In order not to miss our flight, we had to be up and out of the hotel by 3:30am. As usual, we were a little late, but by 4am we were on the road, Grandma at the wheel! I (Alastair) chatted to my mum all the way down, which was nice. It always is. By 9am (after some delays) we were at the trail that leads to Delicate Arch. Grandma, Alastair, Laleinia, Emre, Hollie, Connor, and Sarah.
The hike isn't the easiest, especially when you consider that we aren't in the best shape. Alastair had to carry Emre, a backpack, and an umbrella to shield him from the sun. Grandma was wearing jeans and a button down shirt. The trail is well worn, and there is no technical skill required, but it is very steep at parts, it is very hot, and there is almost no shade. All in all, it makes for a great hike with a sense of achievement at the top!
We made it up with seven smiles, minimal breaks, and no puffs of grandma's inhaler. I love how you don't see the arch at all until you come around a rocky corner at the very end of the hike. I was so happy to see my mum make it up there, and to be fair it was all smooth sailing for all of us in the group. Once we got to the top, Emre's grandma turned into a self-proclaimed "mountaineer mummy" and climbed up another rock formation to get a good photo of her and the arch!
We didn't have much time to dilly-dally up there because of our flight back to Detroit, but we did manage to squeeze in a quick visit to Balanced Rock. Lain waited in the car to feed Emre, and when she was done a guy tried hopping in the car thinking that it was his! Lucky Lain had put Emre's lunch away already!
The drive back to Salt Lake was tiring, but grandma pushed through it and we got back in time to see grandad, clean ourselves up, say our goodbyes, and get to the airport in time.
This was also the last time that we will see Connor for two years as he is going to be starting his mission tomorrow! It was a sweet goodbye, I'm glad that we got to have such a fun last day with him. I told him lots of mission stories in the car on the way back to SLC, and saying goodbye in the hotel was hard. Laleinia started crying, Cone was holding Emre, and then I lost it. I'm not very emotional like that, I rarely cry, but I am so proud of Connor and so happy for him, but I will miss him such a lot when he is away in France/Switzerland. He is going to do great. I'm so excited for him and all of the experiences that he is about to have out there!