Boating lazily down the Rideau Canal National Historic Site first on a hot summer journey and then on a cool and rainy fall one, I wonder how I lived this long in Ontario oblivious to the magic of this waterway. We glide into one lock after another, watching as Parks Canada staff use hand-powered winches to operate the gates and sluice valves, raising or lowering us from one water level to another as the watertight chambers either fill or empty.

Parks Canada historian Meg Stanley has a succinct and evocative way of describing her job: “It’s the art of fitting a story into a space, and taking a story and expressing it in a three-dimensional way.”

After chatting with Elizabeth Tait, you'll look at the costumed characters of national historic sites with a newfound appreciation.

There was something about the guided tour of New York’s Tenement Museum a few years back that resonated as the engaging guide asked about our thoughts and experiences and went where the conversation took us instead of just droning on with a dull prepared script.