St. Benedict, Oregon: World's Largest Pig Hairball: Mount Angel Abbey Museum

The farm at the Benedictine abbey produced some magnificent animal freaks and record-setting contents of a pig's stomach, thoughtfully preserved for your quiet contemplation.

On the grounds of Mt. Angel Abbey there is a museum that houses an unusual collection of items, including a large assortment of North American animals, Native American artifacts, minerals, porcelain figurines, art glass, clerical vestments, and artworks.

The cows and hairball are in glass cases, but easy to see. They do have a donation box. So if you're like me, bring an extra buck or two.

Two significantly deformed calves join numerous giant hairballs from the stomachs of an assortment of farm animals - in a glass case in the Mount Angel Abbey's taxidermy room.

There is a second museum at Saint Benedict Abbey in Mt. Angel, Oregon. Hidden in a basement at the far east end of the grounds is a Russian Museum filled with old icons and treasures of the area's past. Nearby, within just a few miles are still standing three Russian Orthodox churches, locations mentioned on the walls of the museum. There are still quite a number of Russian families living nearby in Woodburn.

Most visitors would miss both the regular museum with its two 6-legged stuffed cows and pig's giant hairball, and this museum as well unless they visited the Abbey Library for a walking tour of the grounds.

Also missed by many visitors are the number of prayer kiosks with wonderful murals and biblical sayings written in German that line the roadway up the hill to the Abbey, and the old pioneer cemetery with its tiny chapel attached to it.