Over the weekend of 9/18-9/22/09 I went to Southern IL to visit family and do a little fishing.  Well a lot of fishing.  There are really good catfish at this lake where we fished.  I tried to catch some big ones but they got away.  What else is new?  It was a lot of fun though.

 The family and I went to a coal miners parade in downtown West Frankfort.  West Frankfort is a small town in southern IL with a deep rooted heritage in coal mining.  Generations of coal miners have lived here and worked in the mines.  The parade celebrates these workers and the sacrifices they have made.

We also went to the Garden of the Gods where we did a little bit of climbing on natural rock formations made millions of years ago.  It is not uncommon to see small children wondering dangerously close to the edge of deadly cliff faces.

Before we left we stopped at Aunt Virginia's house and chatted before the long ride home.