Governor Robert Burns Lindsay and daughter Maud McKnight Lindsey Historic Markers

Maud Lindsey's home as it looks today

 Governor Robert Burns Lindsey July 4, 1824-Feb 13, 1902 

A native of Lochmaben, Scotland, Robert Burns Lindsey was Alabama's only foreign-born governor. He immigrated to North Carolina in 1844 and relocated to Tuscumboa in 1849, where he worked as a teacher and read law, obtaining admittance to the Alabama Bar in 1852. The following year, residents of Franklin County elected him to the Alabama House of Representatives. In 1854, Lindsay married Sarah Miller Winston, sister to John Anthony Winston, who served as governor from 1853 to 1857. the couple had nine children, four of whom survived to adulthood, among them educator and author Maud McKnight Lindsey (see other side). 

In 857, Lindsay won the election to the Alabama Senate. In 1861, he joined Colonel Philp D. Roddey's Fourth Alabama Cavalry, CSA. At war's end, voters returned him to the Alabama Senate. In 1870, Lindsey became the first Democrat elected governor of Alabama since the end of the Civil War. His turbulent two-year there in office amidst Reconstruction was beset by economic and political difficulties, compounded by the failure of a state-supported railroad venture. Declining to run for reelection in 1872, Lindsey returned to Tuscumbia, where he continued a limited law practice, hampered by ill health, until his death. 

Sponsored by the Maud Lindsay Study Club and The Colbert County Historical Landmarks Foundation Alabama Historical Association 2022.

Maud McKnight Lindsay
May 13, 1874-May 30, 1941

International educator and author Maud Lindsay was born at this home, then a frame structure in 1874. She was the daughter of Governor Robert B. Lindsay (see other side) and Sarah M. Winston Lindsey. 

In 1898, after working in a private kindergarten in Tuscumbia, "Mis Maud" crossed social barriers and established Alabama's first free kindergarten program in the working-class cotton mill district of East Florence. 

She remained the teacher and principal of the school for more than four decades. In 1900, Milton Bradley Company published Lindsay's first book. Mother Stories. She subsequently authored sixteen additional works, many of which reflected her childhood experiences in Alabama. Although she had no formal higher education, Lindsay became a sought-after speaker.

She lectured on the art of storytelling at New York University. Rebuffing many offers to teach elsewhere, including an invitation from renowned Italian educator Maria Montessori, Lindsey chose to remain in Alabama. Her childhood friend Helen Keller described her as "one of the truly progressive women of the southland and an example of Alabama's true wealth and greatness." Lindsay was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame in 1995. 

Maud Lindsey Kindergarten Florence, Alabama 

Maud McKnight Lindsey 
The Florence Free Kindergarten 

Singing River Sculpture in Florence

Singing River Sculpture 

Singing River Sculpture in Florence 

Dedicated to the world-renowned musicians, recording executives, writers, producers, and performers who made Florence and the Muscle Shoals area the “Hit Recording Capital of the World” in the 1960s and 1970s and to those who continue that legacy.

2020 

Legend of the Singing River 
The Yuchi and other early Native Americans who lived along the banks of the mighty Tennessee River long held the legend of a Spirit Woman who lived in the river, sang her song, and protected them. She sang to them loudly if the drive was angry, softly and sweetly when the river was peaceful, and sometimes in the calming hum of a lullaby. In her honor, they named it the Singing River.
Some say that all they heard was the high waters’ mighty rush and roar over the mussel shoals or the calm, low waters babbling through the river rocks. 
Others say she is real and over the waters, just as she did many years ago. So goes the legend of the Singing River. 

The World-Changing Music Shoals Music 
From the last half of the 20th century to the present, Muscle Shoals area artists, musicians, songwriters, and music industry professionals have helped shape the world’s expansive musical heritage. 

Few styles of music were untouched by Muscle Shoals music, and local contributions have been made in all the areas of the complex industry; producers, recording engineers, songwriting, music publishing, and music business interest.

Many of the world’s greatest performers began their assent to stardom in Muscle Shoals. Artists such as Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, The Staple Singers, Bob Seger, and many others quickly created a legacy that earned the area the title “Hit Recording Capitol of the World.”

