A couple of months ago I signed up to get Groupon emails for the Tucson area. One of them was for a half-price bike tune up. We bought a tune-up for each of our bikes at a cost of $25 per bike.
Once we got here, we realized that the bike shop was actually 30 miles north of where we are staying. It turns out that Catalina State Park is practically across the street from the bike shop. So, today we dropped off our bikes for their tune-ups and drove over to the park to do some hiking.
We’ve also purchased a Tucson Passport coupon book for $18. It has many 2 for 1 or 50% off discount offers. One of them was for 50% off the daily fee at Catalina State Park. So, we only had to pay $3.50 for the day pass.
The trail map showed 3 hikes that were about 1 mile each. The rest of the hikes were 7 to 10 miles one way with pretty steep inclines. For some reason, my joints were aching pretty bad today so we opted for the shorter hikes. Here’s a view of the Catalina Mountains from the Nature Trail. It looks like there is ice flowing down the side. Upon closer inspection, it was just some shiny rock.
I love the auto timer feature on my camera.
These two Saguaro each had over 20 arms. They are so cool.
 |  |
The second trail that we hiked was called Birding Trail. It’s near the Sutherland Wash so there were actually trees and grassy areas. We didn’t see many birds though.
The third trail was called Romero Ruin Trail. Ruins from a Hohokam village dating back to 500 A.D. have been found in this area. There has been some excavation done, but mainly there are just some piles of rocks to see. I didn’t take any pictures of them. We saw lots of piles of rock just like it last year at some of the sites we visited.
It’s hard to see the little red “berries” on this one. If you want to get a better look, click on the picture to enlarge it.
We hiked a total of about 3 miles. Then we headed back to the bike shop. I asked a few questions regarding what was done to our bikes, but the guy was very unfriendly. His demeanor was probably one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had in a retail setting.
I road my bike around the parking lot and it did appear it was shifting better. So, I guess I just have to assume he did a good job and gave our bikes the tune-ups we paid for. I was hoping he could help me with the broken computer device I have that tracks your mileage and stuff like that. When I asked him about it, he didn’t even look at it. He just said he couldn’t do it. Oh well, I’ll find someone else who wants to earn some business from me. I also want to get a little mirror to put on my bike so I can see behind me. There are plenty of other bike shops around.
We had a buy one, get one free coupon for a Dairy Queen Blizzard so we had to stop on the way home and get our DQ fix. We also passed a Trader Joe’s so Kevin stopped and I ran in to stock up on the cranberry oatmeal I love. I did a quick look around, but I’m always overwhelmed in their stores. There’s so much I’m not familiar with. Anyone have any Trader Joe’s recommendations?
Our Wisconsin friends arrived in Tucson today. It turns out that Dick had to have a stent procedure done the day before they left home. These are the 2 couples going on the cruise with us. We’re going over to their rented condo tomorrow and discuss what we’re doing for the next 9 days before we head to San Diego. We certainly don’t want to put any stress on Dick. He needs to rest so he can be in great shape for the cruise.
I’m wondering what the news coverage around the country was this past weekend regarding the Tucson shootings a year ago. Last Sunday was the one year anniversary of that tragic event. As you can imagine, there were a number of vigils and tributes held in Tucson over the weekend. There was a great deal of news coverage with a couple of hour long specials. Congresswoman Gifford was in attendance. It’s good to see her doing so well, but it looks like she still has a long road ahead of her.
Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!
As a former business owner, there really isn't any excuse for poor customer communications. Go somewhere that WANTS your business.
ReplyDeleteTrader Joe's has some great frozen foods. We love their chicken fried rice, makes a quick meal and there green chili chicken burritos. They also have the best price on bags of nuts like almonds. There aren't any TJs in Texas and I am disappointed, we will have to go further west yet to find one. Not long beofre you'll be sunning on the deck of that cruise ship!
ReplyDeleteSo my take on the bike experience is, you might get a "deal" with the groupon scheme, but then possibly end up dealing with a knob. I don't deal with knobs.
ReplyDeleteWhich brings me back to the reason for using the groupon to lure customers. He's probably lost so many regulars by now he needs to bring in some fresh meat.
Your little mileage thingy might only need a new battery. I'd try that first, unless you already have of course.
Nice pics, btw.
WE are big trader joes fans. we buy the two buck chuck wine all of the time. Craig loves their English Toffee, as so do I. We like their frozen fish because it is usually also vaccume packed in individual meal size packaging. For this trip I bought a couple of small rib eye steaks, that were unfrozen, but vaccume packed, and they kept well for four days in the RV fridge. We had a bring your own meat BBQ night and had to plan ahead because we dont have a tow yet. Try moe things! Compare prices, and you will find they are really pretty good!
ReplyDeleteWE are big trader joes fans. we buy the two buck chuck wine all of the time. Craig loves their English Toffee, as so do I. We like their frozen fish because it is usually also vaccume packed in individual meal size packaging. For this trip I bought a couple of small rib eye steaks, that were unfrozen, but vaccume packed, and they kept well for four days in the RV fridge. We had a bring your own meat BBQ night and had to plan ahead because we dont have a tow yet. Try moe things! Compare prices, and you will find they are really pretty good!
ReplyDeleteWE are big trader joes fans. we buy the two buck chuck wine all of the time. Craig loves their English Toffee, as so do I. We like their frozen fish because it is usually also vaccume packed in individual meal size packaging. For this trip I bought a couple of small rib eye steaks, that were unfrozen, but vaccume packed, and they kept well for four days in the RV fridge. We had a bring your own meat BBQ night and had to plan ahead because we dont have a tow yet. Try moe things! Compare prices, and you will find they are really pretty good!
ReplyDelete"Staghorn Cholla are very common here in the Sonoran Desert, and these desert cacti are known for their spiny, branching stems that look like deer antlers, wide variety of flower colors (red, orange, yellow, green, pink, or bronze), and plump, spineless fruits." Love visiting that area, thank you for the great pictures.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Tucson. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with the bike shop. I'm a big believer in letting businesses know if you were treated badly. A letter to the owner might make them realize how people are being treated. Catalina SP is a great place to camp, also. I love Trader Joe's for all kind of things, including ginger cookies. Great prices and selection on wine.
ReplyDeleteI like to hit the frozen section for potstickers, and things like that. One thing I love to use is Irish Butter. It's usually an expensive item. I find that TJ has the best prices for the butter.
ReplyDelete