Today we moved on down to the Rio Grande Valley and the home of the many US and Canadian Snow Birds that flee the cold in winter.

We first toured a couple of RV parks we'd read about on the Internet and were fairly unimpressed. It appeared there were far more mobile homes than the large RV communities we've been reading about. We saved Bentsen Palm Village for last as we'd made reservations to stay for 2 days. The difference is night and day. Bentsen is gorgeous, sporting a beautifully laid out park with a park like appearance versus wall to wall mobile homes and RVs with a little burned out grass thrown in a few areas.

Yes, the prices are different but so are the amenities. Bentsen is approximately twice as much as the other parks but does include cable TV and wifi internet, which the other parks do not offer. In addition Bentsen Palm Village is next to a bird reserve and Bentsen State Park, with the NABA International Butterfly Park within walking distance. Bentsen also offers free access to bikes, kayaks and passes to the bird sanctuary and State park.

The choice is a no brainer. Now let's hope they have an opening as right now they are listed as full for the winter of 2011.