The warning in Arthur Alexander’s You Better Move On got the attention of the Rolling Stones. The Beatles heard Alexander’s song Anna, and each band acknowledged their respect for Alexander by recording their version of the songs on their first albums. 

The songwriting tradition continues as one of the strongest facets of Muscle Shoals music, with area songwriters penning songs such as When A Man Loves a Woman, I Swear, Blown Away, Before He Cheats, and hundreds of other hits over the decades. 
The area grew a music center by drawing together people of all races and religions. In the 1960s, despite the segregation of race enforced outside the studio, area soul classics were being created in the studios with musicians contributing their innate musical talents. The collaborations created some of the most widely loved music of the 20th Century, including When A Man Loves A Woman, Mustang Sally, Tell Mama, Patch, Respect Yourself, and many others. 

The heart and soul of Muscle Shoals music have always been the players and singers. Four members of the Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section were immortalized in the Lynyrd Skynyrd song Sweet Home Alabama. The lyric, “Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers, and they’ve been known to pick a song or two, “ honors Barry-Beckett, Jimmy Johnson, David Hoot, and Roger Hawkins, owner of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, and studio musicians who produced and played on hundreds of hit recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios from the late 60s until the mid-70s.


Florence’s Contribution to this Golden Era
Florence has long had a rich and varied music culture and heritage. Building on the foundation of Blues and Spiritual music laid by Florence native W.C. Handy, known as the Father of the Blues, composer of Beale Street Blues, St Louis Blues, and others, that legacy continues to the present day. 
The roots of what became known as the Muscle Shoals sound are found north of the Tennessee River in Florence, AL. They were planted by pioneers such as James Joiner, Tom Stafford, Rich Hall, and the many talented musicians and songwriters who recorded in Florence studios before 1960.
Other notable music personalities from Florence include Sam Phillips, Buddy Killen, Billy Sherrill, and Kelso Herston, all of whom found major success in Memphis and Nashville. 

In 1956, Joiner wrote and produced the area’s first regional hit, Bobby Denton’s A Fallen Star. He, Kelso Herston, and partners established “Tune Records and Publishing Company, the first of its kind in Alabama, and published the classic Country song Six Days on the Road, written by Earl Greene and Carl Montgomery. 


Stafford, Hall, and Billy Sherrill created Florence Alabama Music Enterprises (FAME) above the City Drug Store, owned by Stafford’s family. The studio attracted young talents such as David Briggs, Norbert Putman, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, Jerry Carrigan, Earl “Peanutt” Montgomery, Donnie Fritts, Arthur Alexander, Bobby Denton, and others who would go on to be legendary musicians and songwriters. 


In 1964, at the request of John Lennon, four members of the original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Norbert Putman, David Briggs, Jerry Carrigan, and Terry Thompson, backed opening acts for the Righteous Brothers and Tommy Roe for the Beatles at their first US concert in Washington D.C. 

In 1976, Wishbone Studio owner and producer Terry Woodford cofounded the University of North Alabama Commercial Music Program, which prepared many for success in the music industry, including Randy Poe, President of Leiber & Stoller Music Publishing/music biographer; Walt Aldridge songwriter/producer, Nancy Lee, V.P. Music Industry Business, Manager Higham Management Ince.; Mark Narmore, Songwriter/singer/keyboardist; John Briggs, V.P. ASCAP (Retired), V.P. Entertainment and Pro Sports, Tower Community Band, and Kevin Lamb, V.P. Peer Music (Retired).

Photos: William Christopher (W.C)Handy
Photo courtesy of W.C. Handy Foundation Inc. 

Photo: James Joiner  and Kelson Herston (L) 
Photo editing courtesy of Glenn Bevis 


Joiner’s Bus Station 
Site of Joiner’s first recording studio 
Photo courtesy of Joiner Family 

Photo: Tom Stanford 
Enigmatic mentor to many young Muscle Shoals musicians 
Photo courtesy of David Briggs

Photo: The Original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section 
Terry Thompson, Norbert Putman, Jerry Carrigan, and David Briggs 
Photo completion courtesy of Will C. Roberson and Trevor J. Joiner 

Photo: Terry Woodford 
With guest speaker Glenn Frey of the Eagles in UNA Commercial Music class 
Photo courtesy of Terry Woodford. 

