melstrasser17

William made episode 2 all in his own!

A stop-action video, written, created, and narrated by Clayton William Strasser II.

Bit of an adventure going for a bike ride today. Trying to figure out how to stay warm, and documenting what works and what doesn’t.

Turns out this is the last vacation we had with the whole family before Mitch took off on a two-year mission. We had such a good time! And of course, we got to celebrate Williams 8th birthday and Luke’s 17th birthday.

We had a blast in Donnelly this summer. We stayed at the Osprey Yurts and spent our time playing on Lake Cascade, riding/running the trails at Tamarack, and hiking to Boulder Lake in McCall.

At least I’m learning to! This is the choreography for our competition piece, it looks way better with the whole team in formations, but this gives you an idea of the dance. I was brand new to clogging four months ago, so I’m obviously pretty rough, but I have so fun with it...I LOVE to dance! ❤️❤️

I love my family, there is no end to the entertainment and fun we have together.

Luke got Covid so we spent our quarantine in my favorite place in mountain snowy bliss!

This became my home away from home this summer! It was my escape and refuge from the craziness of all that was changing for me and the rest of the world. I slept in my van, showered under spigots at nearby campgrounds, and used the free WiFi to work at the Clearwater Coffee shop. The wildlife, sunrises, sunsets, wildflowers, the lake, and running on the mountain were my absolute favorite!

Talking about part of my workout regimen, post-workout nutrition, injuries I’ve been dealing with, and things I’ve learned from my physical therapist.

In August we hit a 65-mile loop with over 11,000 ft of elevation gain in the Sawtooths with the Nelsons and had some incredible views on the trip. Our longest day was over 20 miles, with a crazy rain/hail storm and a double rainbow. We had a bit of smoky skies the first day, but it cleared out after the rain storm. My favorite parts included setting up camp on the beach, cliff jumping, and climbing a peak to get the most amazing view! And of course sunrises in the mountains will always be my absolute favorite.

Ever since I was a teenager and saw my brothers go on 50-milers with the scouts, I’ve wanted to go on one myself. I finally made it happen this year and had a blast with my boys Mitch and Luke and my brother Ryan. Highlights of the trip were the fact that Mitch had stitches still in his mouth, was on pain medication and couldn’t eat solids because he got his wisdom teeth out a few days before; I crashed on my mtn bike the day before the trip and had to get my knee and elbow stitched up; my hiking boots tore my feet up so I hiked at least 15 miles in flip flops; and of course we got pouring rain almost for an entire day and we were so soaked and frozen! There was no end to the fun, crazy and beauty on our adventure though. ❤️

Strava speaks my love language with data analytics. 😄 They created this cool video of my 2020 activities. Despite the many challenges faced this year, my refuge has been in activity and adventure, and I’ve done some pretty fun things with some amazing people! Naturally, as a driven person and lover of growth, 2021 is going to see even better numbers! 👊