Day 1: Nashville to Paducah

Well, the big day finally arrived.  We spent Thursday night in Nashville because the kids were competing in the Tennessee Scholastic Clay Target Program state trap shoot.  Taylor was the female rookie runner-up and her team placed third.  Hunter's team did really well but didn't place in the top five.  We stayed for the award ceremony and finally got on the road late Friday evening.  We made it to Clarksville before Julie threw up.  She's done this on a couple of other trips, so we decided to turn her carseat around to see if she would be okay facing forward.  The kids were so tired from spending two hot days in Nashville that they quickly settled in and rode well.  Just before we got to the Paducah exit, traffic came to a standstill.  Forty-five minutes later, we finally made it the last half mile to the exit.  Apparently a truck wreck had closed the interstate and all traffic was being diverted.  It was almost 10 PM, so we decided to find a campground and get some rest.  We pulled out our Woodall's campground guide and found Fern Lake Campground just a couple of miles away.  The owner lives on site and came out as we pulled in.  He led us to a site and showed us the bath house.  It seemed nice enough, and the restrooms were very clean.  We pitched the tent on a nice grassy site and went to bed.  That's when we noticed that the campground was VERY close to the interstate.  I heard trucks all night.  So much for a good night's rest to start the trip.  The good news is that the Big Agnes Sleeping Giant was worth every penny.