BENTSEN-RIO GRAND STATE PARK

Wednesday, January 11 – Today we took a ride to  Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park.

We wanted to  hike/walk at the State Park. Serving as the headquarters of the World Birding Center Network, Bentsen SP is known worldwide as a hot spot for birding.

Elmer and his brother, Lloyd (father of Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Jr.) decided to save this grove of ebony trees and the surrounds 587.5 acres by donating it, in 1944, to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park opened in 1962.

With more than 760 acres of woodland and native gardens, not to mention hundreds of volunteer filled bird feeders, visitors can see hundreds of colorful bird species as well as other South Texas wildlife, such as bobcats and javelinas.

They have a small but information-filled nature center.

There is a tram that transports visitors throughout the park but looking for exercise, we chose to walk the entire four mile loop and the additional connecting trails through the park.

We really enjoyed the blinds built in several locations, where one can sit, open a trapdoor and watch the many birds visiting one of the feeders.

We know this isn't a bird, but the butterflies were plentiful.

We are certainly not “birders”, but it was an enjoyable morning seeing all the colorful birds. We think we have the names of some of the birds correct, but if you know the names of the birds photos not labeled, please let us know.

Chachalacas

Altamira Oriole

Green Jay

There is also a hawk tower where you can witness the amazing hawk migrations from a two-story observation deck.

We, unfortunately, did not see any hawks. They are common from the area of Ohio we were from, so we've enjoyed watching them soar overhead in the past.

It's sad to see how dry things are here in South Texas. By the looks of the vegetation one can understand the wild fires witnessed in parts of Texas last spring. This is a box of kindling just waiting to ignite. They need rain, lots of rain in Texas. Hopefully, it will wait until after we leave here on March 1 to start raining!

The Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is one of three State Parks that partnership with local city parks and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to create the World Birding Center.

The other two are Resaca De La Palma State Park and Estero Llano Grande State Park. All being part of the Texas State Park System accepting our Texas State Parks Pass, giving us free admission. This pass has really paid off for us this past year. We've more than covered the cost by getting into so many State Parks free.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

MEETING BLOGGER FRIENDS…UP CLOSE

Tuesday, January 10 – We met up with fellow Winter Texans, Gayle and Jim, at a local restaurant today for lunch. We follow each other's blogs and since both of us were in Mission, TX, for the winter, we made arrangements to meet. What a wonderful couple. It's interesting how much one has in common with other full-timers. They are in their forth year of full-timing, similar in age, like hiking and biking, and are interested in photography. Jim, as a matter of fact, gave us some great suggestions in our search for a new camera.
They are staying a few miles down the road at Bentsen Palms RV Park. We hope to get together again before winding up our stay in the RGV.


Jim, Gayle, Marsha, Paul (Don't sit in front of a window and expect to get a good picture:( )


Each morning when we go to workout, we see HUGE flocks of birds flying around Mission. Yesterday on the way home from the gym, there must have been 1000's of birds flying near our campground. From a distance it appeared like smoke in the air, but upon closer inspection, it was birds heading for their feeding grounds here in the RGV.








 Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

EXTENDED WARRANTIES…GOOD IDEA?

Tuesday, January 10 – Paul has been talking with Rick, a friend here at Leisure Valley, about extended warranties for the motor home. Rick blew a turbo charger on his MH last summer in Oregon, and it was an expensive repair. Fortunately, he has an extended warranty and most of the cost was covered by the insurance company.

With a big trip planned for this summer to Oregon and Washington, Paul is considering purchasing an extended warranty for our MH. It's a long way and will be our first trip in the Rockies! We usually aren't interested in purchasing extended warranties, but one of Paul's biggest concerns while traveling is a major breakdown. If purchasing the extended warranty would increase his enjoyment of traveling the big mountains and beyond, it might be worth it.

What do you think? Do you have an extended warranty on your RV? Have you found them worth the expense? Are they comforting? Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Hope you have a great day!