fog

this morning I looked out my windows, up toward emigration canyon, and saw that it was deeply cloaked in fog.
or cloud.
which made me want to ride up into it, to see what it felt like to ride in fog.
or cloud.
I waited until the temperature climbed to 43 degrees, then hopped on my bike for my adventure. it was awesome.
with about 85 percent humidity in the air, my skin was experiencing a cold-water facial and loving it. I could feel minuscule water particles hanging around me, moving with me as I steadily climbed up the road. the fog surrounded me and yet was nowhere near me. I could see it draping itself over the tops of the hills on either side of me, drifting and folding in upon itself, reaching down to the houses but somehow dispersing as it neared the road where I was.
as I reaching the U-turn where the canyon opens up the fog remained below me, and the sky, lined with layers and layers of clouds, spread itself all around. the sun peaked through for a moment, and as I turned I saw the billowing fog hanging over the roadway far below. I just rode through a low-lying cloud, and came out the other side . . . another amazing experience for my heart and soul to savor.
and then the fog seemed to reach up and touch the clouds, and I ended my creative thought process and started the cerebral questioning: what is the difference between fog and cloud?
I knew that I didn't know.
so of course I returned home and after eating (yum) and showering (ahhh) I turned to my best search engine, google, and can now share with you what I learned:
fog (according to the American Meteorological Society) consists of "water droplets suspended in the atmosphere in the vicinity of the earth's surface."
clouds, on the other hand, are also water droplets suspended in the atmosphere but they are not near the earth's surface.
therefore, fog is just an extremely low-lying cloud.
and now we know.
on the way down the canyon I was chilly, as expected, and full of joy that I was slicing my way through the fog. which was a good little fog all the way until the last few miles, when it started seeping. a drip here, a drop there, a few speckles on my sunglasses . . . which deepened my chill and make me excited for the hot shower I knew was coming, during which I could perhaps create my own room full of warm fog.