New video captures the incredible journey of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree as it traveled by barge and by truck from Alaska to Washington, D.C.
This year, the Capitol Christmas Tree was harvested from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, and it began its cross-country journey on October 26 in Wrangell, Alaska. The tree was loaded onto a barge and transported to Seattle, Washington. From there, a pair of Lynden Transport transported the tree over 4000 miles from Seattle to Washington, D.C., stopping at many community events along the way.
Lynden selected veteran truckers Fred Austin and John Schank to transport the tree . Both men joined Lynden in 1975 and have driven for a combined 10 million safe miles. This was Schank’s second time transporting the tree after he was selected for the honor in 2015.
Along the way, the specially wrapped Kenworth T680 hauling the tree was treated to a Level I inspection to ensure it was road-ready for the long trip ahead.
The video below follows the journey of the tree from Alaska to Washington and gets you up close and personal with Schank and Austin, the truckers who made it all happen.