Fish Lake, Capitol Reef, and a Worrysome Ticking Noise

I hadn't accomplished as much at my Grandfathers as I would have liked so I went back over there the next morning to spend a couple more hours before taking off for more riding. I managed to get 20 of the 2x2 slats up and you can get a pretty good feel for how it will look once it is finished.



I think it will look good, and while I didn't accomplish near as much as I felt I should have, I'm really pleased with how it's shaping up. I promised him I'd be back down in two weeks to try and finish it up. I was hoping to ride my motorcycle back down, but as you will find out, the motorcycle gods have other plans it would seem.

I left his house about 9:30 and headed back to Glenwood to pick up a gas can and fill up the tank. I ended up purchasing a gas can since I was unable to find one that I felt comfortable would seal properly. Here's the bike all geared up ready for the days adventure, complete with gas can :)
I had noticed a pesky ticking noise coming from the top of my engine. It reminded me of the sound made when as kids we put basball or playing cards in the spokes of our bikes in an attempt to make it sound like an engine. I would contemplate this noise off and on throughout my trip, but I had decided to have some faith that my bike wouldn't let me down, so I rode on.

As I rode up the mountain from Glenwood toward fish lake I encountered a road sign that alwasy troubles me "Loose Gravel". This sign always sends a chill up my spine and causes a moment of panic. In a car loose gravel is a nuisance and might chip your paint, on a motorcycle it can cause you to lose control of your bike and lay it down. I practice the motorcycle religion of A.T.G.A.T.T (All The Gear All The Time), but even with proper riding gear you rarely walk away unscathed. I decided that I would have to remain alert and cautious, and I slowed down a bit. In hindsight I'm not sure this was necissary as the gravel appeared to have been either pushed in to the soft tar by all the vehicles that had come before me, or had been pushed off to the side of the road. Still, cautious riding will keep you riding.

I came up and over this hill, and the twisties would have been a lot of fun if I had been able to ride them at speed, but as I said, I erred on the side of caution and rode slowly. On the way down a car came up behind me and I figured I'd pull off at a pull out and let him pass since he could safely move at a faster pace. Besides, it gave me the opportunity to snap these pics.

I pulled back on the road and headed back toward fish lake. After a while I became a bit more comfortable with the road and picked up a little bit of speed. Another 10 minute or so brought me into a really green valley, I'm not really sure if it has a name or not, but I liked it so I pulled over and snapped some more pics.

I haven't done enough riding to know if these things are common or just a peculiarity of central Utah, but every now and then a sign would announce "Historical Marker 500ft". At 65mph 500 feet passes pretty quick, so by the time I've processed what the sign was saying, and decided to stop and check it out the turn is right there. It's a good thing my brakes and in good shape. I thought the information was interesting so I took a picture. As a side note, I'm a huge advocate for the individuals right to own guns, I own them and enjoy the responsible use of them. However I get very put out when I see that someone used one in an irresponsible manner and vandalized a sign or monument. I doubt any of the people who read my blog would be so irresponsible and for that I'm glad.

The temperature cooled down a bit as I continued riding and going up in elevation. Compared to the heat in the valley, I was really enjoying the cool air. Another 3o minutes of riding or so and I came to the turn off for Fish Lake. I noticed that the types of trees had changed. Where before I was used to seeing Juniper and Sage Brush, Quakey Aspens became the dominant tree. I'm not sure what caused it, but it was just a detail I noticed. I rode to the lake and parked the bike. For lunch I enjoyed a couple of granola bars and some water. I always made sure to bring water with me, mostly so I didn't have to buy it when I stopped.

Fish Lake is a pretty area, and it's very well developed. There are bathrooms with flushing toilets and developed camp sites. I'm all for roughing it, but I enjoy the comforts of civilization as well.

Here's my attempt at an artistic framing of the above pic using the camera. I think it came out pretty decent.

More pics of Fish Lake.



I relaxed in this area for a half hour or so and then hit the road again. Here's a few pics as I'm leaving.

On the way to Capitol Reef I stopped in Loa to fill up my tank since I wasn't sure how much further it was to my destination. I went in to give the station attendant cash for my gas, and it turns out you can pay with cash AFTER filling up. I haven't seen that in years.

I think I'm going to have to take a trip back to Capitol Reef.

This one is known as The Castle, it's actually on the little map you can get from the Ranger Station.

After 4 days on my motorcycle I was pretty sore and decided to head back to Glenwood. It was a nice ride back. I took a few more pictures as I was entering Glenwood.

I decided that I would go home the next day. I had a great time and a lot of beautiful miles passed beneath my tires and the bike had handled very well, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I felt it was time to get back. The ticking noise was concerning, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it without my tools back home.