2018 Vacation Day 2: Ark Encounter
The Ark Encounter wasn't open until noon so we found General Butler State Park and found an overlook to, well, look from.
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The Butler-Turpin home[/caption]
The old home was closed, but we wandered around and peeked in windows.
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Ben and Jenn[/caption]
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Luke and Gabe[/caption]
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Grandma and her boys[/caption]
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Overlook[/caption]
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Peony bud[/caption]
We arrived at the Ark Encounter at about 11:30 and the gates were open so we parked and stood in line. It's not often that we are early birds anywhere, but this was the place to get in early. The line grew and grew and the ticket-purchasing process just isn't very fast.
BUT, it was all worth it. It's hard to descripe the size of the Ark unless you see it in person. Truly awe-inspiring.
Pictures really don't do it justice! There is a nice section outside of the Ark that has different stations telling the story of the world prior to the flood. It's really well done, even for those of us who have heard the story inumerable times.
Here's the big door:
And here's an idea of how some of the animals could have been stored. They are very careful to let viewers know when something is Biblically accurate and when something is historically accurate. They took liberties in some places, but always with historical and cultural context in mind.
Everything is massive. The beams and decks and.....it's amazing.
It was croweded and not very bright inside so I didn't bother taking a bunch of pictures, but there were several short movies, lots of animal displays, some real animals, and more information that one person could read in a day. It was very informative!
Our feet were killing us by the time we were done! It's a lot of standing and walking!
The gift shop was a really nice change of pace. Lot's of unique items instead of the usual junk that most gift shops carry. I found my pin and my ornament right away.
They even had a good coffee kiosk!
I'd say we spent about 3-4 hours here. You could certainly spend more, but it started to get crowded and there's only so much you can really read and take in. I can see how some people might spend two days here, just to break it up a bit.
We left and ate dinner at Mellow Mushroom. It was still early so we decided to drive a bit toward our next destination.
[caption id="attachment_4333" align="aligncenter" width="200"]
The Butler-Turpin home[/caption]The old home was closed, but we wandered around and peeked in windows.
[caption id="attachment_4334" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Ben and Jenn[/caption][caption id="attachment_4335" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Luke and Gabe[/caption][caption id="attachment_4336" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Grandma and her boys[/caption][caption id="attachment_4337" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Overlook[/caption][caption id="attachment_4338" align="aligncenter" width="200"]
Peony bud[/caption]We arrived at the Ark Encounter at about 11:30 and the gates were open so we parked and stood in line. It's not often that we are early birds anywhere, but this was the place to get in early. The line grew and grew and the ticket-purchasing process just isn't very fast.
BUT, it was all worth it. It's hard to descripe the size of the Ark unless you see it in person. Truly awe-inspiring.
Pictures really don't do it justice! There is a nice section outside of the Ark that has different stations telling the story of the world prior to the flood. It's really well done, even for those of us who have heard the story inumerable times.
Here's the big door:
And here's an idea of how some of the animals could have been stored. They are very careful to let viewers know when something is Biblically accurate and when something is historically accurate. They took liberties in some places, but always with historical and cultural context in mind.
Everything is massive. The beams and decks and.....it's amazing.
It was croweded and not very bright inside so I didn't bother taking a bunch of pictures, but there were several short movies, lots of animal displays, some real animals, and more information that one person could read in a day. It was very informative!Our feet were killing us by the time we were done! It's a lot of standing and walking!
The gift shop was a really nice change of pace. Lot's of unique items instead of the usual junk that most gift shops carry. I found my pin and my ornament right away.
They even had a good coffee kiosk!
I'd say we spent about 3-4 hours here. You could certainly spend more, but it started to get crowded and there's only so much you can really read and take in. I can see how some people might spend two days here, just to break it up a bit.
We left and ate dinner at Mellow Mushroom. It was still early so we decided to drive a bit toward our next destination.
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