August 24, 2024 - Alaska Flight
Return Trip Day 2B - Mackenzie to Kamloops, BC
I pick up the substantial John Hart Peace River Highway (Highway 97) which comes west through the mountains all the way from Dawson Creek.
Passing yet another lake.
A rain shower to the east.
I don't think I've ever seen so many power lines running in parallel like this. I count at least 10 wires.
A big chunk of that ridge has been strip-mined.
A better view of the gigantic power-line swatch through the forest.
Heading southeast now still following Highway 97
I'm getting to like Highway 97; like flying the Alcan highway. I'm now heading due south.
Getting away from civilization.
Low scattered layer.
Approaching the little town of Cache Creek where Highway 97 ends into the Trans Canada Highway (Highway One) which runs east towards Kamloops and south to Vancouver. Yes, I'm really not that far from the Pacific Ocean at this point. This is all new territory for me. I've never even heard of the places in this area before. But I can read and follow a chart, so I'm good!
Looking south.
It's getting overcasty.
Overcast is getting lower, but I'm very close to Kamloops now and I'm not worried about it.
Kamloops dead ahead!
Almost there.
I didn't know what this complex was at the time. It appears to be deserted. It turns out it is Tranquille Sanatorium and it has an interesting history.
From Wikipedia: Tranquille Sanatorium was built in 1907 to treat tuberculosis, which was known as the "white plague" back then. It was a ranch beforehand. The BC government bought the land for the sanatorium. As the tuberculosis epidemic was spreading in the 1900s, a small community known as Tranquille was built around it. Originally, the facility was called the King Edward VII Sanatorium and served only to treat tuberculosis. The community built around the facility had gardens, houses, a gymnasium, a farm, a fire department, a auditorium, a cafeteria, a laundry mat, tennis courts, a steam plant, a school for handicapped children named "Stsmemelt Village", and many more facilities, In 1958, the hospital closed and was reopened in 1959 to treat the mentally ill. It closed permanently in 1983 but briefly functioned as a detention center for young offenders until the 1990s. In September 1991, an Italian developer, Giovanni Camporese, the president of A&A Foods, bought the land for turning it into a resort and renamed it "Padova City" as a reminder of the place he was born. There were plans for the demolition of the site but governmental interference's and Camporese's unrelated 1997 case prevented it. The Tranquille Sanatorium has a medical lab in the middle of it.
The site was open for tours but is currently closed. Supposedly it has been approved for a future resort community named Tranquille On The Lake.
Passing the Fire Fighting area with lots of single-engine turboprop plans on amphibious floats. Plus two bigger jets with four engines each.
Passing the Kamloops Airport Terminal.
Parked on the ramp by the FBO Executive Flight Center. My timing was good. I arrived around 4PM local. The FBO attendent who was there until 6PM fueled the plane -- there is no self-service here -- and gave me the gouge. The FBO building interior is very nice, as you would expect for a business that services jets like the one you see in this picture. But they do not have a courtesy car. And there are no motels within walking distance; all the motels are in the city center on the other side of town. They do have a good taxi service though. I would have to bite the bullet and taxi to/from the motel. I used Booking.com to reserve a motel in town: the Vista Inn. I ended up spending about $40 each way for the taxi, but I didn't mind paying it after spending last night in tent in the cold at Watson Lake.
The Vista Inn was nice, on the south bank of the South Thompson River overlooking the town, with a decent restaurant across the street.
The SPOT track from Mackenzie to Kamloops.
