Entry No. 28 — the Pueblo file — filed under: roadside-oddity
UFO Watchtower
“163 sightings logged, two invisible beings out back, and the skeleton of Snippy.”
Judy Messoline went bust running cattle in the San Luis Valley — “cows don't eat sand” — so in 2000 she put up a ten-foot steel viewing platform and a dome gift shop and started logging whatever flew over. The book stands at 163 sightings. Out back, visiting psychics certified two vortexes, openings to parallel universes guarded by a pair of invisible beings; visitors leave hubcaps, pens, and dog tags to keep them happy. She also paid $2,000 for the skeleton of Snippy, the horse found stripped to bone in 1967.
The move: Pitch a tent below the tower, split a thermos after midnight, and agree in advance on what counts as sighting number 164.
📍 Before you go The turnoff is on CO Highway 17 about 3.5 miles north of Hooper — a short dirt drive to parking beside the stucco dome gift shop, with the steel platform right above it. You are on open high desert at 7,600 feet: flat, treeless, hard sun by day and genuinely cold after dark, so bring layers even in summer. Primitive campsites ring the tower if you want the after-midnight sky, and the dome keeps looser seasonal habits than the grounds. Pair it with Great Sand Dunes National Park about half an hour east, or the alligator farm down Highway 17.
- 📍 Hooper
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 2502 County Road 61 (off CO-17, ~3.5 miles north of Hooper), Hooper, CO 81136
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4
last checked: 2026-06-11