I've found quite the opposite. Ember docs are very clear, constantly being refined and tweaked, and the core devs are actually willing to take input to improve upon them.
We use this strategy also. In setupController functions, (of your routes), we typically run fetches and fill content of our controllers. Why does everyone get hung up on Ember-data?
Your examples are incorrect. The Route's model is set as the content of the controller, so all you need to say is #each item in content. Your model is set as the "content" of your controller, so your model is not "nowhere to be found"