[Marty] We're in trouble.
Their situation is dire.
[Pappy] It's a sinkhole.
The whole homestead
could fall in that hole.
They have a soil problem.
This is pretty shocking.
Predators leave our ducks
ripped to bits.
[Misty] They...
are gonna fail.
[Marty] Welcome
to the well from hell!
Coming down.
Roger that.
[Marty]
It's a 100 degrees outside
and it's getting hotter.
We need to hurry.
I'd like to not just survive
through it anymore.
[Marty] You know,
100 miles from anywhere
you could make something
work out of nothing.
[Jodi] And it gives me hope.
[Misty] They need a rescue.
They need good news.
That's our well.
Shut up.
They say you can last
four days without water...
I don't think I've ever felt
something like this before.
...but you can't last
for a second without hope.
[Marty] So here we go,
visiting a state
that we've never been to.
[Misty] Wyoming.
This country right here,
these fields, these hills
are steeped and rooted
in the American West.
History everywhere.
It's really beautiful.
And I have to say,
it's a lot hotter
than I thought.
It's a 100 degrees outside.
[Marty]
And it's getting hotter.
[Rick] The Raneys are en route
to a homestead
in the Black Hills
of Eastern Wyoming.
Covered in dense stands
of ponderosa pine,
this rugged region is a land
of extremes with long,
brutal winters,
damaging spring storms
and arid,
scorching hot summers.
It is on this unforgiving
frontier.
The Black family struggles
to reclaim a legacy.
Hi.
We're the Black family.
I'm Jayme.
This is my wife Jodi.
Hi.
On our homestead here,
we also have our kiddos.
Disa is 14 and Huxley is 10.
And my sister Jessica
has always been close
to Jayme and I.
Hello. I'm Jessica.
I am the auntie
of the family.
[Jayme] She's contributed
so much to this dream.
[Jodi]
She's really the fifth member
of our family.
The original dream
for this property
that my parents had
was a retirement homestead.
They wanted
to be self-sufficient
and be able to take care
of themselves.
But my parents passed away
before they were able
to finish.
I want to get this
homestead thriving
so, you know, so we can
leave it for our kids.
But I very much
underestimated
how hard
this homestead would be.
We're on the western slope
of the Black Hills.
There's very little rain.
It is so dry here.
Everything kind of hinges
on access to water.
The gardens need it,
the livestock need the water.
We need the water.
But right now the well
isn't functioning.
And it really is unsustainable
if we don't fix that.
[Jayme] Predators are
a big problem out here.
We really do.
We've got threats coming
from everywhere.
[Jayme]
We lost our original flock
of 60 ducks to bobcats,
mountain lions.
[Jodi] Owls from above.
The predators out here
are relentless.
In the morning,
you'll go out and see
that your ducks have half
of their head missing.
Growing your own food
out here is a real challenge
because the extreme
weather conditions.
The weather
is very chaotic out here.
It is ruthless.
In the winter,
we can get 48 inches of snow
and 70 mile per hour gusts.
In the summertime,
it gets over
a 100 quite a bit.
It's brutal out there.
Right now,
we need the Raneys.
It's like trying to stand up
and fast moving water.
If I don't get a hand,
this dream is gonna die.
And I can't let that happen.
-[Marty] Woo!
-[Misty] Hello.
-Hi. How are you doing?
-[Marty] Hey.
[Jodi] Hello.
How is it going?
Oh, my gosh.
It's hot.
-[Jayme and Jodi chuckling]
-[Jodi] Very hot.
[Marty] Marty Raney.
Jessica, I'm the auntie.
Jayme Black.
-Nice to meet you, sir.
-Jessica. Jayme.
-Yes, sir.
-[Jodi] And Jodi.
-And Jodi.
-Triple J.
You guys got this property
from your parents?
Yes. Okay.
From my parents.
-[Marty] It's your property?
-Yes. Okay.
You love it out here?
This is your home?
Yes. Oh, yes.
I met Jayme sophomore year in
high school, in gym class.
I knew Jodi was special.
