On Day 6, I asked the resort staff for off-the-beaten-path suggestions. They told me of a lesser known trail in the adjacent state park that winds along drainage ditches and offers quiet birding corners seldom visited by casual walkers.
I hiked that trail solo in midmorning. At one point, a patch of brush opened to a shallow pond. I sat on a log for twenty minutes, listening to frogs, watching water striders, and studying reed warbler calls. The feeling you get when no one else is around — you feel like you’ve discovered a secret world.
On returning to the RV, I assembled a picnic of chicken salad wraps, chips, sliced cucumbers, and iced tea, and took it to the lakeside view bench in the resort, watching reflections in still water.
Later, I drove over to McAllen Nature Center and walked their trails — gentle, shaded, full of butterflies and dragonflies. I compared the flora to what I’d seen earlier. On the way home, we picked up fresh tortillas and queso from a local tortilleria.
That evening, I made a layered Mexican lasagna (tortillas, beans, cheese, sauce, veggies) in a foil pan in the RV oven. We sat outside, enjoying the meal and exchanging impressions of the day.
Hidden corners make a place feel richer — and at Bentsen Palm, you can always bury yourself into quiet trails if you seek them.