The City of Florence, Alabama 
Mayor Steve Holt - Eric Nubbe, Sculpture 
A special thanks to former Mayor Mickey Haddock and former Mayor Bobby E. Irons for their early and unwavering support and encouragement.
Historical commentary by Dick Cooper, David Anderson, Bill Matthews, and Sandra Vetters.

Singing River Sculpture 

2024 April 19, Visitor Center, Kennedy Douglas Art Museum, Coffee Cemetery with AVA

 Today, we rode into town to pick up hubby's medicine at Walgreens. 

We rode to the Blue The Blue Door Thrift Store/SCOPE 310 and bought AVA a game. 

Ate lunch at Culverts. 

Hubby and I split a plate of shrimp, fries, cole Slaw, and Chocolate moose yogurt.  

We bought an AVA hamburger, fries, and chocolate yogurt.

We stopped at the nearby Walmart for a few items. Ava and I walked across the street to the Coffee & Slave Cemeteries. 

A  large old tree at Coffee Cemetery

Ava wanted to visit a museum, so we rode to the Kennedy-Douglass Art Center. There, we saw AROY Artistic Rendering of Youth, which features artwork created by 7th through 12th grade students from 15 different schools! Outside, we stopped to take pictures of the statues. 

AVA and the outdoor art

We walked across the street to Wilson Park there the mist from the fountain seemed to reach the clouds.

overflowing Fountain at Wilson Park 

Color is the music of light. 
Frank Lloyd Wright 
(this marker is on the sidewalk at Wilson Park)

We watched a barge go up the Tennessee River 
men fishing 

Ava enjoyed the playground area at McFarland Park. Our last stop was the Visitor Center, where they saw several displays. 

Large and small-mouth bass
Bass fishing & tournaments are big in the Tennessee River in Florence
Ava enjoyed the one with the big and small-mouth fish. 

WC Handy Statue in Wilson Park 
WC Handy 
Father of the Blues 
1873- 1958 
Born in Florence, Alabama 

Display of WC Handy's music at Florence-Lauderdale Visitor Center.
Handy played the Cornet (pictured here) 
Handy's first hit was "The Memphis Blues".

The W. C. Handy Music Festival is held annually in Florence, Alabama, sponsored by the Music Preservation Society, Inc., in honor of Florence native W. C. Handy, the "Father of the Blues." The non-profit Music Preservation Society was formed in 1982 with the mission to preserve, present, and promote the musical heritage of Northwest Alabama.

The next 2024 Handy Festival will be Wednesday-Saturday, June 12-15, in Florence, Alabama. 

2023 November 4, "Walking with the Saints" a Saints Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Florence House of Worship

Today, hubby and I did a walking tour with a group at (10:00 AM) at the Florence Library led by Lee Freeman. 

We visited the former Popular Street Christian Church, now Wood Avenue Church of Christ (1970), which is across the street from the Florence Library. 

Wood Avenue Church of Christ 

Cavalry Fellowship Church

424 E Tombigbee St Florence, AL 

From the library, we walked to Tombigee St and Popular Streets. 

We stopped at the Cavalry Fellowship (former Popular Street Christian Church)

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church 630 N Poplar St
Florence, AL

From Cavalary Fellow Ship, we walked several blocks up Popular St to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church (1938)630 N. Popular St.

First Baptist Church 209 North Walnut St.

We walked back up several streets to Walnut St., The Baptist church, which is across the street from the Florence Library. 

We stopped at the Gothic Style First Baptist Church (1888), 209 North Walnut St.

First Presbyterian Church 224 E Mobile St

Next, we walked to East Mobile Street the First Presbyterian Church is across the street from the Florence US Post Office. 

We stopped at First Presbyterian Church (1818) 224 E Mobile St. The Oldest Christian Church is the “Mother Church” Florence’s oldest church. 

Tennessee Valley Community Church AME
119 N Pine St Florence, Al 

 

We walked down the one-way street of Mobile St to Tennessee Valley Community Church AME on Pine St. There is construction going on near this church, as you can see in the picture. 

