Editor’s note: This year’s winning holiday memory is from Mary Beth Weaver and contains some great advice on how to best get a Christmas tree back to the car.
It was many years ago when my husband and I chose to cut our Christmas tree on the road above Marble close to Crystal. It took no time at all to find a tree and our return trip began back down the last steep stretch in the road dragging our tree behind us.
The steeper it got, the faster we got with the tree helping push us faster and faster down the snow-covered road with us on our cross-country skis. The last thing I heard was Joe saying “whatever you do, don’t let go” just at the moment I let go of the tree, not realizing it was like a brake slowing us.
The moment I let go, I went flying down the road not able to slow in the narrow road and as the road made a hard turn to the right, I went straight into a snowbank head first, leaving a full body imprint of me in a foot of snow. Joe made the curve laughing so hard he fell with the tree and it kept dragging him down the road to his stop.
By the time we got to the car our tears from laughing so hard were freezing to our faces and we laughed all the way back home to Missouri Heights above El Jebel. The tree burned off all the needles on the one side of the tree and had to explain every time someone came to our house that Christmas the story of our wild tree cutting event. Note to self: use snow shoes.
– Mary Beth Weaver, Glenwood Springs