Canada/West 2022:
Day 1 - Holmen

	Wednesday, August 10, 2022: We had packed the van very thoughtfully in the days preceeding our trip since it was going to be a long one with mixed hotels and campgrounds. We were on the road by 8:45 AM and stopped for breakfast at McDonald's. Tom was about to order our usual breakfast when Debbie shouted "Two steak, egg, and cheese bagel meals! Two steak, egg, and cheese bagel meals!"
	The day had finally come. The finest breakfast meal ever conceived was back at our local McDonald's. We savored every bite and hoped that the Breakfast Gods would grant us this divine favor again on our 25 day trip.
	We headed north through Chicago and our route took us through Bolingbrook, IL, where we discovered for the first time that there is a canal that runs parallel to the Des Plaines River. Behold a portion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, that once ran for 96 miles from Lake Michigan to the Illinois River in order to connect traffic on the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River. This is one of the only remaining stretches of the once-great canal.
	We always photograph Castle Rock near Camp Douglas, WI, and today it looked quite lovely in the early afternoon sun.
	We arrived in Holmen, WI, at a little after 3 PM. We had booked a room at the Prairie Inn for the first two nights of the trip.
	We had booked a double room, but when we checked in, we were delighted to find out that we had been upgraded to a King Suite. Let's check it out! There was a little kitchenette, ...
	... and a sitting area with a table and two chairs, ...
	... and a king-sized bed and jacuzzi tub.
	Debbie's aunt Carol picked up dinner for the three of us and brought it to our hotel. We were so excited to see Carol and so overwhelmed by the wonderful smells coming from the food that we neglected to take any pictures except for this one of the receipt well after all of the food was gone.
	We all piled in the minivan and headed north to Long Coulee Cemetery to look for some of Debbie's and Carol's relatives.
	Right away, we found members of the Haug and Black families.
	Here is the gravestone for Fredericka (1861-1943) and Oluff (1860-1929) Haug, Debbie's great-great-grandparents.
	Debbie looked closely at the inscription for Fredericka. The last two digits of the year of her death had been engraved differently from the other letters and numbers on the stone. We wondered if it had been corrected at some point.
	Right next to Fredericka and Oluff is the gravestone for their son, James Haug (1887-1959), and his wife, Lillie (1892-1974).
	A nearby monument contains the names of Oluff's siblings who died in childhood, including ...
	... Minna (1855-1856) and Hans (1857-1861), ...
	... Ellen (1859-1859) and Mary (1862-1863), ...
	... and Carl Teodor (1866-1866) and Amalia (1867-1867).
	Fredericka's parents had their own large monument.
	One side had her father's information: Ole Olsen Black Sr. (1819-1898) ...
	... and the other side had her mother's information: Johanna Black (1821-1907). These are Debbie's great-great-great-grandparents.
	Four stones in a row near Ole Sr. and Johanna's monument held the names of some of their children: Morten (1855-1855), Mathea (1856), Berthe (1863-1864), and Maria (1856-1866). Mathea was Maria's twin and she died the same day she was born. Maria lived until she was ten years old.
	Here are the gravestones of Ole Sr. and Johanna's son, Gilbert Black (1851-1933), and his wife, Karen (1850-1913).
	Here's the gravestone of Gilbert and Karen's son, John (1886-1916), and first wife, Sophie Black (1882-1913). John remarried in 1914, died in 1916, and his second wife died in 1918, leaving behind a polio-stricken three-year-old daughter.
	John's sister died in childhood (1880-1881) and her gravestone leans against his. The text on her stone is in Norwegian.
	Here are the gravestones of Ole Sr. and Johanna's son, Anton (1863-1937), and his wife, Anne (1862-1935).
	Here are the gravestones of Ole Sr. and Johanna's son, Ole O. Black Jr. (1849-1930), and his wife, also named Johanna (1842-1911), and two of their daughters. (Ole Jr. also had a sister named Johanna. Family gatherings must have been confusing!)
	Here are Ole Jr. and his Johanna.
	Their daughters, Ida Black (1874-1874) ...
	... and Lena Black (1877-1878) both died in childhood.
	Their son, Oscar (1878-1949), ...
	... and their daughter, Emma (1883-1937), lived longer lives.
	We passed this yard full of windmills on our way back to the hotel. Oh, the things you see in people's yards in rural America.
	We were back at the hotel by 8:00 PM. Debbie sent this picture to her nephew, Stewart, and his fiancee, Lyndsay, letting them know that we were making progress on our way to their engagement party, which was still 2 1/2 weeks in the future.
	Later on, Tom enjoyed a nice soak in the tub. Day 2 >