Run For The Wall ride, veterans ceremony planned at Red Rock Park
Motorcyclists rolled into Gallup via Exit 16 and Route 66 for a veterans ceremony at Red Rock Park, with Mayor Jackie McKinney escorting the ride.
Gallup put its Route 66 identity on display when Run For The Wall riders were scheduled to roll in through Interstate 40 Exit 16, parade down Route 66 and gather at Red Rock Park for a veterans ceremony. The city’s calendar placed the motorcycles’ arrival at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21, with the Gathering of Veterans ceremony set for 3:45 p.m.
The stop mattered because it tied a national veterans motorcycle tradition to one of Gallup’s most recognizable public spaces. Red Rock Park is the city’s parks system crown jewel, set beneath red cliffs the city says were formed more than 200 million years ago. Its convention center includes a 500-person auditorium, and its arena seats 5,000, giving the site the capacity to host large regional events that bring together residents, travelers, riders and veterans.
Mayor Jackie McKinney was listed as escorting the riders from Gallup to Eagles Nest, New Mexico, underscoring the city’s role in the day’s itinerary. Dancers from the Black Creek Gourd Society were scheduled to perform from noon until 6 p.m., adding a cultural layer to the ceremony and linking the event to the broader community presence that often shapes major gatherings in McKinley County.
Run For The Wall says it has carried out its mission each May since 1989, when Vietnam veterans began the ride across the heartland on motorcycles. The organization says the ride exists to promote healing among veterans and their families and friends, call for an accounting of prisoners of war and those missing in action, honor those killed in action and support military personnel. It also says riders and supporters come from many backgrounds and that participants have ranged in age from 8 to 80.
The 2026 ride ran May 13-23 for the California-to-Washington route, followed by the Sandbox route May 24-26. In Gallup, the stop linked that larger journey to a local corridor where Route 66 remains a defining symbol, and where public events at Red Rock Park continue to draw crowds for tourism, remembrance and civic recognition.
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