Red Rock Balloon Rally
Perfect time — perfect place to fly hot air balloons

Professional photographer Barak Naggan stands atop the red rocks on December 1, 2006, to photograph the hot air balloons as they fly around during the Red Rock Balloon Rally at Red Rock State Park, Church Rock, NM. [Photo by Jeff Jones/Independent]

By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — If it hadn’t been for Farmington, Gallup may not have its own balloon rally today.

Now celebrating its 27th year and its reputation as the second largest one in the United States, the Red Rock Balloon Rally came into existence for one primary reason — balloonists in Gallup wanted to have a balloon rally that was bigger and better than the one that was being held in Farmington.

Peter Procopio, one of the founders of the Gallup event, said Farmington at the time had a rally that attracted 30 to 40 balloonists, so people in Gallup thought that if they held one here, it would be more popular because of the winds.

And they were right.

Almost as soon as the Gallup rally got started, it began to attract balloonists from all over the country and even a couple from outside the country. And while Farmington balloonists struggled to keep their balloon rally afloat — it was discontinued for several years but is now back on — the organization in Gallup has struggled to keep it from getting too big.

One factor in Gallup’s favor, said Procopio, is that balloonists can do their thing nine months of the year here — the only bad times are in the spring and possibly for a little in the fall when strong winds make ballooning impossible.

Otherwise, the blue skies over Gallup and the gentle winds make Gallup a perfect place to enjoy the sport of ballooning.

So perfect that when Michael Crichton, author of “Jurassic Park” and numerous other best sellers, wanted a site for a ballooning scene to open his book “Timeline,” he chose Gallup.

And the selection of December has proved to be a wise one for Gallup as well.

Except for the “Jingle Bells Rally” in Albuquerque in mid-December, which attracts about 100 balloonists, the Gallup rally is one of the last rallies of the year in the United States.

And weather conditions in early December are usually perfect for ballooning, even despite the threat of snow.

While there was one year when the balloonists were able to go up only one day, the group has never had to cancel any rally.