Chinle takes first step toward vendor village
Special to the Times | Ray Landry This vacant land east of the Holiday In in Chinle has been earmarked for a vendor village and park.
CHINLE
Chinle Chapter last Monday took the first step toward constructing a vendor village at the mouth of Canyon de Chelly, with chapter members authorizing Chapter President Myron McLaughlin to apply for a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
McLaughlin said the $175,000 rural business development grant, if the chapter can obtain it, will be used along with matching funds from other sources to build a berm to prevent the low-lying land east of the Holiday Inn from flooding. The resolution was approved 24-0-3. McLaughlin said the idea for a vendor village has been bandied about since at least 1985. “We’ve been asking ourselves, ‘Is it something we want? Is it feasible?’” said McLaughlin. “All the answers seem to be yes.”
Chapter Manager Walton Yazzie showed a conceptual drawing of the project, which in addition to covered stalls for vendors, will eventually include a running trail, a park and even a “doggie day care” for tourists who can’t take their pooches into Canyon de Chelly because of the national monument’s restrictions.
“You know how white people always have to have their dogs with them,” explained McLaughlin. At full build-out, Yazzie said, the project will include volleyball courts, basketball courts and an amphitheater.
While the project seems ambitious, Yazzie said all the ducks are in a row and the main attractions could be up in less than a year. “This will also serve as a place for the (Canyon de Chelly) tour guides to meet their clients,” he said, “so they don’t have to arrange meeting places on top of the rim.”
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