Quinta Mazatlan

Quinta Mazatlan is one of the largest adobe homes in the state of Texas. Once a unique home to two previous owners, La Quinta Mazatlan is now part of the World Birding Center Organization and is a proud staple of the RGV. The home was originally built in the 1930s and was bought by the City of McAllen in 1998 after business owners saw no use for the home and tried to bulldoze it to use the land. The Quinta Mazatlan is now known as a "Mansion with a Mission". It focuses on educating people about wildlife and birdlife while offering an amazing Spanish setting in which to enjoy nature walks. I visited Quinta Mazatlan with my husband, my 12 year old daughter and my 15 month son and we loved it! The best part if it is that we only paid $2.00 per adult and $1.00 per child! I originally grew up in the Valley and I remember growing up there was not much to do other than go to the pool or visit family. It is amazing for me as a Valley native to see how much the Valley has grown and evolved having family in mind as key. We toured the Quinta on a Friday as organizers were setting up chairs for an outdoor wedding! ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! On an educational note, I learned the Valley is one of the country's top birding destinations. I met several bird watchers who were prepared with binoculars and books in hand and I was amazed to learn how much people enjoy bird watching. One of the gentelmen we met was a regular at Quinta Mazatlan and had a journal with notes about birds he had spotted dating back ten years! He explained to us how some of these birds are Valley natives but others migrate depending on the season. My son loves birds and he enjoyed being pushed around in his stroller. Each time he would see a bird he would point at it and grasp our attention so we could see it as well. I wonder if bird watching will be one of his hobbies in the future.  http://www.quintamazatlan.com/birds/explore.aspx