

The government also wanted Havasu Palms to realign the access road into the
park. Part of the road went over the airstrip, which was extremely
dangerous. It took some major excavating, yet Dad managed to realign
the road, doing much of the labor himself.
By this time,
Havasu Palms had spent a considerable amount of money preparing a master
plan with the professional architect firm. Since my father had
abandoned his successful contracting company, his only income came from the
very meager manager’s salary.
Although the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) expressed their approval of the master plan,
they continually made excuses to stall and postpone negotiations. It became
a very frustrating period for my parents. Since they were unable to obtain
financing to implement the master plan, they spent their time maintaining
the park and operating the business. During this time, Winchell Donut
contacted dad, asking him to bid on a couple of donut houses in
Initially the
BLM gave a favorable response. With their encouragement, Dad continued to
work on the plans, but later that year the BLM informed my father that they
could no longer work with Havasu Palms for a longer lease, as the land might
be turned over to the Chemehuevi Indians. The tribe had ratified their
first constitution two years earlier, which meant they were now a recognized
tribe. The next year the BLM informed us that the riverboat development
would not be right for the area.
Whatever
hopes my parents had for a long-term lease took a blow. Yet the BLM kept
assuring my parents that the tribe would negotiate with them for a longer
lease term when the transfer was official. We were living in limbo. My
parents were not in a position to pack up and leave; they had already
invested everything into the park. We didn’t know if the land would be
added to the reservation, or if it would stay under the BLM jurisdiction.
(next)
Photo: Boat slips at Havasu Palms Store, circa late 1990's






