Driving in the Rain

July 5

Today it rained all day. You might say that the inside of the bowl that was blue and white yesterday was varying shades of gray today, from a light pearl gray to dark charcoal. So, only a couple of photos.


When we got to Moose Jaw we got the oil changed in the Roadtrek and then headed downtown to the Tunnels of Moose Jaw. This is a program that is set up in the real tunnels of Moose Jaw, the old steam tunnels that are under the city. Being a country girl, I thought that steam tunnels would be full of steam, but actually they only carry pipes. There are some that don't even do that; they were just created for the ease of the engineers who maintained the steam heat systems in the various buildings. There were two tours and we did both.




The first program was about the Chinese immigrants who came to Canada and eventually ended up in Moose Jaw. Their plight was explained by actors and video as well as the tour. The hatred and racism that they endured, as well as the horrible working and living conditions, was appalling. Most of them in Moose Jaw ended up living in the tunnels, working for laundries and sewing factories that were located in the basement rooms of buildings, and effectively rarely going above ground. Some of these injustices, the ones that had been made law, did not begin to improve until after WW2, and the last laws that singled them out weren't changed until in the 1990's.

The second program and tour was about Al Capone. Al and Company saw Prohibition as a giant opportunity to make a few (more) million bucks. Tiny Moose Jaw, with it's steam tunnels and supply of good Canadian rye, provided the necessary cover. A Police Chief who could be bought made it all pretty easy. The Tunnels organization did not allow photos, sorry!

There was one other highlight to Moose Jaw- an addition to the "World's Largest" list. You guessed it, a moose!


I wonder if the people who make the claim of the "World's Largest" actually do enough research to prove that? I only add things to the list if we read the claim about the particular item somewhere, or, as in the case of the buffalo, I will add a disclaimer. No fakes here!




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