Vacation, part 1

This year’s family vacation destination was the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.  We started off the trip with a visit to Chicago to visit Brad, Michelle, Cameron and Nolan.  We had fun catching up and letting the kids play before we hit the road for the next leg. 

Nolan & Ryan - tractor ridin' buddies.  

A gal from church recommended we stop at the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in Petersburg, Kentucky.  The Creation Museum is a walk through the Bible.  In the Garden of Eden Brent discovered his agronomic enemy (weeds) are all to blame on Adam.  Ha! 

There were displays of the flood, insectarium and dinosaur sculptures.  It was a really neat stop on our trip and it would be a great place to visit again when our kids are older as there is a lot of reading for little ones. 

The next stop was the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky.  The Ark Encounter is built to the dimensions in the Bible – 510 feet long, 85 feet wide and 51 feet high.  That’s seven stories high and a football field and a half long!  The size is astonishing!

The research that went into this place is incredible.  We toured three decks of cool exhibits that showed how Noah cared for the animals and how it was big enough to house everything and function from food and water to living quarters for the people to stay safe. 

There were pens for every imaginable kind of animal.  

Small animals and birds that required less space.  

Dry feed and water was stored safely.  

Human living quarters were on a different level of the Ark.  

Adults and kids loved this first part of vacation!