Albany Historic Carousel in Albany, OR

                                                This one is a work-in-progress
 

I'm so glad we stopped in Albany on our way to Crater Lake.  First, we had a terrific lunch at Brick and Mortar.  The food was excellent and it was fun to see the older buildings that have been preserved.  The star of the downtown is the Albany Historic Carousel.  What a great American story!  A community member was inspired by seeing a carousel while traveling.  The town rallied to restore a mechanism and then carve and paint all the remarkable animals.  There is a quail, a fox, an orca, a llama and lots of horses, along with a few mythological creatures like a hippogriff.  So many creations and each beautifully carved and painted.  It is a fully operational carousel and it was packed with kids reaching for the brass ring.  It is staffed by volunteers.  There is a small museum and you can see new animals in the process of development.  The town was a joy!  There was more to explore, but we had to get to our cabin before it got dark.  This town is about a half-hour drive south of Salem.