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It's a Big Adventure For Us
Updated: Nov 2, 2022
NOVEMBER 2022 - If you are still here following our adventures, THANK YOU! Videoing and sharing the adventures with you is somewhat of a challenge. It does take a lot of time and planning to put together anything worth sharing. Years past, I seem to have always had a camera in hand but for some reason, it is just a bit harder when you are trying to capture things that you hope others want to see in VIDEO format. Still images are easier, still a challenge.
Let's step back in time to August 25, 2022. Spending the entire month of July preparing for this trip didn't seem like enough time. Having bought the 2022 Cherokee Alpha Wolf 26DBH-L in March, we starting planning in April for the June trip. If you recall, we and some friends embarked upon our FIRST "long" trip in June to visit Land Between the Lakes then on to Clarksville, TN for a MSF Class. This trip back to the same area of Western KY was not really in our plans but we were going to make it happen.
The requirements of this trip would be as follows.
close to our training facility.
ability to store camper for 1 week between training
dog friendly
extra rig parking
50AMP full hookup
BUT WAIT...THERE IS A TWIST!
While our main goal was to find a place in Paducah, KY for about 3 weeks, with one week in storage, we decided that it made sense to leave Paducah and have a 'lay over' visit in Tennessee somewhere before our NEXT adventure in Maggie Valley, NC, the first week of October. This meant, our second trip to Paducah would take us away from home base for a month and we had yet to figure out how to get our motorcycles to Maggie Valley. We had no need to take them to Paducah or Tennessee but we were prepared to if so required.
Soooo, the first part of the grand plan -- take one vehicle and the camper for the August 25 - 29 leg of the trip. We opted to NOT take the 3 Huskies, Jack, Rubi and Timber (@5HuskyBlues) for this short trip. Several reasons, but the main reason was we knew we would be busy with training and leaving them for 9-10hrs a day locked in the camper was NOT ideal. This would allow us to focus on the first weekend of class, because our success determined our return. Getting a campground close would be crucial for the second leg, if we passed the initial weekend, because we would spend lunch with the dogs. Thus, having a place to walk the dogs would also be crucial. Storing the camper, though important to us it would not a deal breaker, because the idea of towing it back home (@4hrs) for a week and then back ALONG WITH the other vehicle and dogs seemed a bit chaotic. It would also save us on gas not towing the camper those two extra times. Labor Day weekend fell in between our trips so finding a storage place might be easier than a campground.
After researching, we found Fern Lake Campground. A few emails later, we were confident we were making the right decision. They met EVERYTHING on our checklist. Including storing the camper!
August 25, 2022, we arrived in Paducah, KY at Fern Lake Campground. It was near dark but we had no problem setting up. We were greeted with a smile and escorted to our site. It was a tight one. Gravel and near the front. Knowing all we were there for was to sleep, we just hoped the trees kept the road noise down. The interstate was not far but the main road and construction across the way made for a noisy day if you were in your camper. Remember, we weren't there much. We left just before the sun was up and got in just before it went down. We did happen to notice that the sites around us were like a revolving door. One morning we would see a rig there and that afternoon it was gone. Turned out they used this area for those who just needed to make those quick stops; though we did notice one Airstream that was there the entire time.
Class ended on Sunday and we were coming back September 8-19th. So we took the evening to rest and begin planning the second leg of this adventure. We packed the truck with things we had to take with us and prepped the camper for staying behind. So we thought. We have the one solar panel that has been doing really well keeping the battery charged and the fridge running. Not knowing what the weather would be like we tried to take anything perishable with us, though we didn't have a lot to begin with. We left most of our clothes, even did some laundry so as to not to have to deal with transporting that. We parked the camper in the storage spot and said our thank you's and farewell's. The drive home without a camper in tow was strange but very beneficial to the pocket.
Once we returned to home base, it felt strange not having the camper in our driveway but the extra space was nice to have again. Pretty sure the neighbors appreciated not seeing it too.
By now, I bet you are wondering about our second leg of this adventure. Well, we cannot get ahead of ourselves. Let's focus on the Peaceful in Paducah adventure. We returned to Fern Lake on September 8th. Got setup in our site and at first glance it looked kinda iffy. We had a tree above us which was a little worrisome because we didn't know what it might shed onto our camper roof and without a slide topper, we feared there might be a mess as we have seen many talk about. It was level though. Full hookups and yes, wifi, though not the best it worked. That was important, unfortunately, Tom had to work during the week. Fern Lake was absolutely peaceful! Quiet at all hours. We had a neighbor who was packing up within a few days of our arrival. We didn't get another neighbor in that spot until closer to our departure. On the camp side, where the tree was, we did see that site occupied by several during our time there. One couple came out and loved on the dogs while we sat outside during the day. Very nice couple in an cute cab over type Toyota camper and a shih-tzu. She sat outside during the day doing jewell art and we talked about crafts and dogs when she spotted me walking the dogs or sitting outside. I took off for lunch one day to meet a long distant relative I had discovered while doing my genealogy research. Discovering I had family in the area was really cool and we met for lunch and shared stories.
Classes were on Friday evening, all day Saturday and all day Sunday for 2 weekends. Fortunately, the trainers knew our dog situation and were supportive of our need to get our lunch time in to take care of the dogs. We drove the 10mins there, I fixed our lunches while Tom took the dogs on the walk around Fern Lake. It was a good 10min walk that got them moving and ready to lay down when they got back. We spent a minute or so making sure they had water then grabbed our bagged sandwiches, chips and drink and headed back. Eating along the way. That was our routine for 3 days for 2 weekends and it worked out really well. We didn't feel too awful for the dogs, because I spent most of the days outside with them while Tom worked. They played, they go to run and they slept in the sun or the shade. We were close enough to the bathhouse/laundry facilities that I could even get laundry done. We were blessed to have both good weather and a very peaceful spot.
Fern Lake campground was absolutely perfect for us! It was exactly what we had in mind when we decided to join the RV life. A quiet, affordable and clean campground. The laundry facilities were small, 2 units each, but clean and easy to access. As for the tree above us, it was somewhat frustrating because the squirrels liked to wake us by dropping the acorns. It was loud and eventually, we got use to it. Fortunately, during breakdown, the roof was not covered nor was the slide-out.
Fern Lake set the bar high for our adventures...wait til you see what we find next!
We left there on September 19th leaving a small piece of our heart behind. Keep an eye out for the next part of this month long adventure.
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