The first time I saw her
she had the best grades,
the best attitude, and was...
by my opinion,
the prettiest girl
at the school.
Yeah, I was pretty much
a city girl.
And Jayme kind of put
the kernel of desire
for nature in my life.
As soon as we started dating
both knew we liked
to be outside
and work the land
and... and raise animals.
But I had never done it.
And it just has been
a long pathway
of how do we get out there,
how do we do this.
[Rick] abandoned
when Jayme's parents passed,
this rugged 40 acre property,
finally became home
to Jayme and his young family
nearly two years ago
when they moved here
in hopes of completing
the legacy left unfinished
almost 20 years earlier.
I can remember how excited
he was when he found
this land.
And I just remember him
talking about
how many stars there were
and how excited
he was to finally be able
to retire out here.
And so once
I inherited the land,
we just had to pursue
what was my parents dream.
And then before we knew it,
we had children.
Disa and Huxley,
then they took over
the life for a little bit.
[Jodi]
But they're a little bit
older now, 10 and 14.
We brought them out here
and everybody just clicked.
Yeah, we moved out.
It was definitely
a big thing for us.
It was...
it was really different,
but really liked all the space
and like fishing.
To get this set,
be self-reliant
and be able to pass it off
to our kids is the dream,
is to give that to our kids.
But it feels like
the odds are against me.
And it's just you're
working hard just to survive.
And I'd like to feel like
I'm not just trying to survive
through it anymore.
[Jayme] We need the Raneys.
[Marty] All these forests
are ponderosa pine.
[Jayme] Correct.
[Marty] They got
a lot of pitch in 'em
and they burn hot.
What's the forecast?
[Jayme] Hot and dry all week.
There she blows
or doesn't, right?
Yeah.
This is as far as the wells
ever gotten.
So your parents
had this drilled
or somebody else?
Yep. They had it drilled.
Ran into some complications
with the drilling.
How many years ago?
Oh, 2003 is when it started.
-[Marty] 20 years ago?
-[Jayme] Yeah.
No one's ever got
water out of here.
No.
-[Marty] Not one drop?
-Nope.
How does this homestead
operate with a dry
or possibly unusable well?
With a lot of hauled water.
-We're hauling--
-Where do you haul it to?
Right away.
Let me show you.
There's... We bring
in 2000 gallons a week.
Wow!
So the water truck
backs up to it.
-Okay. Yep.
-Uses gravity.
[Marty] And he puts
in how many gallons?
He fills it to the top for me.
-Okay.
-Is it affordable?
-No.
-[Marty] Is it expensive?
Definitely.
All those ducks, the garden,
the greenhouse,
the family all relies
on that one guy.
He's an important man
to keep happy.
Oh, there is a well,
but there's no water.
They haul it in
at a significant cost.
I can only help you
if I have the facts.
Is there a well log?
Is there paperwork?
-Is there a bill?
-No.
So you really don't know
the depth of this well?
-I... I couldn't tell you.
-[Marty] Okay.
Is it drilled straight?
[Jayme]
I guess, I don't know.
So the facts are
you don't know
-how deep this well is.
-Right.
You don't know
how... how much water
or if it's potable,
if you can drink it, if it's--
-[Jayme] I know none of that.
-Okay.
There's no paperwork.
I don't have
any accurate information.
We have to find out everything
on our own.
[Misty] What are you
attempting to do here?
We threw just some seeds,
beets, peas.
[Misty] This is pretty much
your garden?
-[Jodi] Yeah.
-This little strip?
This is pretty shocking
'cause it's one row.
That's about all we could
achieve this year.
-Yeah.
-So what is gardening like
for you?
I mean, the soil is tough.
Trying to keep it watered
is really tough.
How are you watering
all of this?
The water
that we're hauling in,
you know, we're probably
getting water every week
or so, having to refill it.
-And how much is that a pop?
-It's pretty expensive.
I mean, we're paying five,
There are huge concerns
when it comes to water.
600 bucks a pop
when you gotta
fill your water tank.
