OK all of you onetwopi.com fans - this is one of the greatest AK adventures yet. As it turns out, I was afforded a day home from work today due to a rotation in an exercise. I had been looking at smoker grills for a while, and in my research, I saw a couple of folks that build smokers from various materials. Char and I had seen a show on food network a while back where a guy built one from some terra cotta pots.

Well, in my Home Depot wanderings, I found terra cotta a bit too expensive ... what is a reasonable substitute? How about an aluminum trash can?!?

Step 1: Gather supplies: aluminum trash can ($15 at Home Depot), hot plate (thanks Mom & Dad Davis), old 13x9 pan (thanks Char), grill grate (swiped off of my broken gas grill)

Step 2: Cut the grill grate down to size to fit into the trash can (I made mine swing for easy access to the coals)

Step 3: Drill holes in the can to fit the grate in there (easier said than done ... a little geometry goes a long way)

Step 4: Cut a hole in the aluminum can near the bottom for the hot-plate plug

Step 5: Set it up and get grilling

The theory is that you put the 13x9 (could be an 8x8 I guess) on top of the hot plate with some hard wood bits that have been soaked in water. Plug in the hot plate, and it slowly cooks the wood and creates insane amounts of smoke. Your food is only heated at a temperature of about 225-235 degrees F so it takes a little while. But boy is it worth it!

I ran a small test run of some smoked salmon. Huge success! Very delicious - even Char liked it (she doesn't like smoked foods). And it made some really good salmon dip!

Anyway, I know I owe some pictures of the latest visitors (DEREK AND ADAM!!), but I had to get this out there. See you soon!

Dear Readers (are there any of you left?),

You have my sincere apologies for the delays in the postings to the web site. I have been really lazy for the past four months or so.

We survived the winter, though we haven't quite made it out of spring yet. We still have our days of highs in the 50's.

A lot has (of course) happened in the time since I've last put something out there. I've put a smattering of additional pictures on the picture page to include ...

Thailand - Mike's trip to Thailand in February for an Air Force exercise
Skiing and Sledding in Kincaid Park - some of our winter adventures at a local Anchorage park
Seward's Polar Bear Plunge - an hilarious native ceremony where half-crazed people jump into freezing cold water in funny costumes in the middle of winter
Anchorage Winter - some pictures of our place in the winter time and some views of the mountains. Also includes some pictures of our snowmachines (that's snowmobiles for non-Alaskans).

Also coming soon is a collection of pictures from Char's parents' recent visit.

Hopefully you enjoy the pictures!

First, Char and I would like to wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas! Thanks for following along with us in spirit on our journey across the continent!

We've had a great season - looking at Christmas lights, enjoying the snow, and celebrating with our church family and friends from work. It's been a real season of celebration and blessing!

We've taken some pictures of our house so that Grammy can see our Christmas decorations! Char didn't take a picture of my favorite decoration, though ... it's an animated snow man that plays his guitar and sings, "I'm a SNOW MAN" .. to the tune of "I'm a soul man" ...

Anyway, enjoy the pictures! Best this season - remember the birth of Christ, the one who brings light and hope as you celebrate!

Well, I guess the title of the post probably says it all ... the neighbor across the street called me up (thank goodness I bought the boy scout popcorn for the kid - it was worth the $15 for him to have my phone number) and said, "Mike, I just wanted to let you know there's two bull moose fighting in your front yard."

So, naturally, after staring at them for a few minutes through the window, I cautiously approached one, got on, and rode it around the block!

Just kidding, I didn't ride one, but I did sneak outside to take some pictures. It was the coolest thing. They were sparring a little bit. They were far more interested in tearing my tree down than sparring, though. Oh well. I guess moose hate the environment. I loaded up a few pics for ya.

That's my driveway ... that was my tree ... and those are my moose.

Well, the snow has been falling here in Alaska - we've really been enjoying its beauty! I've been hiking once up into the Chugach mountains in several feet of snow, and we just recently went sledding on a hill by our house.
We have studded tires on our cars. (For you Florida types, studded tires are tires with little metal spikes sticking out of them.) This helps us grip on the road. The main roads stay pretty well plowed; it's the side roads where you really have to be careful.
Here's a video of Char sledding ... thought you might enjoy it!