Steven and Betty RV Adventures

ARK ENCOUNTER, Williamstown, KY. We drove over to the Ark Encounter, 30 miles north of Georgetown. It is a large operation, with a clear emphasis on crowd control. Sort of Disney World for Evangelical Christians.

There was rain on and off all afternoon, and the crowds were heavy. It would have been much better to come in the fall after the kids are back in school. All the rain seemed appropriate around that ark.

One lines up to be loaded onto a bus, then is transported down a road through the woods to the ark facility. There follows a great deal of walking, from the bus stop to the ark facility, then to the various exhibits (including a petting zoo), then up many ramps to the various levels inside the ark, then back out of the ark, then out to one of the eateries (one of which is a sort of Golden Corral), then back to the bus stop, then after the bus ride back to the original bus station a walk back to the parking lot to get your car to return home. Good exercise and pretty tiring.

The actual ark is huge. Once inside, one is amazed at its size, accommodating large crowds of people migrating up large ramps to several levels. More upper levels are still in progress. The detail of workmanship in all exhibits is of very high quality. There are many cages where animals were kept for 40 days and nights. Animal sounds are broadcast from the cages to simulate the noise that would have come from so many different animals. Glad I was not on that trip. Bags of grain and animal feed were displayed neatly stacked in large sections on the lower levels. They even showed various dinosaurs in cages to account for them.

On the upper level were several apartments for Noah and his wife and his sons and their wives. Work shops for tending to the mechanical needs of the ship were also provided. A bit of "artistic license" was taken to show a ship well stocked and maintained.

There is a clear emphasis on evangelism throughout. There are exhibits explaining the flood's impact on geological phenomena, even an exhibit explaining the forming of the Grand Canyon. One large section was devoted to cartoon figures in conversation about philosophical issues that unbelievers historically have lodged against belief in God, things like "if there is a God of love, why is there so much suffering in the world." It was actually handled quite tastefully. That they sought to undertake so wide a breadth of focus in this already huge and complicated operation is a surprise.

A good deal of "artistic license" is taken in filling in gaps for details of the design and animal inventory of the ark. The Biblical account does not give that much detail. Some things were questionable, like Noah's prayer in what sounds like Hebrew when it is not likely he spoke that language. They wanted details so much that they stretched things a good bit.

As for the huge size of the ark, it actually does follow the dimensions stated in the Bible. One does not comprehend how large that is until walking around it, walking through it, and seeing all the bays and stalls inside, all of which are quite large. How Noah and his sons managed it is a mystery. The Bible says Noah was 500 years old at the beginning of the account and that he was 600 when the flood waters came. That leaves 100 years to build the ark. And that was in his spare time. I hope I am that hardy in the unlikely event that I live to be that old.