Been thinking about a road trip for awhile. Almost went to Nit's yesterday. Nit's is a Thai restaurant in Moose Jaw. Nothing special about the ambience but it has fabulous food. No Canadianized food here, it's the real thing. But it's not just Nit's that's a Southern Saskatchewan icon. The name Moose Jaw is famous - no I'm serious. We once met a group of Americans who were on a journey to see the place called Moose Jaw. They were fascinated by the name. They'd found it on a map and had to check it out. To me it's just the little city with the funny name. I boarded there for a few months while I went to school but back then Moose Jaw was only a small, charming little place. Now it is the home of Al Capone. You heard me right. Since my youth they discovered a labryinth of tunnels under Moose Jaw's Main Street. The tunnels of Moose Jaw are famous and well worth a visit. Interactive tours run daily, hosted by exuberant tour guides who ensure you get right into the action. So whether you believe or nor that Al Capone fled the law, riding the rails until he got to the little town of Moose Jaw - you've got to spend a day in the tunnels, running three steps ahead of a man called Al, dodging bullets and playing a card game or two with a few unsavory characters who may threaten to turn you into fish bait. And, you can end the day with a massage and soak at the mineral spa. Next time I go, I'll write you a story about the day I was there, maybe it'll even be a romance.
Next roadtrip - Calgary. I'm going to a writer's workshop. Stay tuned.
Safe travels
Ryshia
That is the coolest thing I've heard in a long time! I had no idea there were tunnels under Moose Jaw!
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading a book about a US traveling circus during that same 1920's Al Capone prohibition era. In the story, they mention making a pitstop to Canada to pick up booze. It doesn't name a specific city... but, now I wonder whether they were talking about Moose Jaw!
Depending what state they were coming from, you might be right. Moose Jaw has quite the history. The tunnels are amazing, in fact I think they discovered another just recently. There's a dark side to them though because they were not only used by Al Capone, they were also used to house Chinese labourers.
ReplyDeleteThere's a series of books called "Tunnels of Time", "Tunnels of Terror" etc. by Mary Harelkin Bishop, all kids' adventure stories based on the history of the Moose Jaw tunnels.
Ryshia
http://travel.nytimes.com/2004/11/16/international/americas/16moosejaw.html?ex=1183262400&en=c0df3ff0abed2344&ei=5070