Grand Falls becomes grander with improvements
Navajo Times | Adron Gardner Council delegate Walter Phelps speaks during the dedication of a new ramada and informational signage in Grand Falls on Sept. 22.
GRAND FALLS, Ariz.
Tourists might have a new destination on the Navajo Nation at Grand Falls, but a nearby rancher had an issue at a dedication ceremony on Thursday.
Things went fairly smoothly from a public relations standpoint as local politicians, county staff, and those involved with the construction of a ramada, waterless restrooms, and information panels by the falls spoke, Sept. 22, about what went into the $325,000 project.
The construction manager for Coconino County Parks and Recreation gave the Navajo Times a brief tour of the area, before giving a talk about construction for those gathered.
According to Jeff Stein, the ramada with steel tables that shelters informational signs – which explain some of the geology behind the Grand Falls and provide information about the Navajo Code Talkers – came as a prefabricated unit, meaning it was built off site and shipped in. The “vault and haul” waterless restroom was also prefabricated, so crews on site only had to excavate the pit that will contain waste to be taken away by a truck.
“The construction part in a lot of ways was the easier part,” Stein said.
Coconino County Parks and Recreation worked with Leupp Chapter and other chapters, Navajo Tourism Department, Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation, and Navajo Nation Council to create the improvements.
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Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow