International Day of Human Space Flight

United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring April 12 as the International Day of Human Space Flight on April 7, 2011, in commemoration of the first manned space flight by the 27-year-old Russian Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961. Gagarin circled the Earth for 1 hour and 48 minutes aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft.

On April 12, 1981, exactly 20 years after the first manned space flight, Space Shuttle Columbia was launched for the first orbital flight as mission STS-1.

Postcard RU-2069606 from Russia shows Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (March 9, 1934 – March 27, 1968), a Russian Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who was the first human made into outer space.

Queen Elizabeth II

Outgoing postcard US-3208618 to Italy was a vintage postcard from Cunard Line Limited by J. Arthur Dixon in 1968, showing Queen Elizabeth II, a transatlantic ocean liner sailing from Southampton, UK to New York City, USA from 1969 to 2008. It was operated regularly as a cruise ship as well. However, it was never designated Royal Mail Ship (RMS) as her predecessor RMS Queen Elizabeth did. Queen Elizabeth II retired from active service on November 27, 2008, and was acquired by a private equity firm of Dubai World to be converted to a 500-room floating hotel in Dubai.

Valley of Fire

Postcard US-1804465 to Germany shows a flaming sunset view at the Valley of Fire, the oldest and largest state park in Nevada located 55 miles from Las Vegas, dedicated in 1935. The Valley of Fire got its name from red sandstone formations, formed from great shifting sand dunes some 150 million years ago when dinosaurs were around. You can find areas of petrified wood and early Indian petroglyphs throughout the park. There is a diverse desert bio-community that features creosote bush, burro bush, and brittlebush; beaver tail and cholla cactus; springtime blooming plants such as desert marigold, indigo bush, and desert mallow; birds such as raven, house finch, sage sparrow, and roadrunner; lizard and snake; coyote, kit fox, spotted skunk, jackrabbit; and the desert tortoise.

The Valley of Fire was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1968. The park is also marked as Nevada Historical Marker #150. A close-up view of an area in Fire Canyon, part of Valley of Fire, has made on to the Nevada Statehood Forever Commemorative stamp, to be issued by USPS in Las Vegas, NV on May 29, 2014, to celebrates the 150th anniversary of Nevada statehood. The oil-on-Masonite panel was painted by Nevada artist Ron Spears.

Shimokita Peninsula, Japan

Postcard JP-492787 came from the Shimokita Peninsula (下北半島),  located in the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū, separated from Hokkaido from the Tsugaru Strait. Shaped like an axe pointing to the west, the peninsula has a thin "handle" in the east connecting to the mountainous "blade" to the mainland.

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The whole Shimokita area was designated as a quasi-national park (下北半島国定公園 Shimokita-hantō Kokutei Kōen) on July 22, 1968. All Quasi-National Parks in Japan are managed by the local prefectural governments. The card shows many swans, migrated from Siberia for the winter, at Ominato Bay inside Mutsu Bay.