Recent adventures took me close to the town of Hudson, New York, where Frederic Church established a house for his family, with studios for painting. Olana is the name of said encampment, and he was inspired for its design by trips to Arabia (see: painting of Petra). This house is stunning not only for the architectural work of Calvert Vaux but also for its grand collection of original Church artworks and other paintings he collected. The dining room is amazing on its own, with gallery hung walls and high north-facing windows along one wall only. The house has a fortress-like entrance along the eastern side. Visits can include (for a small fee), easel rental and other art supplies so that you, too, can paint a view of the famous bend in the Hudson River below. The house and its wide vistas have been used as arguments for conservation of the Valley, including the defeat of a nuclear power plant to be sited nearby.