Trinity Episcopal Church 410 N Pine St Florence, Al 

We walked up Pine St to Trinity Episcopal Church (1824), Florence’s third oldest Christian congregation church, which is a couple blocks from Tennessee Valley Community Church. This church faces Pine St and faces North Seminary St. We walked up a couple blocks to the United Methodist Church.

First United Methodist Church 415 N Seminary Florence, Al 

Our last stop was First United Methodist Church (1822) 415 N Seminary, the second oldest church in Florence. 

Wilson Park Fountain 

Wilson Park is near the United Methodist Church and across the street from the Florence Library. 

We stopped to take a few pictures of the fountain at Wilson. The wind was blowing the water from the fountain and wet us as we walked by.

There were a couple of children enjoying the sprinkles from the fountain.  

Also took pictures of the Florence Library and The Kennedy Douglas Art Center. 

We ate lunch at St Florian Pharmacy Soda Shop. We sat at the bar and watched as they took orders for dipped ice cream and made sandwiches. 

Hubby ordered a ham and cheese Sandwich with Cheetos and a Strawberry Milkshake. 

Reuben Sandwich with chips

I ordered a Reuben with Sun Chips, whole grain Harvest cheddar, and Diet Coke. 

After lunch, we headed for home, but there was a traffic jam on Highway 72, where there was a lot of construction going on. 

We took Middle Road to the Old Jackson Highway to US 43 home. 

 

Growing up in the Shoals

Earline in Story-Land was enjoyed by many children in the Shoals Area, including myself, for over 22 years.
All I remember about Earline Burns was her television show and where she lived.
Both my grandparents lived in Sheffield, and one of my grandparents went to Church not too far from Earline's house.
We moved to Florence in 1962, sometimes, when we would travel to Sheffield, we would go by  Earline's house on Hatch Blvd., but most of the time, we would travel down Second Street.
I remember seeing her blue Cadillac Convertible sitting in front of her small pink house, which had been torn down.
My parents lived in downtown Sheffield when they married and moved to Tuscumbia when I was about 2 1/2.
Entertainment was watching a movie on the big screen either at the Theater or a Drive-in.
I saw many movies at the Colbert Theater, Tuscumbia Theater, Norwood Theater, Shoals Theater, Wilson Drive-In, and Joy-Land Drive-In.
My siblings and I would walk to the Shoals Theater during the summer months and watch a movie for ten cents.
I was always small for my age and could get into the theater for the cost of a child long after I was passed that age.
I remember Buck's night at the Drive-In.
We would go around the neighborhood, filling the car full of neighborhood kids.
We could all get into the movies for one dollar a carload.

I don't remember listening to the radio, but we did own a black-and-white TV.
Dad worked for Mr. Hensley Jarrett, hauling large power poles. Our TV Antenna was atop one of those tall poles. I remember the pole had spikes and Dad climbing to the top to install the Antenna and the wires running into the house to the rabbit ears sitting atop the TV.
We could pick up all the local channels.

We watched shows like Gunsmoke, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Bob Hope Show, Calling All Cars, The Cisco Kid, Death Valley Days, Dragnet,  & The Lone Ranger.
Since I never listened to the radio, I did not know that many of the television shows that I watched were once live radio shows.

Many famous people came to the Shoals in those early years, but growing up in the Shoals, they were just another face in the crowd.

When I was a teenager, just turned sixteen,  I worked at Shockley's Pancake House, which was across the street from Holiday Inn, where many of the famous entertainers stayed when they were in town.

I served the Four Seasons, and I  had no clue who they were.
As a working girl who never listened to the radio, I had no clue who came into our restaurant.

Now that I am older, I am learning so much about the Shoals Area that I have been a part of.

I walked the streets of Florence, Sheffield, & Tuscumbia, and  I spent many hours at Spring Park.

I remember Dad bringing home a trunk that he had gotten from the Helen Keller Home that had been thrown away.
It had several books inside the trunk, one was a Blue Hard Back Brothers Grimms Fairy Tale Book.
I read that book many times.
When we moved to Florence in the early 1960s, the Fairy Tale Book must have been thrown away because I never saw it again.

I remember going to Spring Park, riding the train, and playing on all the playground equipment, which was like an amusement park.
There was a swimming pool just up the street, and inside the park was a large wading pool.
The park fell into disarray for many years, and its glory days are gone forever.

