Palmview, Texas

Palmview's draw is the west-side location. The parks along Expressway 83 and Bentsen Palm Drive put you closer to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park, the World Birding Center headquarters, than most Mission addresses, and the National Butterfly Center is a short drive down the same road. Birders who winter here talk about morning tram rides at Bentsen the way other parks talk about pancake breakfasts.

The rest of the season plugs into Mission's circuit. The Shary Road resorts, the Texas Citrus Fiesta in late January, and the citrus stands along the highway are all ten to fifteen minutes east, and McAllen's shopping and hospitals are about twenty-five minutes down the expressway.

Palmview is a young, fast-growing town, and it drives like one: the west expressway corridor has been under construction and filling in with subdivisions for years, so don't expect the sleepy edge-of-the-Valley feel the map suggests. Town amenities are still thin, an H-E-B and the basics, with Mission covering the rest. The trade is fair if the state park is the center of your season.