Diesel Train in the Royal Gorge

Postcard US-3689818 to Russia shows a diesel train in the Royal Gorge, on the Arkansas River, passing underneath the Suspension Bridge - "The World's Highest Bridge", near Cañon City, Colorado, Cañon City, with a population of 16,400 as of 2010 and known as the "Corrections Capital of the World for having nine state and four federal prisons and penitentiaries, is one of the few U.S. cities that have an eñe in its official name.

Two train stamps, among others, were affixed to the card. One was a 33-cent "The Congressional of the Pennsylvania Railroad" from a set of five 1999 stamps entitled All Aboard! 20th Century American Trains. The other “Untitled (Trains on Inclined Tracks),” showing a gouache, colored pencil, and graphite drawing on pieced paper from circa 1960–1963, was one of the five Forever stamps, issued on March 26, 2015, featuring the work of Mexican artist Martín Ramírez who had been confined to psychiatric hospitals for more than 30 years.

I had the sender's address since November 6, 2015. However, the card didn't get posted until December 4, 2015 due to delay from my training for my first half marathon and my encounter of a failed armed robbery. The card had since expired after 60 days, and it was automatically registered by Postcrossing on May 11, 2016 when the account of the receiver was closed.

Elephant Rock at Valley of Fire

Outgoing postcard US-3599773 to Hong Kong shows an arch in the shape of an elephant near the east entrance of the Valley of Fire State Park in Overton, Nevada. Parking is prohibited on the main road near the rock, but visitors can park at the east entrance parking lot and take a short 0.2 mile hiking trail to a vantage point. There are chances to see wildlife but watch out for lizards and snakes.

The card was sent on November 28, 2015 and has since expired,

Unrelated, USPS faces a forced postal rate deduction starting today on April 10, 2016. Mailing a 4"x6" postcard domestically will now cost 34¢ instead of 35¢; while an oversize one will incur the 1oz first class letter rate at 47¢ after a 2¢ reduction. The international postcard rate, same as that of a first class international letter up to 1oz, has decreased from USD 1.20 to USD 1.15.

Woman in a Fur Hat

Outgoing postcard US-3224039 to Belarus was sent on February 8,2015 and had expired since. The card shows an oil on canvas Woman in a Fur Hat, circa 1915, by Gretchen Woodman Rogers (1881 - 1967), an American painter associated with the Boston School.

The painting was said to be reminiscent of Girl with a Pearl Earring, circa 1665, by Johannes Vermeer. By referring to the Dutch artist’s most mesmerizing painting in her image of a contemporary woman, "Rogers links past and present, projecting an exquisite and timeless impression of strength and confidence."

The postcard was purchased at the gift shop of Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art during the annual Bellagio Museum Day in 2014, when the exhibition “Painting Women: Works from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston” was on display.

Old Saint Petersburg, Russia

Postcard RU-3302574 from Russia shows the main facade of the Stock Exchange Building at Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1903. According to Wikipedia, the Stock Exchange Building, designed by French architect Thomas de Thomon, and inspired by the Greek Temple of Hera at Paestum,  was constructed between 1805 and 1810. The Rostral Columns erected on either side of the Stock Exchange were completed in 1811. One of the columns can be seen on the left side of the postcard.

The Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and the Rostral Columns are significant examples of Greek Revival architecture.

The postmark indicates that the card was mailed on December 22, 2014 and had traveled more than 120 days.

From Snake, to Horse, and to Ram

Postcard US-2651107 to Taiwan was initially one of the Year of the Snake maxi cards enclosed in an envelop with the Year of the Horse Forever stamps. The envelop was sent in with other the Year of the Horse cards for a first-day-of-issue postmark in early 2014. The envelop seemed to be lost in the mail. This the Year of the Ram maxi card was sent as a replacement on February 7, 2015 when the Year of the Ram Forever stamp was first issued. It finally arrived two days before it would have expired permanently after "traveling" for a full year.

