This month marked our first major vacation since our family trip to Iceland in 2015. And our Atlantic Canada itinerary included plenty of National Historic Sites, National Parks and other truly Canadian experiences. Returning home late on July 30th allows just enough time to select and share five photographs for this month’s photo blogging challenge theme: patriotic.

1. Halifax Citadel National Historic Site

National historic sites can be found in every Canadian province and territory, in almost any setting – from urban to wilderness. The star-shaped Halifax Citadel dates back to 1749 and is managed by Parks Canada, which has installed red Adirondack “share the chairs” at national parks/historic sites across the country.

2. Gros Morne National Park

After a few days exploring parts of Nova Scotia by land, we boarded an expedition ship for a 10-day excursion from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Iqaluit, Nunavut. One of our first stops was at Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. We opted to hike the Lookout Hills Trail with about 2 dozen shipmates. The route included several long sections of boardwalk.

3. L’Anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site

Archaeological finds indicate that about a thousand years ago, Norsemen established a settlement on the northernmost tip of the Great Northern Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. Our expedition cruise dropped anchor just offshore this UNESCO World Heritage Site and we transferred to/from L’Anse Aux Meadows via Zodiacs.

4. Polar Bear

What animals come to mind when you think of Canada? Beaver, moose, lynx, caribou and polar bears, to name a few! We spotted at least one polar bear on three different days of our expedition cruise. This one was conserving energy on a rocky spit on Goodwin Island in the Button Islands – the southernmost landmass in Nunavut.

5. Sea Ice in Frobisher Bay

Icebergs commanded a lot more interest and attention from the passengers and crew aboard Canadian expedition cruise company One Ocean’s RCGS Resolute. But the ice in Frobisher Bay was a unique experience, thumping and bumping under the ship’s hull all night and slowing our passage from the Button Islands to Iqaluit (on Baffin Island) so that our time in the Nunavut capital was limited to a short bus ride from our zodiac landing site to the airport.

Consider these 5 photos a bit of a teaser for several blog posts to come, highlighting our favourite sites and hikes from our few days in Nova Scotia and detailing our expedition cruise experiences.

Head on over to A ‘lil HooHaa to view PJ’s photos for the month. At the bottom of his post you’ll find the link up to all the other participants this month.

While you’re there, please consider joining us! I treat the PBC like a low-pressure photography assignment. The August theme is already posted and there’s lots of time to get five photos that represent what The Written Word means to you. The amount of accompanying text is up to you. What do you say? Are you in?