travel

San Antonio, Texas

The theme of the 1968 World’s Fair HemisFair is “the Confluence of Civilization in the Americas” – a flowing together of the combined civilization of six continents. This is an over-all view of the fair in downtown San Antonio.

The General Electric Pavilion. In a futuristic building, General Electric presents the story of electrical living in the Southwest from the time the first lights blazed in the San Antonio Opera House to the present.

Eastman KodakPavilion. Visitors to the Eastman Kodak Pavilion are introduced to the complexities and delights of film and filmcraft in all its many forms.


San Antonio River, 1951

The Alamo
Erected in 1718, as a church and fortress, it became the symbol of Texas independence. During the Texas-Mexican Independence War in 1836, it was defended and lost to the last Texan. Soon “Remember the Alamo” became synonymous with Texas independence.

New York World’s Fair 1939

Railroad Exhibit Building, New York World’s Fair 1939

The entrance to the railroad exhibit at the New York World’s Fair 1939 appears very much like a glorified and modernistic roundhouse for locomotives.The Rotunda above contains 25,000 square feet of floor space leading to a circular theme hall 180 feet in diameter surmounted by a dome approximately eight stories in height. Sponsored by the Eastern Presidents Conference of the railroads, the exhibit includes a building nearly a quarter of a mile long, an outdoor exposition including nearly a mile of track, a colorful pageant telling the history of American railroads and the largest working miniature railroad ever constructed. The building contains 110,000 square feet of floor space and is the largest at the Fair.


The Electrical Products Building, New York World’s Fair 1939

The Electrical Products Building, New York World’s Fair is a rainbow of colors glowing across the World of Tomorrow. The Electrical Building is in the “Blue Sector” with a mural hint of ‘Wonders’ displayed behind its portals. The oddly shaped pylon at the left is an outstanding feature of the building. Architects: Walker and Gillette.


Hall of Pharmacy, New York World’s Fair 1939

The Hall of Pharmacy at the New York World’s Fair 1939 shown in the center of this photograph, which has been taken over by contract by The Show Globe, Inc., presents the entire story of research, development, manufacture and distribution of drugs and pharmaceutical products. The building, built by the Fair Corporation, occupies one of the most prominent sites in the Exposition grounds, being close to the Theme Center, the 200 foot Perisphere and 700 foot Trylon, partly shown at the extreme left of the photograph. Architects: Pleasants Pennington, G. Lyman Paine, Jr. and I. Woodner-Silverman.

The 1939 New York World’s Fair took place in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York. Many countries participated and over 44 million people attended over two seasons. It was based on the future with an emphasis on the ‘world of tomorrow’.

Postcards from Argentina

Selknam Hunters
Indigenous people of Patagonia (Chile and Argentina).

Mural Escenografico – La Boca
Martin Correa Urquiza, photographer

This is a Panagra, Jet Sky Postcard from the 1960’s.

Selk’nam family with guanaco pelts
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Juaquin Torres García
Universalismo Constructivo, 1944

Uruguayan-Spanish artist, theorist, and author, renowned for his international impact in the modern art world. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, his family moved to Catalonia, Spain, where his artistic journey began.

Colleccion MALBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Searching for Home in Tibet

I was originally drawn to this book for two reasons. One, Tibet is on my bucket list and I am determined to go there. Second, the tag line, A Journey in Search of Home made me think it had something to do with being a Third Culture Kid. TCK’s never know where home is.

This book is not about Tibet or TCK’s. Haha. Laughs on me. However, it is an amazing book!

Several years ago I had explored taking a trip to the Upper Mustang Region of Nepal. It is a remote place on the Tibetan border. Upper Mustang was a restricted area and forbidden to outsiders until 1992. Even today one needs special permits to go there and there is a limit of 1000 permits per year. It was formerly known as the Kingdom of Lo and became a dependency of Nepal from 1795 to 2008, when it ceased to exist. The capital was the ancient walled city of Lo-Manthang. It is known for its rich Tibetan culture and history.

