The Idaho Transportation Department is ready to deliver the state’s Christmas tree to the steps of the Capitol on Monday morning. This year’s tree, which is always a blue spruce, will be held upright by a crane while it is cut and then carefully loaded onto ITD’s 50-foot transport truck. From there, it will be transported to the Capitol, where it will be lowered into a specially designed 9-foot hole. ITD has been safely transporting Idaho’s Christmas tree for more than 20 years. This year’s journey will be a short one for ITD, as the tree will be harvested from a location behind the Capitol, off West State Street. The Capitol administration team maintains a list of eligible trees from people who wish to donate, and in August, the state’s Christmas tree is selected from that list.