Earth Systems Science, Inc.

GPS Surveys and Water Color Artists

May 06, 2003

During the first weekend of May, a core Expo Ranger team returned to Manzanar to complete the GPS (global positioning system) survey of the historic roads at the Manzanar NHS. The GPS survey requires the students to trace the centerline of the roads. The challenges of searching for the road system in the camp include nearly 50 years of neglect, burial by sand, encroachment by vegetation, and destruction by flashfloods.

As for the results of the initial GPS road survey done two weeks earlier, the response from Kathleen Fitzgerald, was, ?“Congratulations all! I finally got all the data from our weekend data collection extravaganza differentially corrected and converted to shape files. The data lines up perfectly. I look forward to receiving the data you all collected this past weekend.?”

The GPS road survey data were needed for the Cultural Landscape Report for the site. The digital data becomes part of the GIS (geographic information system) database for the park. The data can then be displayed on interactive computer maps.

As an added bonus, the Expo Ranger crew had an opportunity to meet and watch world renowned watercolorist Henry Fukuhara conduct a workshop at the front gate of Manzanar. Henry is a former internee of the camp and recently turned 90! His abstract renderings of Manzanar in his unique painting methods reveal his insights and approach to life. In watercolors, ?“there is no point of return,?” he stated. ?“If things don?’t go as you planned, don?’t worry about it,?” he quipped as his brush strokes brought color to the paper.

Following Henry?’s workshop, the group of attending artists took up locations around Manzanar and began sketching and painting. It was ?“art in the park?” under a brilliant afternoon sun. The glistening snow capped Sierras provided the backdrop for the bright yellow blossoms covering the former internment camp. The locust trees were in bloom, filling the air with a gentle scent. The full beauty of the Owens Valley spring provided a healing mask for this place of tragic American history.

?© 2003, ESSI. All rights reserved.
Photos by S. and G.K. Lee
Photo Notes:
Top Left: Examining a gully for evidence of a washed out road. Top Right: Searching for a road alignment amidst the sagebrush. Bottom Right: Henry Fukuhara (red jacket), renowned watercolorist. Bottom Left: Superintendent Frank Hays welcomes Henry Fukuhara and his fellow artists to Manzanar NHS.