I remember the Liberty's & A & P Supermarkets where mom shopped, they gave S & H Green Trading Stamps, Plaid Stamps, and Top Value Stamps just for shopping at their stores.
When collected into multiple books, we would take them to the Trading stamp store for merchandise.

So many things we no longer have as time changes.
We now have a cell phone, no sharing party lines, and phones hanging on the wall.
We no longer use an outhouse, we now have portlets.
We no longer have to heat the house up to cook, we have a microwave and convection ovens.
We no longer use glass, everything comes in plastic.

Gasoline is no longer 100% and costs 25 cents a gallon.
A new Corvette fully loaded costs over 80,000 dollars.

In the next twenty years, many will be living in Space.

One hundred years sounds like a lifetime.
When I was a kid, I thought 30 was old, now, one hundred doesn't sound quite that old.

🏛2016 Wednesday, Oct 5 & Thursday Oct 6, Ark Encounter and Creation Museum

Laura picked me up around 5AM along with Becky, Stella, and Diana.

Laura drove her car to Janet's house in Athens.

We loaded into Janet's van and started our journey to Kentucky.

We traveled north on I-65 stopping at 7:12am in Columbia, TN for gas and breakfast. 

At Burger King, several people ordered a croissant with egg and sausage.  

I don't want the bread so I just got a piece of sausage and a large cup of iced water to drink. 

We loaded back into the van and began our journey to Kentucky. We hit the early morning traffic of Nashville and rode in the HOV "High Occupancy Vehicle" lane so we moved along pretty fast. 
We traveled through Bowling Green, & Lexington Ky  

We gained an hour when we crossed into Eastern Daylight Savings Time. 

We arrived at the creation museum around 1:22PM Eastern Time (we lost an hour).

Janet parked the van near the entrance, and we walked inside(we did not have to stand in line) to purchase our tickets. 

Entrance to the Creation Museum 
2800 Bullittsburg, Chruch Rd Petersburg, Ky 41080

Everyone bought the combo tickets, with the combo tickets we could visit the Creation Museum for 2 days and The Ark Creation for 1 day.  

We did not watch any of the movies so one day was more than enough to view the Creation Museum. 

Everyone split up and walked at their own pace at the museum. 

We saw a glimpse of what it was like for Adam and Eve to live in the Garden of Eden.

We saw the beginning of Noah building the Ark before the flood. 
We saw sculpted dinosaurs and a full-size skeleton of an Allosaurus named Ebenezer. We saw the legends of dragons. 
We walked through the history of the Bible, a natural selection, a museum of the Bible, and the flood. 

When I finished viewing the museum, I walked to Noah's Cafe where I bought a salad and three chicken fingers for $7.50 plus a diet soda for $2.49.

While I was eating Becky and Stella appeared, they were both ready for lunch.

They brought chicken fingers and a salad and joined me. 

In Noah's Cafe, I found a plug to charge my cell phone, for it was getting low after taking several pictures. 

When Becky & Stella finished they went back inside the museum, they wanted to get a piece of the fudge that they had smelled downstairs.

I walked across the floating bridge to the Botanical Gardens

Most of the flowers had quit blooming, and most of the path throughout the garden was shaded from the hot sun. 

The Zoo 

I walked across a Suspension Bridge

💐 🌷One of the Bridges in the Botanical Gardens 

Walking across the Bridge 

There were at least five bridges, & several paths leading to little nooks full of displays. 

I walked across a suspension bridge, passed the mining sluice, and to the petting zoo, where I saw a camel, alpacas, zorse, zonkey, donkeys, wallabies & goats.

I saw Laura and Janet on a lower path, they had already been to the zoo and were walking back to the museum. 

I met Diana as I was leaving the zoo, so she and I walked back to the museum, stopping to take pictures of the waterfalls, the pond full of Lillie pads, and the shadow of clouds and trees that fell into the pond. 

Diana was getting hungry, so we went to Noah's Cafe, where she bought a pizza and salad. 
While Diana was ordering her food, I looked for a table that had a wall plug, for my cell phone. 
So while Diana ate, I charged my cell phone and uploaded pictures. 

Diane met an old friend from Vermont, her friend, and her friend's husband came over to talk to us while Diana finished eating. 
By the time Diane finished eating, everyone was ready to leave and they were waiting in the van for us. 

