31 May 2022 - The Ark Encounter

 31 May

LOL I can remember this Bill Cosby classic from my childhood,  like it was yesterday.  It was originally recorded in 1963: 

God: (standing on a chair behind Noah, he rings a bell once) NOAH.   
Noah: (Looks up) Is someone calling me? (Shrugs and goes back to his work)   
God: (Ding) NOAH!!   
Noah: Who is that?   
God: It's the Lord, Noah.   
Noah: Right ... Where are ya? What do ya want? I've been good.   
God: I want you to build an ark.   
Noah: Right ... What's an ark?   
God: Get some wood and build it 300 cubits by 80 cubits by 40 cubits.   
Noah: Right ... What's a cubit?   
God: Well never mind. Don't worry about that right now. After you build the ark, I want you to go out into the world and collect all the animals of the world, two by two, male and female, and put them into the ark.   
Noah: Right ... Who is this really? Am I on Candid Camera?

Here is a young Bill Cosby on stage in New York:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bputeFGXEjA

So today we drove about 26 miles north of the campground and visited The Ark Encounter. In the blog entry below I will attempt to describe our day at the Ark Encounter but I won't try to go into a lot of detail on the history from the Bible as I would surely get it wrong.  

The Ark Encounter opened in Williamstown, Kentucky on July 5, 2016,  Unless you have been here, it is hard to describe it's enormity.  Yeah, I know, 300 cubits by 80 cubits by 40, cubits, right?  (Bill Cosby's voice) Right...!  No really!  510 ft long x 85 ft wide x 51 ft tall (seven stories) - a full-size Noah’s Ark reproduction, built according to the dimensions given in the Bible.  There are four levels including the ground level and three decks.  Each deck is complete with exhibits, displays, theatres, restrooms, some snack areas, etc

Look at the size of the people entering the ark compared to the height

The Ark Encounter is described as a one-of-a-kind historical, family-friendly theme park and a place to experience bible history, and it is both of those.  From a theme park standpoint they have a zoo, multiple zip-lines, an "Answer Center", a "Truth Traveler Virtual Reality Experience", multiple gift shops, places to eat,  

The Ark Encounter opens at 0900 hrs and it was about 1000 hrs when we arrived.  You process through a parking booth where they charge $15 for regular vehicles and $20 for oversized vehicles.  The line moved quickly and we qualified as a regular vehicle.  We were pleasantly surprised when the attendant told us our parking fee had been paid by the person ahead of us.  We thought it appropriate to pay it forward and do the same for those who followed us.

This venue is geared for massive crowds.  Everything from the ginormous parking lots to the robust bus system they use to transport you back to where the ark is located.  Luckily the crowds were thin today, at least this time of the morning, so we got parked and made our way to the bus stop quickly.

The passenger loading area - empty!

Shaded outside loading area

One of the nice coaches

Hardly anyone on the bus

We were quickly transported to the Answer Center building where the buses unload. Inside we watched our first of many movies before leaving the building and walking to the ark.

A peek inside the theatre

 

The control center for the audio-visual and lighting - of course this would draw my attention!!

 Once the movie concluded we made our way outside, through the rainbow arch and along the Monument Walk towards the ark.  We passed several animal exhibits on the walk, but all of the bird exhibits were closed to protect from avian influenza (bird flu)..

A distant view of the Ark

Shrubs trimmed like animals

Bird exhibits closed

Monuments along the pathway

  We entered the Ark on the lower level and proceeded through a maze of gates to the ramp which lead up to the first deck.  We asked one of the employees about this and they said they had over 8000 visit this past Saturday.  The most they have ever had was 12,000

Again, they are really geared up for massive crowds. These mazes go from one end all the way to the other,

We headed up the ramp to the first deck and we found ourselves in the center of an amazing wooden structure with massive beams.  The layered plank construction featured mortise and tenon joints that prevented them from sliding and loosening up.  Trunnels were also used and then it was coated inside and out with pitch to further assure the construction would be waterproof.  Of course the firefighter in me would pick out the monstrous sprinkler system throughout!!

We made our way though the displays and watched movies on each deck that furthered our understanding of  Noah and the Ark.  

Bird or poultry cages with feeders

Containers of food

Beautiful displays

Deer and other animals depicted in their cages

Rope-making machine

Massive beams in the center of the Ark

Blacksmith shop

Scrolls of information on how to feed the animals

Noah's room with the Ark plans visible

Another view of the center beams.

That was just a small sample of the pictures I took and just a fraction of the displays.  We spent several hours here and could have easily made it the whole day.  We finished at the third deck and made our way down to the lower level and exited the Ark.  Our doggie clock was running tight so we did not go through the zoo or wait in line for the virtual reality experience, but that would have been neat!

Outside we took a few more pictures and then made our way back to the Answer Center and the bus to the parking lot.  

I would highly recommend this Ark Encounter.  It is very educational and extremely well done.  

On the way back we stopped at Loves and refueled using my EFS TSD Logistics fleet fuel card which is available for RV'ers.  It provides fleet discounts for diesel and the ability to pay at the pump where the semi's refuel.  The retail fuel cost was $5.189 and my cost was $4.909 plus a small transaction fee.  I have to refuel at the trucker's pumps to use it but that worked out.  Before the discount this fill was $132.07 - ouch!

Back at the campground we concluded the day with a swim in the pool before heading back to the camper.  

Tomorrow we will likely go to Georgetown and Lexington to catch some local sites.