There it  is…THE ARK. I had read about it back in May. It wasn’t open yet so by the time we would get to Kentucky in September it would be.  The ARK Encounter was founded by Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis. The ARK was built at a cost of $100 million. It is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 51 feet high. It is claimed that it is the largest timber frame structure in the world. We called Phil and Robin Shope  and invited them to join us. Picking them up early in the morning we were on our way.

The ARK is built to the specifications a described in the Bible. To see it even from the distance the first thing you say is “WOW!”

We’re ready for the encounter!  But wait not only will we see the ARK, Jim bought tickets to zip line. We zip off at 1:00.

The craftsmanship in the construction is really beautiful.

The pens for the animals and the methods for feeding and keeping things clean in real life. The little terra pots were for water. The funnel at the top allowed grain to go into the troughs in each pin below.

The Casiod kind         The  Istiodactyllid kind   The Bear kind

The Sloth kind                The Hog  kind                 The  Deer kind

To put the Ark and it’s story in perspective what surprised me is as long as I have read, seen movies, pictures about the ARK there were always animals two by two of lions, tigers, bears, camels, elephants, birds and on and on. The interpretation here are of prehistoric creatures that evolved into animals as we know today as well as those that are extinct now.

This model is a cutaway of the ARK. It looks like a pretty cool cruise ship.

Throughout the ARK explanations of how they handled the issue of fresh water, waste, feeding themselves and all of the animals.

All the while there are illustrations that tell the story of creation of man, his fall from grace and why the flood happened. Also explaining the biblical story as opposed to the scientific story of man’s evolution.

Entering at the front of the ARK eventually you will leave at the back. It was an impressive journey. I asked someone who worked there could the ARK  actually float.    The answer in no, there are huge concrete building on th backside of it that houses the many of the facilities for the ARK to function. I was really disappointed.

Mr. Jimmy is ready to zip. Cheyenne and Mat were our guides. Oh, the view from way up there is great. On to the zip line. I don’t know how many of you have done this I’m glad it is off my list. Especially since I didn’t know it was on it. After some serious silent panic it was easier to do. The actual zipping along the line was ok. Getting up the scaffolding and hooking up on those small platforms in the wind was a lot of work. So 7 zips later we were back on solid ground. Whew.

Headed back to Louisville.Phil and Robin decided on Ramses Cafe for dinner. Across from the resturant was this billboards for Hunter Thompson and I thought the front of this building was interesting. It use to be a police station.

At dinner Phil and Robin told us about this guy’s house that would be fun to see. He is a hoarder of sorts.

OMG, his name is Jerry Lotz. He happened to be up on the roof patio when we arrived. He introduced himself and told us that when he was 8 years old his mom said to him, “Jerry, lets go junking!” Jerry at 76 still goes junking and has everything he has found. He told us no one comes in the house and he has 4 more houses full of stuff.

He told us to be sure and see the Statue of Liberty that he made. It had Nixon’s face and his famous “V” hand sign.

A little more junk. Phil asked if the American Pickers had been by. Oh yes, he just heard from them. They were going to be through once again. He says they come by for the show.

What a fun day! Phil and Robin, thank you so much for joining us.