Welcome to Chili's Florence Yall 

Me and Laura at Chili's 
Chili's 500 Houston Road Florence KY

We stopped at Chili's at 500 Houston Road Florence KY for dinner. Everyone had eaten lunch at Noah's Cafe except Laura and Janet

Stella, Becky, and I ordered water and we split an appetizer of White Spinach Queso, topped with shredded Monterey Jack cheese, house-made pico de gallo, fresh guacamole, queso fresco & chopped cilantro. 
Served with warm tostada chips & fresh salsa.

Janet ordered a bowl of loaded baked potato soup topped with applewood smoked bacon, fresh chopped green onions & 3 cheese blends and she also ordered a Triple Berry Crumble Cake.

The cake had warm blackberries & blueberries baked with rich butter cake topped with streusel and finished with vanilla ice cream, strawberry sauce & cinnamon sugar.
I ate several bites. YUM !!!

Diane ordered a Molten Chocolate Cake.
It was a moist chocolate cake with a melted chocolate center topped with vanilla ice cream & a thin chocolate shell, topped with whipped cream.

Laura ordered a salad.

Our next stop was the Comfort Inn. 

Janet parked the van just outside the front door of Comfort Inn in Dry Ridge KY, where, Stella had booked three rooms.
Three people paid for the rooms and each was reimbursed by the one sharing the room.
We paid for the rooms at 6:36 p.m. 
We unloaded the van and Janet parked the van in the designed parking area.  

Becky and I had room 319 with Laura and Janet adjoining room 317. Stella and Diana's room was just down the hall. 

I met two couples outside the hotel sitting on a bench in front of the Inn when we were getting our luggage out of the van 

They were resting from their day's adventure at the Ark Encounter.

One man said we had fun at the Ark and we did a lot of walking. 

Everyone went to their rooms, took a shower, and dressed for bed. 

When I looked out the window of our room I saw this beautiful sunset. 

Sunset 
Comfort Inn in Dry Ridge KY

Trees were blocking my view so I grabbed my camera, took the elevator downstairs, and walked outside. 

I walked passed a restaurant, a bank, and the Hampton Inn to the highway nearby. 

It was an orange-red sunset just going down.   

I walked back to Comfort Inn, and there was a sign hanging on the door that said, "No Vacancy " I took the elevator to the third level back to my room, where I took a shower and climbed into bed. 

Becky was already in bed, she had not slept much the night before. 

I woke up in the middle of the night thirsty and took the elevator to the first floor to purchase a bottle of water. 
Crawled back into bed and slept until 7:30AM the next morning. 
Becky and I took the elevator downstairs for breakfast. 

We meet Stella, Janet, Diane & Laura on the way back to their rooms, they had already eaten breakfast. 

I ate a banana, strawberry-banana yogurt, two pieces of sausage, and a glass of orange juice for breakfast.

Becky got an apple and some water. 

At 8:30AM everyone was ready to go to the Ark, we were about six miles from the Ark Encounter. 

The Ark is located on 800 acres of land right off I-75 at exit 154 the second busiest north/south interstate in the US. 

Janet parked the van near the ticket counter. Everyone got out of the van and got in line at the ticket counter.  

Our tickets were live tickets and had to be verified.
We were given our tickets back along with a green armband. 

Diane had misplaced her ticket and had to go back to the van to find it. 

We had to wait at the counter until she returned. 

Her ticket was in her wallet all the time. 

We walked to the bus and the bus took us to the Ark Encounter.

We could see the Ark from the 4,000-acre parking lot.  The closer we got to the Ark, the bigger it got, It was ENORMOUS!  

View of the ark from the Parking Lot 
1 Ark Encounter Drive Williamstown, Ky 41097

The ark was 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high. The Ark Encounter was the brainchild of a group called Answers in Genesis with President Ken Ham. The park will bring much-needed revenue to the area. 

Everyone got off the bus and started taking pictures. It was still quite a walk up to the ark.

Janet and I both stopped at the restroom, which was located near the bus stop.  

