much good food every day.

My big accomplishment today? I overcame my fear of writing in my blog. It has been a long time since I've written here. I've wanted to tell this story for a few years; I'm glad I finally did.