These are bills
I've never had to pay.
There's a lot of extremes
to deal with.
It'll go from worrying
about it being too cold
to like this kind of heat.
When it comes to plant life
that's devastating.
Yeah. Yeah.
I just feel
really inexperienced
and really, like,
I don't have
the kind of education
in it I need yet.
This is a difficult
homestead.
It's at elevation.
So climate is intensified
and on top of that
it has heavy clay.
The native soil is useless.
We have
to come up with a solution
that can handle
both of those problems.
I'm excited to get to work.
I am so excited
to get to work with you.
-You ready?
-Yeah.
-[Misty]
Let's get out of here.
-I'm so ready.
-[Matt] So this is a big area.
-[Jessica] Yeah.
[Matt] I'm looking
at a bunch of ducks.
Yeah.
We're mostly relying
on the ducks
for our meat source.
We've been doing a lot of work
to get these pens built
to protect them
from predators.
My name is Jessica Lundgren.
I am Jodi's sister,
and I am aunt
to her two children.
I really love living here
on the homestead.
For me,
taking care of the ducks,
it's just rewarding.
The ducks are
our food source here.
But yeah, I'm...
I'm still their mama.
I... I do care for them a lot.
You did mention
predators before.
-I need all the details,
you know?
-[Jessica] Okay.
-It's like,
what's the main culprit--
-Sure.
...that is eating
this livestock?
Late summer is when the owls
really start coming about.
They usually strike at night.
They come in
and do their worst.
Leave some of our ducks,
you know,
with their brains
practically exposed.
-What else?
-[Jessica] Bobcats.
They usually come
like sunrise time.
Not mountain lions.
I know there's mountain lions
in this state.
Yeah, we've seen
evidence of them.
They've scratched up
a few of our birch trees
or aspen trees
in our hauler over there.
The thing that's good about
raising ducks on a homestead
is the eggs are very valuable
and the meat is amazing.
But they require
a water source year around
a pool.
And Wyoming
has some big game predators,
and they're nothing
to scoff about.
First thing I'm noticing
is a lot of fencing.
Yep.
But you can't build
a fence high enough
unless you built
the whole entire structure.
[Jessica] Right.
So how do we protect 'em
from above
and from things that can jump
across the fence?
Jessica's being honest
with me about the successes
and the failures,
it really tells me
that she's ready
to get some help.
She's putting
all the cards on the table
so that I know everything.
So I have best chance
to help these homesteaders.
While I'm here,
I gotta make sure
as much as possible
that they're gonna be safe.
[Jessica]
All right. Thank you.
I'm a bit overwhelmed.
We're in trouble.
Mom and dad decided
to drill a well.
Never got one drop of water
out of it in 20 years,
ever, nobody.
Homestead dream is dead
if we don't find water.
We walked around
and there's one little
garden strip and that's it.
I think they struggle
with extremes in temperature.
They have a soil problem.
Heavy clay.
You combine
that with a lack of water,
you are gonna fail.
For me, like this is not
an easy homestead.
These homesteaders
have lost dozens of ducks
to predators coming in
and they lost half that
to a cold snap in the winter.
But one thing
I know about ducks
is they need water.
If you can't keep
the water flowing,
these ducks are just
not gonna make it.
Their water situation is dire.
It's the one thing
that makes it possible
to rescue this homestead.
It's the one thing
that makes it or breaks it.
[Rick] To protect
the Black family's livestock
and primary food source
from Wyoming's wild predators
and extreme temperatures,
Matt will construct
an all season duck sanctuary.
To give the family
an additional
self-sufficient food supply,
Misty will create
an aquaponic greenhouse
and garden system designed
to overcome their poor soil
and difficult climate,
and to supply not just
the livestock and gardens,
but also the Black family
themselves,
Marty will attempt
to bring life
to the unfinished well
Jayme inherited
from his father.
The Raneys along
with help from a build crew,
have just seven days
to keep this homestead dream
from turning to dust.
Let's go find 'em.
And let's go try to give 'em
as much good news as we can.
All right.
