About That National Butterfly Center (February 19 - 25)

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you for checking the blog as we enter our fourth week at Bentsen Palm RV Resort in Mission, Texas. This past week showed a remarkable improvement in the rainy weather so we are much happier campers. As most of you know we are addicted to cycling and have to get in several rides a week to calm that addiction. Thankfully we were able to do that.

Sunday was my birthday. What a terrific day with a morning bike ride, an afternoon reading one of my favorite authors, well wishes from family and friends and dinner at Pappadeaux. This was capped by a video phone call from Abby and Jackson, our grandchildren. Thank you for making it a special day.

Wednesday was a trip to the National Butterfly Park located next to Bentsen State Park. Avid blog readers will remember that this premier park, named after Senator Lloyd Bentsen, houses the major bird watching area in Mission and the Rio Grande Valley. The Butterfly Park taught us many things about the migratory paths of butterflies. Below are the pictures of our time in the park.

Thank you Roger for the beautiful birthday flowers.

Roger cannot wait to view the butterflies.

An example of a Queen butterfly.

Monarch Butterfly

An example of an ardent butterfly watcher. You would not believe how popular birding and butterfly watching are in the Valley. It is hard for an amateur photographer (that would be me) to capture that perfect shot of a butterfly. This lady has powerful equipment to do that job.

Bird feeding station at the Butterfly Park.

Finches

Chockalacas

Green Jays

Who Knows???

Some butterflies rest solely on trees.

Friday was a return to rainy, windy weather. Thank goodness for the resort workout facility. On days like this Bear misses his buddies at the dog park.

Saturday started out as a cold, rainy, windy day, but we were able to get a bike ride in during the afternoon and Roger took me out for dinner so I call that a perfect day.

Thank you for checking in with us. We leave the Rio Grande Valley on Thursday for Big Bend National Park.