A red fir tree that is 53 feet tall and nearly half a century old is making its way from the Sierra Nevada to the White House's West Lawn, where it is slated to serve as the Capitol's Christmas tree display amid the ongoing government shutdown and construction of the president's new ballroom on the newly demolished eastern end of the property.

The tree, named "Silver Belle," was harvested on Oct. 24 from the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada in Nevada's Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. It's the first time a red fir has been used as the Capitol Christmas tree and the first time the tree has come from Nevada.

The tree was named in an effort to celebrate the "Spirit of the Silver State," according to the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree website.

Silver Belle is set to soon begin a 3,700-mile

See Full Page