At The National War Memorial

Every once in awhile I'll photograph the National War Memorial, at the heart of Confederation Square downtown. It is one of my favourite photo subjects.

On the south end of the property, banners are displayed on the history of the place. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which dates to 2000, has become in many ways the most sacred place in the country.

From April into November during the day, servicemen and women from units across each of the military branches can be found on the grounds as an honour guard. Two of them will do hour long shifts twice a day before being relieved by the next set, taking their breaks in a space beneath the nearby Plaza Bridge.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is at the base of the Memorial.

The Memorial was designed by Vernon March as a memorial after World War One. It was dedicated in the months before World War Two. It has since been rededicated to include that war, the Korean War, the South African War, the Afghan War, and those who have died in military service to the country. It features 22 service members moving through an arch, with two allegorical figures at the top of the arch. It has the tone of commemoration and mourning, entirely appropriate for a war memorial.

UNESCO Sites Within Canada

In the same manner as the display series on Plaza Bridge, each summer, a series of display panels are set up on the terrace below the Chateau Laurier that leads the visitor towards Major's Hill Park. This year, the theme is UNESCO sites in Canada. This refers both to World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Regions. There are 22 of the first in the country, and 19 of the other. This year, the government shone a light on some of them.

SGang Gwaay (Haida Gwaii) is off the coast of British Columbia, a traditional Haida village that has been set aside and protected.

Gros Morne National Park, in Newfoundland, is a landscape where mantle rock from deep within the earth has been pushed up to the surface in an extraordinary landscape.

In Alberta, Writing-On-Stone/ Aisinai'pi preserves the petroglyphs and pictographs of the Blackfoot.

The Rideau Canal marks its two hundredth year this year, and is a World Heritage Site. This photograph captures the view behind me as I was taking these shots- the terrace is visible below the Chateau at left. It is here where the Canal meets the Ottawa River at the Ottawa Locks, in a saddle between the Chateau Laurier and Parliament Hill.

Riding Mountain National Park is in Manitoba, home to a diverse ecosystem and a diverse landscape.

Dinosaur Provincial Park is in Alberta. This amazing landscape of canyons is home to one of the richest deposits of fossils on the planet.

In the Yukon, Kluane/ Wrangell- St. Elias/ Glacier Bay/ Tatshenshini-Alsek is a broad bioreserve crossing the border with Alaska, and dipping into British Columbia.

The old historic district of Quebec City is also a World Heritage Site, with its rich history and architecture.

In the Northwest Territories, Nahanni National Park is a vast landscape of the far north that most people will never see.

The Bay of Fundy is home to the world's highest tides, where at low tide the visitor can walk on the ocean floor. I have been there twice.

The Canadian Rockies are home to seven parks on either side of the Alberta and British Columbia border that make up a large World Heritage Site of some of the most spectacular scenery you will ever see.

Lunenburg is a traditional fishing and shipbuilding village founded in 1753 in Nova Scotia, known for its colourful homes.

Second Star To The Right

 Canadarm2 is the second generation version of the Canadarm, used aboard the ISS. Here we see Chris Hadfield working with it.

David Saint-Jacques set a record for the most time spent in space by a Canadian astronaut in 2019.

Jenni Gibbons served as Capcom for Artemis II.

Josh Kutryk has been assigned to NASA's Commercial Crew Program. 

Dextre is a more recent addition to Canadarm2. It is a two armed robot meant for specialized work outside the ISS.

Much of what is done in space applies to earth, with research being done that applies to medical cases here. Canadian research has been instrumental in that.

Steve Maclean went to space twice, aboard Columbia and Atlantis. 

Canada is one of the partners in the ISS, along with NASA, Europe, Japan, and Russia.

I took some perspective shots of the displays and the surroundings.

Resourceful

The blending of old architecture and new infrastructure in this place works well. All of the infrastructure was installed in such a way that it can be removed with no impact on the building itself.

This is the 150th anniversary for the Library of Parliament. The main building at Centre Block is the only part of the original Centre Block still standing. On the night of the 1916 fire that destroyed the rest of the building, a fast acting clerk saved the library by shutting the heavy iron doors that protected it from the inferno.

One last shot. I was heading elsewhere from here.