Venetian Tower at Christmas Time

I sent this card to Czech on December 26, 2014 as a replacement of US-2566010 that was posted on December 26, 2013. The original copy was the same as US-2518598, showing the tower at The Venetian Las Vegas with a round shaped USPS Evergreen Wreath Global Forever Stamp issued on October 24, 2013. It was apparently lost in the mail and had expired since. When the Postcard ID was dropped from the PostCrossing system after one year, it has formally entered my postcard graveyard. The replacement card has a new USPS Silver Bells Wreath Global Forever stamp that was issued on October 23, 2014 along with the Winter Fun stamps.

The Venetian Tower with Christmas Tree as seen on December 27, 2014.

National Geographic: Owls

Outgoing postcard US-2869244 to Ukraine, sent on July 3, 2014, has since expired. It shows a tagged northern spotted owl in a redwood forest in California.

After I saw a Youtube video of an owl attacked by a hawk, I was curious about the difference between owls and hawks, all birds of prey. Owls belong to the order Strigiformes, with more than 100 species. On the other hands, hawks belong to the Accipitridae family within the order Accipitriformes. Owls are more active at night while hawks rule the day. That probably partially explain the timing of the above "attack." However, hawks do appear to be more aggressive and territorial. Another popular Youtube Video shows the dramatic moment of a hawk attacking a drone over Cambridge, Massachusetts recently, sending the quadcopter plummeting to the ground.

Photo Credit: Michael Nichols/National Geographic Stock. The postcard was purchased at National Geographic store at Zazzle.

Better Late than Never

Postcard US-2849028 to China was a Welcome to Las Vegas card from the tropical themed Margaritaville casino inside the Flamingo in Las Vegas. It was mailed directly from USPS' Philatelic Center in Kansas City after it was sent in to obtain a first-day-of-issue postmark on the Nevada Statehood Forever stamp by mail on July 26, 2014, along with other cards. Due to the initial delay in selecting a card on my part and a longer-than-usual-processing time at the Philatelic Center in Kansas City, it took exactly 100 days for the card to arrive. Yet it is an encouraging sign, and I hope the rest of those postcards in that order will soon reach their intended recipients.

Innocence, So Fleeting, So Fragile

Outgoing postcard US-2529931 to Belarus was another postcard from Zumanity, the Sensual Side of Cirque du Soleil at New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The scene on the postcard, with a tag line "Innocence, so fleeting, so fragile", reveals elegance and passion of women. The show is scheduled to undergo an overhaul early next year. The postcard was purchased at the show's gift shop. It was sent on November 28, 2013 and had since expired.

Tonight, the giant Viva Vision LED display canopy at the Fremont Street Experience lit up again for the 16th annual Las Vegas Pride Parade in downtown Las Vegas. A blog from Las Vegas Weekly explains why Las Vegas Pride matters for a largely dis-unified LGBT community. The pride festival will be held at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater tomorrow from noon to 10:00 p.m. on September 6, 2014. As concluded in that blog, we will be there "not because we want to see more people impersonating Britney Spears, but because we want to see us."

It's the Journey that Counts

Postcard US-2692599 to Japan shows a 16-foot or 4.9-meter horse, centerpiece of the "Year of the Horse" art installation at The Palazzo's Waterfall Atrium and Gardens, commemorating Chinese New Year that begins on January 31, 2014. Having since concluded on February 16, 2014, there were eight hand-sculpted and hand-painted horses throughout the display. The photo was taken on January 20, 2014.

However, after I sent the card in for the first-day-of-issue postmark, it was returned to me on April 11, 2014 without cancellation. I had addressed the card to Japan with adequate international postage and asked it to be released for mailing.

I added an apology on the card for not being able to secure a first-day-of-issue postmark and re-posted it on the same day on April 11, 2014. A message came on September 1, 2014: "The postcard US-2692599 you sent to marie1112 in Japan was registered by Postcrossing. The account of the receiver was closed and for this reason the postcard was automatically registered."

I am not sure why this card did not get the first-day-of-issue postmark, and I don't know if the card reached the receiver before she closed her account. But, I tried.

Pride + Joy: One Year After Historic Supreme Court Ruling

One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two landmark rulings on June 26, 2013: one striking down part of the the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages and the other allowing same-sex couples to marry legally in California.

