Mack Trucks is providing a custom-decorated Mack Pinnacle model to deliver the 2012 Capitol Christmas Tree from Meeker, Colo., to the U.S. Capitol.

The SmartWay-certified Pinnacle Axle Back model sleeper is hauling the tree that will light up the nation's capital this year as part of the annual Capitol Christmas Tree Project.

U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell will drive the Mack Pinnacle model delivering the tree, which will be selected from the White River National Forest in the heart of the Rocky Mountains in northwest Colorado. Campbell previously transported the tree as part of the 2000 project.

The superintendent of grounds for the Capitol will choose the tree from candidates selected by White River National Forest staff. Once selected, the tree will be cut in early November and brought to Meeker for a celebration. Following the celebration, the tree will be wrapped and ready to embark on its multi-week journey to the Capitol.

Numerous cities and towns will have celebrations at stops along the way, giving visitors an opportunity to see the Mack Pinnacle hauling the massive tree.

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 conducted, 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 each year for providing the tree. Mack trucks have delivered trees to the Capitol before, most recently last year when a Mack Pinnacle hauled a 65-foot white fir from California to Washington.

"What better way to deliver the Capitol Christmas Tree, a national treasure, than with a Mack, built, like all of our trucks, right here in the United States," says John Walsh, Mack vice president of marketing.

Related Stories:

11/9/2011 The Bulldog Brings Holiday Cheer to Our Nation's Capitol

12/15/2000 Millennium Tree Trip Gives Senator a Trucking Refresher