Pictured is the exterior view of the Coca-Cola Heiress mansion, now the Hunter Art Museum of Chattanooga.

By Darla McCammon

We took a trip recently that sated some of my craving for art. It began with the Creation Museum, located just south of Cincinnati across the Ohio River and into Petersburg, Ky. It was about a four hour drive from Warsaw. Not only is this large facility educational and entertaining with scientific and scholarly evidence, but our visit included a wonderful stargazer planetarium presentation that was awe-inspiring. We spent most of the day there and later enjoyed watching the zip line and walking through the beautiful rainforest outside. Unlike many popular attractions, we found their food prices for lunch and snacks were very reasonable. Look up creationmuseum.org for more details.

We drove south to Crittenden with our RV, and early the next morning we headed to a sister attraction a little further south called The ArkEncounter. Located in Williamstown, Ky., impressed is inadequate to describe the enormity of this work and what is held inside the Ark. It is seven stories high and a football field and a half long. The Ark is the largest timber frame structure in the world.

Both museums we visited had multiple levels so you could travel back in time and get questions answered that would satisfy the many puzzling things that often come up in such discussions. Both had a zoo and offered camel rides and more. Zip lines were active and popular at both locations. We especially enjoyed dining at Emzara’s Kitchen, a two-story plentiful buffet next to the Ark, with views of the Ark, zoo and zip lines. I especially liked the taxidermy exhibits of animals along with some gorgeous art work along the walls inside the restaurant. Look up arkencounter.com for more details.

Having begun early at the Ark, we were able to finish our exhilarating tour and head south through Kentucky. We made it to an RV park just outside Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain on the Georgia border just before dark. We did a lot while in Chattanooga, but one of the highlights was a visit to the famous Hunter Mansion and Art Museum, located on the beautiful riverfront.

An heiress from the Coca-Cola Company once lived here. Her nephew donated it for an art museum. It is worth the visit just to see the mansion let alone the exquisite collection of American art through the ages. The sculpted glass section will take your breath away. Two buildings have been added to the mansion to house the over 5,000 works from the 1700s to the present. The contemporary addition won the architects several awards. Wish I had space for our entire visit. You would have enjoyed it.

Upcoming And Current Events

• The Don Sheline exhibit is wrapping up. This is a good time to purchase one of his works. Coming after Mr. Sheline, we are very privileged to have the Olds family’s private collection of work by the famous Warsaw artist, now deceased, Fred Olds. We plan to open this exhibit on Thursday or Friday, Aug. 9 or 10. It will run until Oct. 1.
• The Honeywell exhibit now includes winning work by Tana Bondar. It’s a good exhibit to visit.