Okay, guys.
After the tours with you guys,
we'll do our best
to bring hope back to you
and the homestead
starting in the morning
nonstop my focus is water.
We'll give it our best shot.
Without sounding cheesy,
it gives me hope.
And, you know,
that's something
I don't think my parents had.
Speechless the gratitude
for that opportunity.
See you in the morning.
[Marty] Ready to do this?
[Rick] In the hill country
west of Newcastle, Wyoming...
As ready as I'll ever be.
[Rick] ...Marty and Jayme
begin their quest
to bring the Black homesteads
long dead well to life.
[Marty] 1000 feet
the ropes on this spool.
Is it gonna be deeper
than a 1000 feet?
-I hope not.
-[Marty] Let's find out.
What's standing between us
and our homesteading
dream right now
is the water situation.
It's time to get to the bottom
of this well.
-Fair enough?
-Sounds good.
Find me something heavy.
We'll tie it on.
It's gotta fit in that hole.
You got
a heavy crescent wrench
or something like that?
Yeah.
I can run down and get one.
[Rick] This type of well known
as a pitless well
is constructed by drilling
a hole in the ground
until the water table
is reached.
A metal casing is inserted
into the borehole
and then a submersible
pump installed
to push water
to just below the frost line.
From there, a valve known
as a pitless adapter directs
the water into a buried line
to supply water
wherever it's needed.
this thing was drilled.
Nobody finished it.
[Jayme]
I have one big wrench.
But nobody's tried
to work on it
since for 20 years.
-What'd you find?
-[Jayme] It should work.
You go through here.
We'll be fine.
[Marty] Okay.
I like your style.
I love it.
-Okay. You ready?
-[Jayme] Yes.
All right.
Trying to determine
the depth of this.
Well, here we go.
-I don't want
that to backlash.
-Yep.
When my parents bought
the homestead,
it was originally
state forest,
so it was wild.
There was a lot of labor
that needed to be done
to turn it into a homestead.
[Marty] Just give me
a little friction on that,
please.
-Gotcha.
-Okay. Thank you.
Yep.
Marty is lowering down
the weight into the well
to see how deep it is.
And then I am holding
friction on this
so we don't lose
the end of the line
and it doesn't drop too fast.
I was at the school
for most of the time
when my dad first started
building this,
but every summer
I came out here
and, you know, at least try
to spend a week
or so with him.
We have some good memories
out here together.
This is a place that I see
my dad in certain things,
I see my mom
in certain other things.
I don't live a day
without them
being with me out here
and that lifts me up
and keeps me motivated.
I had something
weird happen there.
I don't know
if it's a tight spot.
How much line is left?
[Jayme] Less than half.
[Marty] Less than half?
So 500 feet is in the hole?
[Jayme] Pretty close.
Yeah. I don't like that.
There's...
there's tight spots.
At 500 feet there seems
to be an obstruction.
If we can't get
a pump down this well,
then we're in big trouble.
I don't like it.
This is only
a five inch casing,
so there's not
a whole lot of wiggle room.
It wants to go by it.
[Jayme] Okay.
[Marty] Let it come.
Let it come.
How much line we got left?
[Jayme] 300 feet.
[Marty] Hold
the little friction, please.
[Jayme] Gotcha.
[Marty] How much spool?
How much line?
[Jayme] 70 feet, maybe.
[Marty] Thousand foot spool.
You gotta be kidding me.
If that's true,
we're past 900 feet.
How much line's left?
[Jayme] Five feet.
Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!
Don't let it go in the hole
and then walk this way,
please.
Don't let go, please.
I won't.
That's it.
We've hit the bottom.
You gotta be kidding me.
It's at least 900
and it could be 930, 40.
But I still have
some questions.
-Can you pull that?
-[Jayme] Okay.
[Marty] Can a well pump
fit in there?
Is there water in it?
Is there not water?
Wow.
Look what's
coming out of here.
You believe that?
That's just a couple of drops.
But guess what?
A couple of drops out
of here can mean hope.
It's amazing.
