Unable to simply sit around and wait, my parents continued to develop the park.  By 1974, my father had added 90 mobile home spaces to the park. Funding for projects came from money borrowed from family and friends.  Dad designed everything; he was a hands-on contractor, who did much of the labor with his small crew.
            That year we got the word; they added the land to the reservation.  It would be years before we would understand the implications of being on a reservation.  At this time, we had ten years remaining on the lease.
            In 1975, Dad added another 29 mobile home spaces, and planted over 300 trees in the park.  That year we began negotiating with the tribe for a lease. 
            At the time, Jerry McQueen was the General Manager of Chemehuevi Inc. He contacted Havasu Palms and opened the door for lease negotiations, on behalf of the Tribe. He told us the Tribe was willing to negotiate for a 25-year lease with a 25-year option, or a 30-year lease with a 20-year option. 
            Then the players changed, and we were shifted to Pierre Koenig of Chemehuevi Planning Committee, who conveyed that the Tribe was pleased with Havasu Palms’ acceptance of lease terms, and that the Tribe was willing to offer a 30-year lease with a 20-year option. Throughout the years, we had been trying to get someone to help us maintain the road.  He also promised that they would use every means to assist us in road improvement.
          Before continuing with negotiations, the Tribe specified that Havasu Palms needed to sign a release form, stating Havasu Palms would not contest the land transfer, and in exchange for the release, the Tribe would negotiate in good faith with Havasu Palms for a long-term lease.  Havasu Palms signed the release.
            Negotiations proved to be as frustrating with the Tribe as it had been with the BLM.  Initially, the tribe offered a 50-year lease.  Although half the term originally discussed, with the BLM, my father realized it was a more realistic lease term for a Tribe.  Unfortunately, negotiating the long-term lease proved a major frustration.
            Each year, as a new tribal council moved into place, Havasu Palms moved back to square one.  Each new council felt honor bound to come up with a lease that offered more for the Tribe and less to Havasu Palms.  I remember one year I attended a tribal meeting with my father, to discuss the lease, and I was shocked that the council members knew nothing about Havasu Palms or their existing lease.  Dad had already been working with them for several years on the lease, yet this new group was starting from scratch.

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Photo: Road's End Restaurant, Havasu Palms