Rose Lane, an Australian, discovered her family home was going to be sold. She hadn’t lived there in years but when she heard this it hit her hard. She felt loss and grief. As she travels on horseback through this very remote area, she reflects on what that house meant to her and the important moments she lived through growing up in that house.

It is a journey of self discovery but also a real journey. She carries with her a copy of Michael Piessel’s book, Mustang: A Lost Tibetan Kingdom, which was published in 1967. He was one of the first if not the first person from the West to travel to and write about the area. Rose notices garbage along the way, motorcycles, things he would not have seen. There is now a semblance of a road that allows people to travel on four-wheel drive jeeps to the area but mostly people still go as trekkers or on horseback. She imagined herself as Freya Stark or Alexandra David-Neel, a fearless woman explorer.

Rose takes us through vast areas of empty mountain deserts. I wished there were photos because it sounded like it was breathtaking. The trip was not easy, it was rugged. No hot water, squat toilet outhouses, milky tea and noodles, and very high altitudes but amazing sights. Monasteries, palaces, prayer flags. All worn and many destroyed from the recent earthquake.

I was enthralled by it all.

At one point she says she would like to go to Timbuktu but it is impossible to get there these days. She contacted a friend about going there and he told her that she could try stowing away in a boat and go up the river. And here is my favorite quote of the book:

“There’s fearless and then there’s stupid.”

Postcards from Hawaii

Honolulu 1978. “Concrete Necklace” that seems to continually grow, but will never obliviate – majestic Diamond Head.

March 1990

Aloha
We hovered over this in an helicopter in 1986 and it’s still going! We are not going this year – but that’s about the only thing that has not changed. Some changes breaking the heart. Sigred and I are “up Kula” – very like our old home – chilly. No newspapers – no TV – so just hope the rest of the world is ok.
Aloha, Katherine

Lava rom Kilauea Volcano meets the sea at Kupaahu, not far from Kalapana Black Sand Beach, on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Kihel, Island of Maui

January 1967. Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head – Waikiki Beach is the hub of Hawaii’s vacationland and Diamond Head is her most famous landmark.

This beautiful waterfall took its name from many rainbows seen when the sun catches the mist below the falls. It is located in the Wailuku River State Park Hilo.

1990
Blow holes in Hawaii can be found on Oahu, Maui, Hawaii and Kauai. Huge ocean swells crash against the shoreline and surge into a lava bubble with a hole in its roof, crating huge geysers. They can be very dangerous. Photo: Carl Shaneff 

Postcards from Montana

Magnificent Mt. Gould and the Garden Wall are the backdrop for Lake Josephine. Less than one mile hike, or a short boat ride, take the visitor to the beautiful lake, one of 250 in Glacier National Park. The unique flower, Beargrass, is a member of the Lily family, and can be found in nearly all areas of the park.

Jackson Glacier. Visible from “Going to the Sun Highway” – the glacier was once part of the ice area of famous Blackfoot Glacier. It lies between Blackfoot Mountain and Mt. Jackson (10,023 ft). Sixty such glaciers still exist in the park

Built more than a century ago, Glacier Park Lodge is located on the east side, just inside the boundary of the park. Sixty immense timbers which were probably 500 to 800 years old when cut, were used in the construction of this imposing lodge. the huge 40-foot long timbers supporting the lobby are Douglas Fir, while those used to support the verandas are cedar. At the time these enormous timbers were set in place with their original bark still intact, the Indians dubbed Glacier Park Lodge, ‘Oom-Coo-La-Mush-Taw” The big Tree Lodge.
Artwprl bu Barbara Mitchell

Lewis and Clark Trails in Montana. In 1805-06, Lewis and Clark’s ‘Corp of Discovery’ went through present day Montana with the primary objective of finding a waterway from the East to the Pacific, and along the way documenting flora and fauna, and meeting area inhabitants.

Postcards from Indonesia

Indonesian Batik patterns

The main figures of Ramayana Dance.

Djanger Dance is such interesting that some of the tourists returned with a group Djanger dancers to perform in their country.

This Balinese bridesmaid was photographed shortly after her sister was married during a ceremony held in Tahanan on Bali’s West coast.

The Balinese Barong is a mythological symbol of the forces of good in the universe.