Since then, huge advances for the same-sex marriage have brought pride and joy to many couples who could not marry before. Before the rulings, same sex couples could marry in only 10 states and the District of Columbia; today, that number has almost doubled to 19 states and the District of Columbia, covering near 44% population of the country.

Most recently on Wednesday June 25, 2014, a federal judge struck down same-sex marriage ban in Indiana. Meanwhile, a 2-1 decision from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, the first issued at the level of the federal appellate courts, ruled that the same-sex marriage ban in Utah was unconstitutional. Marriage-equality lawsuits are now pending in all 31 states where same-sex couples are still barred from marrying.

Postcard US-2333973 to Indiana, which was sent on July 25, 2013 and has since expired, was made out of a hand fan distributed by Macy's during the 2012 Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Parade in San Francisco. The 2014 Parade, themed "Color Our World with Pride," will start at Market & Beale and end at Market & 8th Street in downtown San Francisco at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday June 29, 2014.

Florida Perfume Water with Cabbage Roses

Expired Postcard US-2190474 to Croatia was sent on April 20, 2013 and reached its 365-day graveyard mark without being registered. The postcard shows a vintage Florida perfume label c1900. It features colorful pink and yellow roses with a pretty bottle at the bottom of label. A replacement card was sent but it appeared lost as well.

Year of the Horse

Postcard JP-412981 arrived after 218 days. Actually, the first card was sent around June 12, 2013 and it got lost. The sender was kind enough to send this second card. And it's the first postcard with the Year of the Horse theme. The Horse (馬) is one of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese/Lunar Calendar. The Year of the Horse starts on January 31, 2014 and ends on February 18, 2015.

Flying Jenny

Recently I got back this "Flying Jenny" postcard from the USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services in Kansas City, MO after getting a First-Day-of-Issue postmark on the re-issued "Inverted Jenny" rare stamp. The image used on the postcard was a cropped version of a family photo in public domain by George Johnson, Aviation Section, US Army Signal Corps. taken in 1918. It shows a Curtiss JN-4 (Jenny) on a training flight during World War I.

Other cards, sent in for the First-Day-of-Issue cancellation with similar designs, were addressed to Romania (US-2474578) and Taiwan (US-2452330). They are now expired, with postcard US-2452330 being replaced by a re-sent Christmas card. However, since it took a little more than a month to get the First-Day-of-Issue cancellations, the actually traveling time for those cards should be less than stated. The original cards may still arrive soon.

Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2011

Postcard RU-1967483 arrived today after "traveling" 92 days, showing an original photo of Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2011 by the sender. It is worth to note that the first card expired and the sender was kind enough to resend the card. I feel bad about it because it was the very first card she sent since joining the PostCrossing project. I still remember the anxiety and excitement when I was waiting for my first card to get registered. Hope it's an exception for her and wouldn't discourage her to enjoy the experience. The second card has a postmark on November 14, 2013. It reached U.S. from Russia in 15 days.

Vanished Sculptures Outside the Monte Carlo

Expired Postcard US-1945392 to Belarus has reached its 365-day mark and is heading to the postcard graveyard. The postcard shows a sculpture outside the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino with a photo taken on October 12, 2012.

Those frolicking sculptures at the north Monte Carlo entrance were dismantled along with the European facade and famed fountain in June 2013 to make way for a large open-air plaza between the Monte Carlo and New York New York. It is part of the current trend that opens up casinos and converts external facades into profit-making entertainment venues with live entertainment, restaurants and retail stores, similar to what are happening in the MGM Grand and the Treasure Island,

Forum Shops at Caesars

Postcard US-1940143 to Taiwan has expired for 365 days and is about to fall off the face of the PostCrossing Universe. The recipient sent five postcards and failed to register any. So there are at least four other cards got lost alongside of mine.

