Saturday, June 6, 2009 – Day 9

Tunnels of Moose Jaw
Our last full day in Saskatchewan was spent under the city of Moose Jaw. It was a day filled with history and tales of old time bootleggers. We took both tours offered by “Tunnels of Moose Jaw” and were delighted with the entertaining and educational experience it provided.

The first tour brought us underground through tunnels, passageways and large laundry rooms where early Chinese laborers spent 10 years or more of hard labor to pay off the debts owed to those who loaned them the money (also their employers) to come to Canada. It was shocking to see the conditions that these early immigrants were faced with as they set out to find a better life than what they were experiencing in China.

The second tour focused on the belief that famous gangster Al Capone spent some time hiding out in Moose Jaw while running a bootlegging operation. It was full of suspicious characters and gangster activity that brought us visitors into the role as bootleggers.

While we took all of our kids on both tours, the tour on the history of Chinese immigrants is suitable for all ages while the Gangster tour is more interesting for kids 10 and up.

At the end of our day we drove through the beautiful Capital city of Regina. It is a beautiful city with unique bridges, buildings and numerous parks throughout.