Mountain Musings

40 Days & 40 Nights ~ The Ark

Our family recently enjoyed traveling to Williamstown, KY, for a mini-vacation to visit the newly-opened Ark Encounter. The ministry of Answers in Genesis has established the Ark Encounter to "bring the Ark of Noah’s day to life" and to declare the veracity of the Genesis account of the global flood.

We made sure to arrive and get in line for tickets before they opened for the morning, as we knew the crowds would be heavy during the first "40 days and 40 nights" after opening.

Shuttle buses loaded up visitors to take us from the parking lots to the Ark:

Pulling up in front of the life-size Ark, we were excited to begin our tour and to take photos in front of the towering structure.

Save

"By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." ~Hebrews 11:7

"Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks."~Genesis 6:14-16

We entered underneath the stern of the boat as dramatic music welcomed us to the experience.

The amount of wood-working throughout the vessel was amazing.

On the first deck were rows and rows of clay jars, bags of grain, and cages for small animals, representing possible methods of food and water storage, as well as to show how the animals may have been housed and cared for on the ark.

We wandered the spacious deck, as sound effects of crashing water, thunder, and birds chirping surrounded us.

If I remember correctly, the below racks of jars are where the reptiles or amphibians were kept:

There were many realistic examples of animals in their cages. We watched a video on how the artists meticulously designed these creatures for display:

Here Noah and his family are depicted praying before the Lord. It was sobering to consider the reality of God's judgment and His mercy towards these 8 people. Read more in Genesis 6-9.

Everything was very spacious and the exhibits well-made. We explored all 3 decks and stopped to read the informative scientific exhibits.

There were many researched explanations of possible ways logistics could have worked, in answer to skepticism and questions about the feasibility.

There were also displays portraying life in the pre- and post-Flood worlds.

This exhibit was meant to illustrate how the cartoonish drawings in children's books about Noah's Ark can make the history of the ark seem like a fictional story:

This sign next to the massive door into the ark pointed to Christ as the "Door" of salvation:

"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

We "conversed" with animatronic Noah who was busy at his writing desk. He filled us in on several questions we were curious about. :)

The living quarters in the ark were stocked with all manner of supplies and furnishings for comfortable living, productive work, and relaxing entertainment. Below is the library:

Noah's sons were busy in the wood and metal-working workshops on the ark.

The kitchen and indoor garden area was a fun place to look around.

Noah reaches to catch the dove as it brings an olive leaf back to him, as Noah's wife looks on:

We enjoyed lunch at the double-decker restaurant outside the Ark:

We also walked through the petting zoo that featured kangaroos, camels, and more:

We were glad we were able to see the Ark and that it gave testimony to the truth of God's Word.

In this video, you can follow along with Ken Ham as he meanders through the Ark Encounter!

The same day, we drove over to the Creation Museum to see what had been updated since we visited 9 years ago.

Have any of you been to see the Ark Encounter and/or Creation Museum or plan to?

~Hannah

Save

Craft Show at Polyface

One beautiful Saturday morning recently Granny, Hannah, and I loaded up all the baskets, soap, and tent paraphernalia and headed out in the country to Polyface, Joel Salatin's family farm, located down the road in Swoope, Virginia: The Salatins offer farm tours for folks who want a first-hand learning experience, complete with hay-wagon rides to see the pastured broilers and egg-mobile that Joel Salatin is famous for.

This spring they started a monthly event called Free Range Saturdays with "local artisans, seasonal produce, music, tastings, sunshine, and fresh air."

So...off we went to set up our big white craft tent at Polyface with hopes that the folks who were booked for the farm tour would wander over to this side of the farm to check out the artisans. Here's Hannah setting up:Sheri Salatin was setting up her line of beautiful handmade quilts for sale: This jewelry vendor had a nice colorful setup for her wares: I think this is the first time Granny's had her baskets set up in a field, but it was a beautiful area and a perfect day:Hannah arranged her soap display alongside Granny's baskets. Since she's not a vendor at our local farmers' market this season, this was a good venture to try: There were approximately eight to ten vendors this particular Saturday. Here are several tents set up on our side of the lawn:We introduced Granny to the Lunatic Farmer himself, Joel Salatin: We thoroughly enjoyed getting re-acquainted with Joel's mom, Lucille. She also lives on the property and is quite involved with farm life and knows all the many interns by name who come and go constantly on the farm: During part of the morning I browsed the Polyface Farm Store while folks hung out on the front porch waiting for the hay wagon for their tour:I thought this item was quite interesting for sale in the store:Unfortunately, most of the folks who arrived for the farm tour didn't come to shop, but this out-of-state lady stopped by to purchase soap from Hannah: Granny tried her best salesmanship to sell a basket to these girls. She was thankful that the face-painting vendor to our right walked over and purchased a basket before the morning was over:All in all, it was an interesting day. I enjoyed going to help Granny and Hannah and loved talking with some of the folks there.

Polyface would be an even better venue if more folks knew about and were willing to make the drive out for Free Range Saturdays. We appreciate the Salatins offering their farm at no charge for us to come and sell our crafts. Thank you so much!Well...time to pack up and head home until the next craft show comes along.

~Deb