Category Archives: Free Content

The Snader’s are expecting a new baby in 2025!

At 8 PM Eastern Standard Time, our gun give away live stream starts! (4 PM Alaska Time) Tom Burkholder will join us, along with Chad Zimmerman.

We hit a snag in our gun giveaway-the engraver just finished up with it, a few hours ago. But-we are still going to give it away! (of course)

Our fourth full day of hunting was moderately successful, with Paul and myself (Matt) each getting a doe. Paul’s was actually a button buck. This may be our last day of hunting, depending on the weather and the float plane schedule. Stay posted!

Day three of Afognak Island turned out some positive results, with several deer down! Paul still hasn’t gotten a Kodiak bear, nor have we seen anyway. Tom tagged out, with three doe, Kit celebrated turning 18 by bagging his first blacktail deer, and Markel managed to take down a buck. I managed to take down […]

Day Two was a bust, no deer, no bears, but Paul did bag three ducks. I managed to scare a fox off by shooting at it nine times with a Glock (not on video, sorry). It was terrible windy today, but at least there was no rain.

Currently we are deer and bear hunting (Paul has a Kodiak bear tag) on Afognak Island, I am updating with my Starlink system. This is Day 1, and also the day before when we traveled to Kodiak and then to Afognak. I am using the 45-70 rifle that we are giving away at the end […]

The elevator ride up was actually a hair frightening, as you can tell by the language that I have removed from the video. This was the result of other people in the elevator, not our group. See all the videos and slides of Paris here.

A video about the Green Island public use cabin, in Prince William Sound. This cabin is a great place to hunt deer and just enjoy the scenery. If you want to hunt private land, make sure to check out Ihunt.com.

Our trip to Tutka Bay snagging salmon, which is about a 15 mile run from Homer.

Video of under Prince William Sound! Halibut, rock fish, yellow eye, all kinds of neat fish.

We took the ugly AI jig to Prince William Sound to give it a test, and it actually caught some fish! A special thanks to I-Hunt for sponsoring this video. Through them, you can rent private land to hunt on, in many states across the US. For more information visit www.IHunt.com.

My brother came to visit, he is a computer science major. He has taken some classes in artificial intelligence, so I asked him to use those tools to design a fishing lure. The result was a bit interesting, and made me think we are safe from robots, at least for a little while.

An ROV is an underwater drone. We try this out in Cook Inlet and see what is below us…

Some interesting underwater footage, taken in Halibut Cove, Alaska. This footage was taken on June 3, 2023.

Our youth group went hiking in Halibut Cove, and I was enlisted to haul everyone over. The last group made the wise choice to go fishing instead of hiking, and it just so happened I had fishing equipment on the boat! Click here for extra footage not included in this video.

We found Salty Lures to perform well, and we paid their headquarters a visit. These lures are sold in Bass Pro, Cabelas, Sportman’s Warehouse, Trustworthy Hardware, and other places up here in Alaska. A special thanks to PlainDirect.com, which offers classified advertising to Homesteaders and outdoor enthusiasts. Also thank you to Millertech, who makes batteries […]

On June 1, 2023, we tried out some Salty Lures and set our sights south to East Chugach Island, which is a two hour trip from Homer. Passing by the Port Chatham, we failed to see any Sasquatches, and then continued on into the Gulf of Alaska. We did catch quite a few sea bass, […]

A trip to the Flat Islands, about 30 miles south of Homer, yielded our first halibut of the year. A special thanks to our sponsor, www.Millertechenergy.com

What is Plain Direct? Why did Plain Direct start? Tom explains some information about the classified website, www.PlainDirect.com.

In February 2023 I flew to Hawaii with my wife, Marlene. We stayed on the island of Kauai. I did a little hog hunting while we were there, I only had a few hours to hunt. I did see some pigs, but didn’t get a shot. The video is a little boring, hence it is […]

Jeremy Sensenig, with Moriah Ministries, came up last fall for a Father/Son weekend. After the weekend we went fishing, and we did really well! It was the best fishing trip of the year. This video is free, because I didn’t want to make the people in it pay to see themselves, haha.