-[Marty whistles]
-Jayme!
Oh, okay.
Hey.
Look at this guy.
That is wet.
That is dripping.
[Jayme]
Looks like a little bit of...
a little bit of water,
a little bit moisture.
So we know there's water.
Okay.
But bad news,
there's a significant
drag on this at 500 feet.
So something
the size of a well pump
might not get to the water.
If the well pump
can't fit down the hole,
we can kiss
all this good news goodbye.
-Okay?
-Okay.
-[Marty] Thanks for your help.
-[Jayme] Not a problem.
You go this way.
We'll start pulling a tape.
[Rick] Near the sunbaked
center of the homestead...
Okay, so stop right there.
Pull it tight.
-[Jodi] Okay.
-Okay.
[Rick] ...Misty and Jodi
search for suitable ground
for both the new greenhouse
and garden.
[Jodi] So I don't know
if I love this location.
-[Misty] Okay.
-[Matt] Misty?
-Hi.
-Hi.
-How are you guys doing?
-Hello.
We're about
to make some bold moves
that I think
are gonna affect you,
so we need to talk.
Yeah.
I think these ducks are
in the wrong spot.
-Why?
-They have no shade.
Okay.
I've done a bit of scouting
with Jessica,
and I think
I have a good spot
where I can move
the duck parlor
that would actually help me,
the ducks and Misty
all in one.
Here's the truth b*mb.
You ready for it?
What's great about
that structure right there...
[Jodi] Yeah.
...is you guys built it
so it could be moved.
Yes. It's two skids
and then framed floor.
Where the ducks are right now
is not safe.
They are out in the sun.
It's way too hot.
[Rick] To give the ducks
better protection
from Wyoming's
scorching summers,
Matt will first move
their existing duck coop
to the tree line
where it's 10 degrees cooler.
There, he will build
an improved
predator proof shelter.
This will create a large patch
of sunny space
already fertilized for Misty
to erect her greenhouse
and gardens.
It's gonna be great.
I'm really excited right now.
Me too.
That's where your
new greenhouse is gonna go.
-Is that okay?
-Yes.
[laughter]
[Matt] Yeah. Awesome.
-I'm excited.
-Yeah.
I've worked
with Misty over the years.
She is a motivator.
She's got
a lot of really good ideas.
Some days it's like, get out
of the way and just help her.
Today, we're working
really well together
because I think that
I'm about to save Misty
a ton of time, a ton of grief.
-And I'm inside the fence.
-[Jodi] Yeah.
Right now things are singing.
[Jodi] Okay. Got it.
Well, I'm gonna hook
onto that thing
and just pull it uphill.
I think
that's a fantastic idea.
I'm excited that you just
saved me a day's work.
-[laughs]
-Woo!
I love working with Matt
because we are
the exact opposite.
I'm like, high strung,
loud, crazy.
Woo!
He's very calm,
peaceful, and cool.
And then somehow,
when you combine
those two things,
you can complete, you know,
something really exciting
and great.
So we have a plan.
Let's do it.
-[Matt] All right. All right.
-[Jessica] I'm ready.
[Matt] Let's go.
That's cool, you guys.
I'm pumped.
[Marty] What am I looking at?
It looks like a cave.
[Pappy] It's a sinkhole.
[Marty] Well,
I'm gonna crawl in there.
Real slow.
If I get buried, just follow
this yellow strap.
[Rick] On the Black family
homestead
at the unfinished well
Marty calls
in local drill experts
to help cast light
on a 20 year mystery.
Come on back.
Couple inches.
[Marty whistles]
That'll work.
You have no idea
how good it is to see you
and this old truck.
Who's that?
[Ryan] This is my dad.
[Marty] How you doing?
What's your name, sir?
-Pappy.
-Oh, nice.
You're still working
with your son?
-Well, yes, sir.
-I like it.
-Father son team.
-Yeah.
So you're from this area,
which is really good news
to me,
because on day one,
I realized
we need to get somebody
that knew something
about water,
wells and Wyoming.
How deep are the wells
normally in this area?
