Here’s Matt desicating the countryside in the name of decorating the home for the holidays. Althought it looks like he’s trying to hide his identity, he did have a valid permit for this endeavor. For only ten dollars you can get a permit to cut a tree in the National Forest, which for an 8 foot tree that is much cheaper than the $60-70 you would spend at the tree lot. Of course there’s the extra money you spend on gas and emergency food supplies (don’t want to end up like that family in Oregon) so it probably ends up about the same, but it’s a whole lot more fun. We drove up to the South Fork Mountains in pouring rain, and when we got to the legal cutting area it turned to snow. Very pretty and it certainly speeded up the selection process. You don’t spend a lot of time being picky about your tree when it’s 39 degrees and snowing.