The rest of our group walked to the ark, which had to be entered from the backside and it was a long walk. 
It was like a theme park with bars, roped off for lines of people. Everyone was already walking up the wooden ramp, we did not have to go through the long roped-off lines. 
We walked up a wooden incline ramp to get to each level, with a guide at each entrance to guide us in the right direction. 
A fourth level is due to be completed before Christmas of this year. 
As we entered the first level we could hear the sounds of many different animals.
We saw cage after cage, where the animals would have lived during the flood. 

We saw stacks and stacks of feed for the animals, rows, and rows of jugs for water. 
We saw several animals different species of animals inside cages, including dinosaurs. 
The second level was signs and posters.
Seven posters, The beginning God created and it were very good. God created a perfect world, perfect marriage, perfect authority, and perfect humanity. 
The fall and man's rebellion corrupt creation and God revives man's hope, First murder, Cain murders Abel.

We saw Noah and his family, we saw how they lived on the ark, how they performed their daily chores, they had no time for folly.
Just walking the length of the ark would be a daily chore for Noah and his family.

There was a section with bible scrolls, and pictures depicting how life might have been during Bible times, Decent into darkness, senseless slaughter abuse of creation, Excessive hedonism, living for pleasure, Boundless brutality, the devastation of war, and the flood. 
The third level showed how Noah and his family lived, their food, their living quarters, their cooking area, and Noah sending out a dove.
We saw the Giants of the Ice Age, The origin of Languages, God's command to be fruitful and multiply, the table of nations, and the line of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. God's judgment so the Lord scattered the people. We saw the superficial biological differences between people in groups. Towers from around the world, Aliens and the pyramids, an Ancient man brilliant or a brute? Developing technology, Technology Intelligence, and Technological explosion, from horse & buggy to a man on the moon in only 70 years. The Great Pyramids, the Enigmatic Stonehenge, Time and Navigation, Noah and his family along with all the animals went into the ark. 
Noahic Covenant 
and Noah built an altar to the Lord, and he took from all the clean animals and clean birds and sacrificed them as a burnt offering on the altar. God smelled the pleasing aroma and said, "I will never again...destroy all of the life which I have made. As long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease." Genesis 8:20-22.

Permission to eat meat, Dietary changes, Capital punishment. The last display was about the different types of Bibles, the Tora Scroll, and books written by John Eliot.

After viewing the last display, we descended down the long wooden ramp, which took us down into a gift shop. 
We could have taken an elevator to the bottom. 

Becky, Stella, Laura, & Diane went to Estrelas Restaurant for lunch. 
Estrela will hold about 500 people and is a building near the ark. 
I was not hungry so I walked to the zoo.

By the time I arrived at the Ararat Ridge petting zoo, it had gotten hot. 

I saw a worker sitting down in a chair holding a baby goat, she was petting the goat and he was enjoying it.

I saw Kangaroos, Emus, 3 female ostriches, several donkeys, a Tibetan yak bull, and a camel. 
Near the Ostrich cages, I met an older man who worked with the animals. 

He said, I love working with the Emu, they are fun and they are mild-mannered, but the ostriches are a lot pickier, especially the male ostriches. 
He was telling me about how the Ark Encounter was just the beginning, that there were several phases yet to go. 
Additional future phases at Ark Encounter include a pre-flood walled city, the Tower of Babel, a first-century village, a journey into history from Abraham to the parting of the Red Sea,  a walk-through aviary, an expanded petting zoo, and other attractions that uphold the truth of God's Word. 

Side view of the Ark 

Diane,, Janet, Laura, Stella, and Rebecca in front of the Ark 

We left the park around 11:30AM, loaded onto the bus, and were taken back to the parking area. We loaded into the van and stopped at a gas station just before getting onto I-75. 
We stopped somewhere along I-75 to use the restrooms. 
We rode past the Castle Winery in Versailles, Ky at 12:47PM. We stopped at a service station in Munfordville, KY at 2:41PM to use the restrooms and to buy some snacks.
We were traveling through Nashville at 4:02PM somewhere in Kentucky we changed back to Central Standard Time. 
We stopped at Janet's in Athens where everyone got out of the van and everyone loaded into Laura's car.
We stopped at Arby's in Athens where I bought one beef cheddar,  one large Roast Beef, and two Apple crisps to take home for dinner. 
I was home around 6:30 p.m.