In this general area,
we're anywhere
from 80 feet to 500 feet.
We dropped a quarter inch
rope down there
with a pipe wrench on the end.
It went 930 feet.
What does that mean?
Why so deep?
Something's wrong?
It could mean
that they could have been
looking for better water.
The deeper you go,
it filters better and more.
So you tend
to get better water
the deeper you go.
I should tell you this.
A few hundred feet down,
there was a restriction
that might be a problem
if we send a pump down there.
On top of that,
there's no well log
-that anybody can find.
-Yeah.
A lot of unknowns on this
'cause it was never finished.
Well, you have no idea
what you're really doing here.
You're basically saving
a family that has
some serious issues
trying to carry on
their parents' dream.
We know very little
about this well.
I think
there's water in there,
but we're never gonna know
until we drop a well
pump down the well casing.
So we are in your debt.
Well, I'm proud to help.
Well, what do you say
we get started?
All I'm gonna need
is the ditch for a pitless.
Okay.
I'll jump in that excavator.
-I really appreciate it.
-Yep.
[cows mooing]
[ducks quacking]
[Rick] By the old duck pens...
Do you have any plywood?
I mean, we got
sheet metal here.
Why can't we make
some kind of, like,
temporary lean to.
[Rick] ...as afternoon
temperatures rise,
Matt and Jessica worked
to keep the ducks cool
and hydrated as they prepare
to move them
to the shaded tree line.
My ultimate plan
is to move these ducks
into the shade
so they have protection
against the sun.
But right now it's getting
hotter and hotter.
And keeping these ducks alive
is my number one concern.
[Rick] With naturally
high body temperatures
and no sweat glands,
ducks are particularly
susceptible to heat.
Without adequate shade
and water,
the risk of heat exhaustion
and even death increases.
Prolonged exposure
can also lead
to decreased egg production.
In the hot... hot days,
we'll just kind of throw these
frozen peas out on the ground
and then put ice
in their pools.
[Matt]
Let's get 'em cooled down.
[Rick] Meanwhile,
just a few yards away...
[Misty] Are you freaking out
about the well a little bit?
-'Cause I am.
-I am definitely.
[Rick] ...Misty and Jodi
gather the salvaged
and homestead
sourced materials
they need to begin work on
their home grown greenhouse.
So today
is a very exciting day
to start building
a greenhouse.
I love building with trees
on the homestead.
That's like one
of my favorite things.
-Connect 'em together.
-[Jodi] Okay.
We've come up with an exciting
little build
with these little pony walls,
but as soon as we have
those flat surfaces,
you're just pushing
'em together like that,
you have your little two
foot pony wall.
Then we'll do a bottom plate,
and then we've salvaged
a bunch of glass.
There's gonna
be big glass doors
and then try and work out
some type of ventilation.
-Yeah.
-And we did it.
-Easy.
-Yeah.
I love using these logs
this way and feeling like
I'm just tucked in the trees
myself down here.
[Misty] Yeah.
I'm really looking forward
to working in a space
like this.
I love
the greenhouse structure.
I'm so happy
that we're using trees
from the property.
I'm really actually
super excited
that the bark
is still on there,
so it feels like
I'm kind of building
my own little tree house.
These days, the cost of lumber
is like everything else,
so let's grab a chainsaw
and start ripping 'em
and get... get to work.
-Okay. Sounds good.
-Yeah? Okay.
So we use these guys
as the door, I think.
[chainsaw whirring]
It's really fun
to build like this
'cause you never know
really what it's gonna
look like.
There isn't a blueprint.
It's just piecing it together.
Far end, we'll go far end.
Hopefully
by the end of today,
I would love to start framing
in windows.
-Like this.
-Yeah.
Boom. I like it.
[Rick]
Past the Black family's cabin
over at the wellhead.
[Pappy] Oh, man!
[Marty] What's going on?
-[Pappy]
You're hitting a hole.
-Well, you're on the hole.
[Pappy]
You got one big hole there.
[Marty] What am I looking at?
It looks like a cave.
