In honor of Ford From the Road launching its Ford Times-inspired Travelogue today, we dug 60 years back through the archives to bring you a travel story from the August 1966 issue. Welcome to Colorado’s undiscovered mountains, brought to you by author Ted Dutton and artist J. Noel Tucker.

These then-unfamiliar peaks are known as the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southernmost subrange of the Rockies. According to local legend, the name — which translates to Blood of Christ in English — came from a Spanish priest who saw the snowclad mountaintops as he fled a lost battle with local Ute and Comanche tribes. Witnessing the snow-covered summits glowing red as they sometimes do at dawn and dusk, Father Torres exclaimed, “Sangre de Cristo!”

Only the past knows the truth in the legend, but the story’s intrigue reflects the magnificence of the mountains. Dutton describes a forest of thick pine, aspen, and spruce, hidden streams and lakes that shine like jewels, and trout ample in size and number. Tucker’s paintings bring the scene to life for readers.

Now, 60 years later, Ford From the Road is launching its Ford Times-inspired Travelogue series that may just inspire readers to jump in their cars and go see the sights for themselves. Stay tuned.

Read the story via the Ford Times archive, August 1966. Browse more at FordHeritageVault.com.