This morning we said our good-byes to Tanya’s parents. We will surely miss their hospitality, the beautiful lake, and I’m sure Lukas will miss the butterflies. He has become a master catcher of at least 15 or more every day (catch and release, of course).
After our departure, we had to make a stop for our Mounties to enjoy the awesome Prairie landscape.
On our way back to Saskatoon we took a detour to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Home of the giant Moose, Mack, among some other interesting things…
After a trolley ride depicting points of interest in the city, we went underground.
In 1985, a massive tunnel network was discovered under the city after a truck fell into one that had collapsed. These tunnels are believed to have two very intriguing histories.
Initially, they were dug by and housed Chinese immigrants, in the late 19th century, to connect building basements in order to access the buildings’ boilers. Once the tunnels were completed, the immigrants continued to live in them and worked under squalid conditions as laundry workers and other menial labour. In addition to exploring these tunnels, we also learned about the injustices imposed on these people by the Canadian government. It is awful that these people suffered such treatment, but amazing that they persevered.
In the more recent past, the tunnels were used as smuggling and get-away routes for bootleggers and, most famously, Al Capone. It is rumoured that he came up from Chicago to oversee the production and smuggling of wisky during prohibition in the US. Who knew Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan was so notorious?
Both tours were depicted in an interesting and uniquely interactive presentation by character actors guiding us through the tunnels and their history.
