White Mountain Art

White Mountain art refers to the 19th century body of work by over four hundred artists who painted landscapes of New Hampshire's White Mountains. One of the early artists to paint the area, and the artist widely known as the founder of the Hudson River School, was Thomas Cole, whose painting A View of the Mountain Pass Called the Notch of the White Mountains (top) is considered one of the most famous of the early era of White Mountain art. But it was Benjamin Champney (Moat Mountain From North Conway, bottom) who eventually defined the "White Mountain School" of painting. Champney, a New Hampshire native, moved to North Conway in 1858 and spent the rest of his life painting the area. He was influenced by the Hudson River School style, but eventually developed a unique style of his own that attracted artists to North Conway from all over the country.For more information and loads more paintings, visit WhiteMountainArt.com

In Search Of L.L. Bean

I found this book at the thrift store the other day and there's little information about it on the Internets. I haven't finished it yet, but most of what Mr. Montgomery has done thus far is set out to expose Leon Leonwood Bean for the lies in his biography, My Story. For example, L.L. claims that when he first made his Maine Hunting Shoes, he sent out a catalog for the shoes to a hunting license registration list from Augusta. The year he claims to have done this was several years before Maine required hunting licenses. Oh well.Mr. Montgomery is also hell bent on letting the public know (over and over) that people from Maine would never in a million years wear L.L. Bean clothing. Perhaps, back in 1984 when the book was written, L.L. Bean sent him a package with the wrong size shoes and he never got over it. I know it's a journalist's job to let the public know the truth, but it seems as though the author's hate for L.L. runs deep. Anyone else read this book? Am I crazy for thinking that? I have never read L.L. Bean: The Making of an American Icon, so maybe some of the issues brought up in this book have already been addressed.From In Search Of L.L. Bean, here's an excerpt from an issue of the Saturday Evening Post, December, 1946. This was included to show how dry L.L.'s humor was:

During the war, a general leaving the Pentagon Building found himself sharing a taxicab to downtown Washington with a civilian. In the casual taxicab conversation that developed, the civilian named his home town as Freeport, Maine. The general's interest brightened at once."Freeport?" he said. "That's L.L. Bean's town.""Ay-yah," the man from Maine agreed. "'Tis.""There's a man I'd sure like to meet," said the general. "L.L. Bean. I discovered him four or five years ago, and I've been buying from him ever since. By George, it's wonderful the way the man figures out just what you need for hunting and fishing. You hunt or fish?""Ay-yah," said the Freeporter, "do a lot of it. Always use Bean's things too. Now, you take Bean's duck-hunting coat --"The conversation had hit high gear, and continued, an exchange of hunting and fishing experiences, well interlarded with tributes to the equipment and clothing sold by the mail-order house of L.L. Bean, all the way to the hotel where the civilian was getting out. As he stepped from the cab, he extended his hand. "Pleased to meet you, general," he said. "My name's L.L. Bean."

Sesame Soba Noodles

It's a good sign if you make a dinner at home that you've made while camping. This one's basically noodles and peanut butter, but much better and just as easy.1 bunch of Soba Noodles (I usually shop for food at the nearest grocery store to the trail, and I know most of those grocery stores don't stock soba noodles, so try to think of going to your local Asian market to buy them before you leave. They're what makes this meal good.)2 Tablespoons of Sesame Oil (put it in emptied out hotel shampoo bottle)1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce (If you ever order Chinese or Japanese, save the soy sauce packets)Spoonful or two (or three) of Chili Sauce (can also use hotel shampoo bottles)2 Spoonfuls of Peanut Butter (I would assume you'll have peanut butter if you're camping.)Handful of Sesame Seeds (Also rather imperative. They weight nothing, no excuse.)Directions: Boil water. Drop the noodles in. While the noodles are cooking, mix the oil, soy sauce, chili paste and peanut butter. When the noodles are done, drain a small amount of the hot water into the sauce mix. Stir up until the peanut butter is smooth and dump it back into the pot with the drained noodles. Throw on the sesame seeds.Or you can just stick to the peanut butter and spaghetti. That ain't half bad either.

Mountain Goat

No question that a mountain goat is one of the more spectacular things you can see while hiking/camping. The only time I've seen one, albeit from a hefty distance, was on my first trip to ROMO in 2001. Pretty amazing creature. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats. According to Wikipedia:

The mountain goat is an even-toed ungulate of the order Artiodactyla and the family Bovidae that includes antelopes and cattle. It belongs to the subfamily Caprinae, along with thirty-two other species including true goats, sheep, the chamois, and the musk ox. The mountain goat is the only species in the genus Oreamnos. The name Oreamnos is derived from the Greek term oros (stem ore-) "mountain" (or, alternatively, oreas "mountain nymph") and the word amnos "lamb."

Interesting? Maybe. (Via OhRanger)