This is a radio image made during the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey. The primary instrument in the project was the DRAO Synthesis Radio Telescope. In the top left corner is a "supernova remnant"; the remains of an exploded star. The debris ejected in the explosion is colliding with the surrounding gas and dust clouds, creating a bubble. On the right is a complicated star formation region. There is a big cloud of gas and dust extending across the area in the image. Stars are forming in those clouds on the right, which are making their birth clouds hot. There is another such region but much smaller in the lower left. The starlike points are not stars. The Sun is the only normal star close enough to us for its radio waves to be detectable. All those dots are radio images of very distant galaxies. This image shows the sky as it would appear to us if we could see radio waves. The supernova remnant in the upper left would appear about the size of the full moon in the sky. , A Synthesis Telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory. Credit: Mark Klotz via Flickr

YEAR IN REVIEW: ‘Glamazon’ flowers, WWII naval bunkers and a radio telescope among the cool places we visited this year

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – You may see them everyday, or have never heard of them before, but these are the places that we went and saw this year.

One thing you might not expect to find in Kamloops is one of the oldest Chinese cemeteries in the country. A remnant from when the railway was being built, the site still plays a roll in the local Chinese-Canadian community.

Not far from that, but even more surprising are WWII era naval bunkers. Due to the city’s location on two train lines, it was the site of a military installation to store ammunition, among other things, away from vulnerable coastal positions with 22 re-enforced and camouflaged buildings.

This home on Pritchard Drive in West Kelowna could be the most expensive ever sold in the Interior. It is listed at almost $11 million., One of the WW2 bunkers located in west Kamloops. Credit: bcbusiness.ca Photographer: Brendan Kergin

Next door is a much newer enterprise, though it looks even more formidable than a naval bunker. The address, 1460 Bunker Rd., may not sound like much, but the large building with formidable security is a data storage facility for businesses and the government.

We also stuck our nose into what causes Kamloops’s unique odour, the Domtar mill. Turns out the cause includes white liquor, digestion and wood chips.

Kristin Dangelmaier stands at the top of the Domtar building in Kamloops, in front of three of the pulp treatment ponds. Ashley Legassic

On the opposite end of the smell spectrum there’s a visit to the iris gardener of the North Okanagan, who has hundreds of varieties of the colourful blooms in her back yard. Marianne Unruh has turned the backyard to her Falkland home into the home for flowers with names like 'Glamazon.'

Falkland gardener Marianne Unruh has over 250 different colours of irises — and plans to have a lot more. Charlotte Helston

Go a little farther south to Kelowna and you’ll come upon a house that was on the market for $11 million. The 7,248 square foot home includes its own beach, among many other high-end features.

This home on Pritchard Drive in West Kelowna could be the most expensive ever sold in the Interior. It is listed at almost $11 million. Credit: janehoffman.com

While that was the most spectacular house iNFOnews got into this year, we also took a look at some of the other real estate and rental highlights in the region.

And from close to home to a galaxy far, far away, the White Lake Basin near Penticton is home to the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, one of the most high tech observatories in the world.

This is a radio image made during the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey. The primary instrument in the project was the DRAO Synthesis Radio Telescope. In the top left corner is a “supernova remnant”; the remains of an exploded star. The debris ejected in the explosion is colliding with the surrounding gas and dust clouds, creating a bubble. On the right is a complicated star formation region. There is a big cloud of gas and dust extending across the area in the image. Stars are forming in those clouds on the right, which are making their birth clouds hot. There is another such region but much smaller in the lower left. The starlike points are not stars. The Sun is the only normal star close enough to us for its radio waves to be detectable. All those dots are radio images of very distant galaxies. This image shows the sky as it would appear to us if we could see radio waves. The supernova remnant in the upper left would appear about the size of the full moon in the sky. , A Synthesis Telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory. Credit: Mark Klotz via Flickr

We also took a drive down to Area 27, near Oliver, a place with with big dreams, that is now the largest racetrack in Canada west of Ontario.

This home on Pritchard Drive in West Kelowna could be the most expensive ever sold in the Interior. It is listed at almost $11 million., Area 27 track layout Credit: photo contrbuted

Finally, while it’s not about a place specifically, we took a look at the name Kamloops and while many may think it’s unique to our city, those eight letters have show up on Japanese street signs, a cat's food bowl and a crater on Mars (once the sign is installed).

To contact a reporter for this story, email Brendan Kergin or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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Brendan Kergin

Brendan grew up down on the coast before moving to Kamloops to pursue a degree in journalism. After graduating from TRU in 2013 he moved to Toronto to work as an editor, but decided to move back west after a couple years. With a big interest in politics, Brendan will be covering city hall. Outside of council chambers he’ll write about anything; if you have a story you think people might be interested in, contact him at bkergin@infonews.ca


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