Our first trip of the season to Kanab, Utah came a little earlier than planned.Both Fabgrandpa and our friend, Geogypsy, were sick and needed to go to the doctor at the clinic in town. I drove the ambulance, I mean, truck. As we left the North Rim, it was a gorgeous day. Because the road is not open yet, there was very little traffic out there. The only people we passed were people who work up here, and Arizona DOT employees where were spraying oil on the road. Everyone is getting ready for opening day.
When we got to the scenic view on Hwy 89A, we saw clouds that were raining, but the rain was not touching the ground. I learned from Geogypsy that this is called virga. I have never known that it had a name.
We got into town and went straight to the Kane County Medical Clinic, where the two of them had appointments. They were seen promptly, diagnosed, and sent on their way with prescriptions in hand. Fabgrandpa has bronchitis. We went over to the pharmacy and dropped off the prescriptions, and went to lunch at Houston’s Trails End. It was too late for breakfast, so we ordered hamburgers (mine with no bun as usual). After lunch we picked up the meds, did a bit of grocery shopping, and headed back up the plateau.
The sky was looking a little more fierce but the rain was still evaporating before it got to the ground. We saw several lightening strikes in that storm.
The farther we went down the road, the darker the sky got, but the rain was still not falling all the way to the ground. We probably only had twenty drops of rain hit the windshield the whole day.
We got back home around 4:30, with no rain to speak of. I am happy to report that both patients are recovering nicely from their respective ailments.
Ranger Anna says
Glad to hear both patients are on the way to feeling better!
Jerry & Kimberly Peterson says
Thank goodness for such a scenic ambulance ride! Just wanted to give you a heads up…we are no longer in Kanab, it just was not a good fit for us. The job…not Kanab! Have a great summer!
Gaelyn says
Thanks to our driver, we will survive.
Rachel says
What a beautiful drive! I also had no idea that rain that didn’t hit the ground had a name – now I have something to impress my husband with 🙂
Janice says
Okay. . .I wrote that word down and filed in my “important stuff” file. . .someone was asking what the name was the other day. . .now I know. . .
I love it when I learn something new. . .my goal for every single day!
monique says
I’ve never heard of rain that doesn’t hit the ground. Very different, and kinda cool.
Crystal @ Simply Being Mommy says
It looks really beautiful there.