We are giving away a gun! The last week of December 2023, we are randomly selecting a winner from our list of video subscribers. See details below: The rules are simple: Void were prohibited. Employees of Alaska Adventure Books are not eligible. Close relatives, parents, brothers, sisters, in-laws are not eligible. At a date to […]

Shenandoah Music Camp came up to Alaska and held a week of teaching on music. Several Anabaptist churches in the area took part, River of Life Fellowship, Sterling Harbor Mennonite Church, and participants from other areas. Sunday, March 19, at 6 PM Alaska time (or 10 PM Eastern Standard) they are holding a program, and […]

Tom talks to a giant chicken, and discusses the very basics of chickens. See the Plain Direct Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry at this link

The Iditarod started on Saturday! We went to Anchorage to watch it. To follow the Iditarod online, check out www.Iditarod.com.

This moose walked right by the entrance to Fred Meyer and startled a few folks. Thankfully, nobody was stomped on.

I discuss the weather, new things that happening in Alaska, and then Andy Stoltzfus and I blow up some soda bottles.

Matt stars in a video showing the perils of driving a small tractor. The safety video is sponsored by PlainDirect.com

The Winner!Announcing the winner of the binoculars! Also, a short video of a bull moose, that I took behind my house (I took the video, not the moose).  

Save 15% on our books at Good’s Stores Vendor Days. Visit their website for more information, www.Goodsstores.com. We also have a giveaway, see video for details.  

This video is a just a short clip of whale, taken by drone, near Kodiak Island.

  Link to purchase travelogue tickets and latest book release Link to rent my brother-in-law’s house in Sarasota, Florida 

On January 15, Hannah arrived! Plus some other news…a travelogue, boat update, and more.

Matt provides some updates one week in on the disaster, and also selects a winner for another giveaway.

On December 30, 2021 our boat sank in Prince William Sound, after become stuck on a rock. The dropping tide eventually caused it to capsize. Get the scoop here on what happened. We praise God that everyone safely got off the boat, and returned home without harm. We also thank the United States Coast Guard […]

Our 11th book, 1,000 Miles on the Iditarod Trail, is now in stores! And we also pick a winner in the video from our email list. Note: Sitting beside a crackling wood stove seems to have put Matt to sleep in this video. We may reshoot this when he is not feeling so tired…

It’s a….(need to watch video haha) Note: Is says “Birth Announcement” in the video caption, that is technically incorrect as the baby has not been born yet, but this is an announcement saying it will be. (to clarify)

For the latest updates, Scroll to the bottom of page On March 6 Matt, Marlene, Shane, Mike and Gina leave to run the Iditarod trail route. This page will be updated as they progress by Cole Raber. Thanks Cole! Click here to see Cole’s YouTube channel. To be clear: We are not running as competitors […]

Matt Snader talks about plans for the next project-running the full Iditarod trail loop on snowmachines. Filmed in his igloo!

I interview Brad and Gabriel Sturm about the treasure hunt. Find out how they found it, and what they might do with it.

Brad Sturm cracked the clues and dug up the treasure on January 20, 2021. See more here: See where the treasure was here on Google maps:

The hunt is over! Find out where it was hidden, and more details to follow:

Some more hints, clues, and a (toy) RV giveaway!

A brand new clue-some more hints about the location of the treasure.

I forgot a few things in the last update I wanted to mention, so here is a quick add on.

Matt talks more about the clues and how there are different sets of them. Also a giveaway for a game processing set and some Wallaby licorice!

Today we drew a winner for a authentic Viking broadsword! Also a more detailed explanation on the pointers. Here is a link to the Afognak Deer hunting video, where Shane yodels away the bear.

We are giving away a Viking helmet! The Dec 26 treasure update!