The postcard shows the Forum Shops at Caesars, a 636,000-square-foot or 59,100 square-meter luxury mall in Las Vegas, Nevada. Connected to Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino and built as an extension wing of the hotel, the mall now fronts on The Las Vegas Strip as shown on the postcard. The mall has more than 160 stores that line up simulated ancient Roman streets dotted with replicas of the Trevi and Triton fountains, statues and facades. It is also noted for its majestic spiral escalators by the massive reflecting pool at its entrance.

The photo on the card was taken on September 30, 2012.

Sirens of TI will Go Silent for a While

Postcard US-2230025, sent to Taiwan on May 16, 2013, has since expired. It shows an aerial view of the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino (top left); its "TI" sign at the entrance (bottom left); and the Sirens' ship "the Song" in the nightly "the Sirens of TI" show.

In the show, a group of sensual and tempting Sirens battles with a band of renegade pirates.The Sirens first captures an overboard pirate, Eros, and lures his captain and crew into Sirens' Cove. However, the Sirens quickly find themselves under cannon fires from the pirate's ship "the Bull". Not for long, the Sirens overpower the pirates and sink "the Bull" to the bottom of the ocean. Nonetheless, as the pirates climb aboard "the Song" and a second battle ensues. In the end, the pirates realize that they are no match for the Sirens and decide to surrender. Then as the fireworks shoot from the hotel roof, it turns into a big party.

The show will be temporarily closed from October 21, 2013 to December 25, 2013 as a three-story shopping mall is added to the resort site to host a CVS pharmacy, stores, restaurants, and an automobile showroom. The resort’s lagoon area will be reduced in size; and the pirate ship "the Bull", while not going away, will run on the shortened track.

Supermoon

Full Moon at Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas

The expired postcard US-1895485 was sent to Netherlands on October 2, 2012. It shows a full moon over the Flamingo Hotel on September 30, 2012.

On Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 4:32 am PDT (11:32 UTC / 7:32 am EDT), the moon was at its perigee point, the point in the moon orbit that is closest to the center of the earth. Whenever that happens as the moon also enters its fullest phase, it creates a coincidence called "supermoon". At its fullest and closest, the moon appears about 12% larger in the sky.

In the middle of the picture shows the supermoon in the evening of June 22, 2013 while on the right shows a full moon on September 30, 2012. The difference between the two is shown on the left.

The previous two supermoons happened on March 19, 2011 and on May 6, 2012. The next superMoon will be on August 10, 2014. 

I wish I were in Alaska so that I could see the supermoon in the midnight sun. You can see photos of the supermoon at Huffington Post, Baltimore Sun, EarthSky.ORG and Space.COM.

Postcard Graveyard

Temple at the Golden Summit, Mount Emei, Sichuan, China

Expired postcards are just the costs to "do business" in PostCrossing. Postcards can get lost in the mail, be forgotten by inactive users, or be held hostage by some recipients who dislike the type, content of cards or are offended by how their address are written.

Senders can minimize the chances of postcards losing in the mail by getting familiar with the guidelines from their postal services. A Customer's Guide for Mailing is a good resources for the people in the US.

For recipients, we understand there are other priorities in real-life. However, please change your status to inactive if you are unable to register received cards for a period of time.

Registering a received card is your obligation when you sign up PostCrossing, therefore, it is not optional. When someone intentionally delay or refuse to register a card, she or he breaks the rule. You can and should  let your displeasure so the sender knows when you register the card. Unfortunately, we did see occasionally some users mentioning on social media that they pretended not having received the cards for various reasons.

After one year from the date that the address is requested, the Postcrossing system deletes the postcard entry from the system. Therefore, the sent postcard will fall off the face of the Planet Postcrossing as it will not show up on the sender's sent list nor it can no longer be registered by the recipient.

The postcard US-1687553, sent to Mexico on May 17, 2012, is my 2nd card about to be sucked into  black hole. It features a temple at the Golden Summit on Mount Emei, Sichuang, China. Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha, is an official UNESCO site. The postcard was a blank bonus card sent to me along with the postcard CN-597954 by mickyjan.

However, postcards do arrive after 46 years, 49 years, 60 years, 64 years, or even 100 years. So, may my expired postcards be resurrected some day? I hope.