The Capitol Christmas tree is loaded on to a trailer pulled by a Mack Pinnacle.

A Mack Pinnacle Axle Back model sleeper truck will haul a 65-foot white fir tree from California to Washington, D.C., for the Capitol Christmas Tree Project.

The conifer was selected from the Stanislaus National Forest in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains and loaded onto a special trailer with a custom-built cradle to support the tree’s branches during the journey. The tree is taking a tour of California before a two-week cross-country journey to the Nation’s Capitol.

Royal Trucking Co. of Concord, Calif., is providing drivers, and a second truck to transport a trailer supplied by Mack containing 3,000 handmade ornaments and 100 smaller trees for government offices. 

After arriving in Washington, the tree will be decorated with almost 10,000 low-energy LED lights and thousands of ornaments. A lighting ceremony on the west lawn of the Capitol will be held on Dec. 6, and the tree will remain lit throughout the holiday season.

The tradition of “the People’s Tree” began in 1964, and national forests rotate responsibility for providing the tree.