Weird Colorado: Your Travel Guide to Colorado's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets

Weird Travel Guides

by Charmaine Ortega Getz

For weirdness to flourish, it requires a combination of dramatic history, amazing environments, and truly unique, off-the-grid characters. Colorado is blessed with all three! From the strange tale of Alfred Packer to Fruita's annual commemoration of Mike (the rooster that lost its head but not its will to live), there's no shortage of bizarre history and happenings in this Rocky Mountain locale.

Genres: Travel, History, Nonfiction, Paranormal

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 4, 2010

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light mindless entertainment. I like reading these "weird" books, because then as I pass through each state, I will frequently remember what the book had to say as I pass by any of the landmarks covered.

[Robert Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every state has some weird stories, weird history, or weird locations. Colorado seems to have even more than its share. For someone like me who likes everything that's a little bit outside of the norm, that's a wonderful thing. And this book is a wonderful guide to many (but by no means all) of those wonderful stories and locations.

There's a little something here for everyone. Do you like ghost stories? There are some great ones. Have a penchant for strange history? This book has you covered. Curious about strange landmarks or bizarre local events? Look no further.

I consider myself something of an expert on the weird, and yes, I did already know about a lot of the places mentioned in this book. But credit where credit is due: the author managed to find more than a few stories, events, or locations that were entirely unknown to me until I read the book. Necessarily each entry is a bit on the short side to make room for the sheer number of entries, but most of them are accompanied by excellent photos or illustrations, making the book itself quite an attractive item to keep around.

Take it from me: this book belongs in the personal library of any weirdo from Colorado.

[Teri Reck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colorado has long been a destination for curious tourists from all over America and beyond who want a glimpse of its natural beauty and a taste of its fascinating history. Tourists explore every corner of this wonderful state that I am so fortunate to call my home. Of course, there are many well known and popular attractions here, but as any of us who have lived here for awhile know, there are countless places of interest that fall a bit off the beaten path. This book is an excellent source of places, stories, legends that are just a bit more bizarre than what the average tourist looks for in Colorado. They include everything from the humorous, the silly, the irreverent to the very poignant and touching. Extremely engagingly written, this is a must read for all who call Colorado home and all those who would like to see a bit of Colorado that they might not otherwise get to witness.

[JP · Rating 2 out of 5]

This dense compilation features every imaginable kind of out-of-the-way oddity site you might or might not want to visit in Colorado. From ghost towns to topical museums, it would be hard for a reader to not be amused and at least a little intrigued by something. For what this book gives in impressive coverage, the content is also heavy. The language isn't always concise and some sections repeat content by including eye-witness contributions. It's a book to browse through rather than read.

[David Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read. Well written with very interesting stories for anyone interested in a subject such as this. I only wish it would have contained more! I fully intend on getting this book for some other states that I visit.

Minor irritations that prevented this book from getting 5 stars:
1. Editing is horrible. Some sentences are almost incomprehensible.
2. In some places the text is laid right over pictures which made it impossible for me to read.

Otherwise, a really fun read!

[Brenda Ozog · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. Talks about all kinds of things that interests me from people, paranormal and cryptic. I’m going to use it for a reference for paranormal investigations, too.

[M.M. Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The local library here in CO had this on their recommendation list to read for a winter read-a-thon.
Not being native of Colorado, I was looking forward to reading this because sometimes, I just like the weird.

What I found in this book was some definitely weird and odd things near where I live and around the state.
However, I suppose I was expecting much more.

Many of the places told about in the book were more of historical places and facts which appealed greatly to this history buff. I look forward to visiting many of the places mentioned in the book in the very near future.

Overall though, I really liked this book and would recommend it to someone new to the state or wants to travel here off the beaten path.

~Naila Moon

[Susan Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was anxious to read this book, but when I actually got a copy and got around to it, I was disappointed. Instead of actually reading it, I read the first few pages and then just thumbed through the rest. I guess I was expecting something...weirder. I was expecting to laugh. It turned out to be more of a tour book, just with more unusual places off the beaten path.

[Bea Elwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two complaints. 1, what's up with all the haunted/ ghost stories. And 2, why did the editor not proof before going to print - like seriously I don't even normally notice that kind of thing but it was bad.

I did however come up with a long list of places to visit and enjoyed some of the stories. Maybe we need an updated revised version...

[Carissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am giving this book three stars because whomever did the copy editing on this book totally botched it. I gave up counting typos and grammatical errors because there were so many. Other than that, the content was interesting and I am planning on visiting a few destinations.

[Aljan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a letterboxer's dream.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, actually.

[Kim Morelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a cute book on legends, history and fun places to visit. This looks like a good one to keep in the guest bedroom... so come on over for a visit and we'll decide some fun places to go!

[Pamela Burdick]

Kind of more skimmed this... I could not get into it. I think it was the layout maybe??

[Carla (There Might Be Cupcakes Podcast) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love this series...but this book is a lackluster addition to it.