Category Archives: Free Content

  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 […]