Yeah the whole experience was a circus. I had NO idea about IT, rubs, foiling to rest or how to build a fire to control pit temps and had only read one short article on smoking meat...I did have the foresight to replace the "cool-ideal-hot" dial thermometer with an oven thermometer that was fairly accurate as the only real information I had was about the importance of temperature control...225°F for 1-1.5 hours per pound...BUT the smoking God's we're smiling down on me that day and as luck would have it splitting the difference in time worked perfectly.
As I was Qing at my folks house, at the lake, on memorial day it was a spectacle...mom was telling me I was over cooking it over and over and when I opened the smoker with all gathered around and saw what looked like, well nothing to appetizing, mom smirked and walked towards the back door saying "I've got burger thawed" and my dad leans in and says quietly "she was right wasn't she"...you can't imagine how I felt at that particular moment, but I was determined to act as though it was all perfectly normal...needless to say we were all (myself most of all, I think) pleasantly surprised...and that, kind sir, is the rest of the story.
Walt