Another update! The treasure is still not found, so Matt offers a bit of a clue…

The treasure is still not found! Keep looking!

The treasure has NOT been found! Keep looking!

Update #2 in the quest for the buried treasure!  

Book readers! Five days into the search, Matt releases the first weekly treasure hunt update, as well as a possible hint. There is also a giveaway in the video! Is it you? Watch and find out!

Fellow Alaskan, Paul Weaver, demonstrates the finer points of Eskimo Checkers. Click here to purchase the game, or just for more info.

Do Bananas prevent you from catching fish? Alaska’s top researchers decide to find out.

We had the opportunity to watch a humpback whale repeatedly breach near our boat. It was an amazing experience!  

On our 2nd try we finally made it to McGrath, Alaska, following the Iditarod trail ahead. We left March 7, a day before the Iditarod dog sled race mushers took to the trail. After arriving in McGrath, we watched the dog sled teams come in. Along the trail we encounter moose, flip snow machines, and […]

We were in for a real treat on Friday, July 31, 2020, when we went out looking for Killer Whales. Not only did we find them, they put on a show by jumping out of the water for the camera. It was exciting, and fun to watch.

Our old dishwasher gave out, so we decided to retire it with a bang, well actually, several bangs. Here you can see us ensure that it no longer works and can be safely taken to the dump and disposed of.    

We finally hit the real Iditarod trail in our first attempt to reach McGrath. Things don’t go quite as planned and we end up spending the night in a trapper cabin. We see sub zero temps, moose, and a lot more interesting things.

Before the big trip, we needed to do a thorough test on our equipment. We did this in -20 weather at Hope, Alaska. Everything performed as expected. While nothing really crazy happened, the skies were clear and the scenery was awesome.

Are there magic bears in our backyard? Or is Shane just being silly in this video? (Yes, he is testing out some video editing features-in case you didn’t know for sure)

Part of getting ready for our upcoming trip was getting rid of the old snowmobile. My brother-in-law Paul Weaver takes it off my hands, for $100. This gives me some cash to invest in replacement machines.

Our family has decided to take a snomachine trip from Willow to McGrath, a distance of 300 miles. We plan to follow the historic Iditarod trail, although the actual trail is much longer than just 300 miles. It will be a several day trip to McGrath and back. Journey along as we plan the trip, […]

In this video, Andy Stoltzfus and Shane Snader attempt to transport building materials to a remote cabin site. The only way in is through a very muddy trail.  

On November 16 we took a fishing trip on Cook Inlet. My good friend Shannon High went along, and took some of his boys. Another friend, Steph Schrock, also went along.

What could be more efficient at removing car windows than a shotgun? It worked very well.

We retired our old limo by launching it over the 300 foot high cliff at the Glacier View Car Launch, in Glacier View, Alaska! The results were amazing-if you like cars flipping end over end.

In Convoy to Alaska, I mention a family that stopped in while we had piles of salmon everywhere in our kitchen. That family was George Shirk, and they made this video of their trip. They toured Alaska and slept only in a cargo trailer pulled by their van. Our family found it very interesting, and […]

My snowmachine gave out the other day, and so I attempted to load it onto my pickup truck. Unfortunately, it was to heavy for Shane and myself to lift on, so I attempted to ram it on with the four wheeler. Sadly, it never did get to the repair shop but is still sitting in […]

Andy Stoltzfus shows how you can make quick work of a salmon, being able to fillet one in 60 seconds or less. This is a valuable skill at the peak of the salmon run!

A short portion of this is included in our second (2018) travelogue. However people have asked for more and longer video of this part so here it is. Viewers may notice Andy throwing fish back in the stream, that is because they are pinks. Only reds are allowed to be dipnetted at this location, which […]

This is a short three minute video of an overnight canoe trip last fall. Marv Hostetler and his boys, Braydon, Brett, Grant, and Matt and Shane Snader went on the trip. The trip took place on a 20 mile stretch of the Swanson River, in the northern part of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The highlight of […]