Quinta Mazatlan

McAllen Texas 28 February 2014

Front entry is on the right

Massive pool is now 2 ponds

Jody and Paul invited us out to see the Quinta Mazatlan estate in McAllen. A beautiful day (upper 70’s) to see one of the largest (6.739 square feet for the Main House) remaining adobe block houses in Texas.

Cool and serene inside. Hottish outside

 Nice house but the piece de resistance is (are?) the surrounding grounds. The Rio Grande Valley is a collection of contrasts – verdant crop fields interspersed with scruffy tracts filled with scraggly trees and bushes and some desert like areas.Most of it close to dead flat.

Quinta Mazatlan is another world.

Looking toward the street.

Tall trees, cactus gardens, ponds, and wildlife (both real and modeled) outside and cool dark rooms inside. Built in 1935 it was bought by the city of McAllen in 1998 after the second owners had fully restored the buildings.

 

Flat like a prickly pear.

We took the self guided tour through the building and the grounds. Most of the trees, plants and fauna are explained and there are plenty of spots to just sit and contemplate.

 

This one is live. Plain Chachalaca. Only needed 12 shots to get this one.

 No contemplation for us this day – we were heading over to Jason’s Deli afterward (it lived up to it’s reputation – great food and atmosphere). I will not torment you (or me) with food pictures.

imagine delicious food picture here

If we could base our economies on the ant model there would be no unemployment. Back at Bentsen State Park we saw the ant condo’s being built at a furious pace. In Quinta Mazatlan the leaf cutters get the spotlight. You can almost hear tiny little buzz saws as you watch the conga line of leaf parts under the tree. Did not get a very good shot of the real thing:

But I did get a decent picture of the garden sculpture representation:

Take your time - he's not going anywhere.

This Night Blooming Cereus grows up into nearby trees - 20' or more

There are a number of daily tours and talks plus a fascinating video on some of the birds frequenting Quinta Mazatlan running in the Exhibit area. Next time we're in the Valley we'll make a point of spending some more quality time at this unexpectedly beautiful spot.

Invasive species. Removed from the grounds.