Red Rock Balloon Rally takes to the skies Dec. 5-7

At the Red Rock Balloon Rally, the scenery becomes a navigational wonder, challenging seasoned balloonists while providing unique views.

“I always describe it as a balloonist's playground,” Marissa Myers, hot air balloon pilot and pilot coordinator, said. “It is truly spectacular to just be able to navigate the winds in and out of those small canyons.”

The rally is held east of Gallup at Red Rock Park, which has 200 million-year-old red sandstone spanning 640 acres of park, with the highest point topping out at over 7,000 feet.

These dips and peaks of the formations create unique obstacles and weather for balloonists to fly around.

“As the sun rises up, the rocks on the sunny side of the canyon warm up, so that creates a bit of an air current rising at that point,” Bill Noe, pilot and safety and weather officer, said, “and on the other side it's in the shade, so the air flow over there is usually up canyon or at least down the face of the rocks.”

Myers' father, Peter Procopio, helped start the Red Rock Balloon Rally back in 1981. He said that he always tells people what Maui is to surfing, the Red Rock is to ballooning.

“You can see views that you wouldn't get any other way,” Procopio said. “Because a lot of them are inaccessible for hiking.”

The views also offer photo opportunities that you cannot get anywhere else, Noe said.

“That's why a lot of people want to come here,” Noe said. “They want to stand their balloon up (and) they want to get pictures with the rocks.”

He said there is one place he and other pilots like to fly, nicknamed “The Crotch” because it is tight and narrow.

“Getting into a small, confined area can be a challenge,” Noe said.

The rally will have over 150 balloonists this year and in the past has had up to 200, up from 25 when they first began.

“It's amazing to be able to carry on the tradition of ballooning and kind of the family camaraderie,” Myers said.

Myers said that the rally is like having all her best friends coming into play in her hometown, and helping to plan and execute the rally is like a big family reunion.

“Thursday night at pilot registration is filled with laughter and hugs of friends and friends we haven't met yet,” Myers said, “and it's not just pilots who are friends, but pilots, crews and kind of people from all over the world get together at a ballooning event.”

Procopio said he originally helped start the rally to help show how great Gallup is and to help people experience Red Rock for the first time.

After a recent flight, Procopio said, “It just reminds us what a spectacular place it is.”

“It never gets old.”

Red Rock Balloon Rally takes to the skies Dec. 5-7