[Pappy] Well, I would say
it's a sinkhole.
Is it dangerous?
[Pappy]
It depends how big it is.
[Rick] A sinkhole can occur
when the rock below
the land surface
is eroded or dissolved
by the passage
of subterranean water.
Over time, a cavity forms
and as it grows larger,
can eventually lead
to the ground
and structures above
collapsing.
Sinkholes have been known
to expand
hundreds of feet
in diameter and depth
and cause hundreds
of millions of dollars
in damage each year
across the United States.
Many North American lakes
are the result
of giant sinkholes.
[Marty] The whole homestead
could fall in that hole.
It might be an issue.
We don't know
how far back it goes.
Okay.
Well, I'm gonna crawl
in there and scope it out.
[Pappy] Well, I would say
you don't wanna
walk down there
without something hanging
from you.
It's actually a good idea
to have a rope for belay.
[Pappy] Yeah.
[Marty]
You've gotta hook that on.
[Ryan] Yep.
You got a flashlight?
I'm gonna take it.
[Ryan] Careful down there.
[Marty]
And I'm gonna go in there.
You think it'll be okay?
It's sketchy, huh?
Well, we gotta find out,
Clint.
We have to...
we have to work right there.
You don't wanna go.
I'll go.
I like this guy. Okay.
We're going in.
Ready?
Do we have a shovel
or a pick?
[Ryan] Yeah.
[Pappy] We want that shovel
just in case Marty get buried.
-[Ryan] You ready?
-[Marty] Let's go down slowly.
Real slow.
Slow pace.
Clint, if I get buried,
just follow this yellow strap.
Slow pace.
Stop.
Looks like a big washout.
Take me up, please.
I'm coming out, folks.
It's a huge 20 foot hole,
perfect circle.
Welcome to the well
from hell.
Is it natural or is it
from the well driller
of long ago?
Could happen both ways.
If there was a big sand pocket
in there and it washed
when he was drilling,
absolutely.
But it doesn't mean there's
a hole over here probably.
-[Ryan] No.
-[Marty] Okay.
I've never seen anything
like that before.
Well, it's a good thing
it doesn't go farther down.
Well, I wouldn't wanna be
living over that hole.
Does that mean
there's another one?
This whole country is littered
with caves, so who knows?
[Marty] Copy that.
What do you recommend, guys?
We gotta get to work.
We need to fill that hole
in down there.
So you got a solid platform
to work on.
-You agree with your dad?
-I do. Yep.
You always agree
with your dad?
-Yes.
-[Pappy] No.
-[Marty] Really?
I like your style.
-[Ryan] Right?
I never heard
my kids say that.
I'm gonna start
filling that hole.
[Pappy] Great.
[Jodi]
How's rafter world going?
[Rick]
Over at the greenhouse site
it's Misty and a build crew
work to frame the structure.
One, two, three, four, five...
six.
[Rick] The Black family
receives a donation
of salvaged materials
from the local community.
When it comes to building
a greenhouse,
glass can get expensive.
So we've scored about 10 doors
that obviously
need some repurposing.
But when it comes to free,
you can't really beat it.
You know, I definitely love
repurposing things.
I love the history
that's contained
in old objects.
Right now, I'm taking
some hardware off of doors
so that we can cut them down
and use them as windows
for the tree house greenhouse.
I really like this old
firefighter sticker
on this door.
-[Misty] Leave it.
-I'm gonna...
I'm totally gonna...
It reminds me of Jayme's dad.
Yeah.
Jayme's dad was a fireman.
He looked up
to his dad a lot.
When Jayme's parents
first started
working on this place
out here,
their intent was for it
to be their retirement home.
Like, you know how they'd
put them on kids bedrooms,
which I don't think
they do so much anymore.
I used to have
one on my bedroom.
That's sort of like
Fire and Rescue, you know--
-[Misty] I'm looking
at it upside down.
-So yeah.
You...
you put it in kid's room
so they know there's
a kid in there.
-If so, if you've got a fire.
-[Misty] Yeah. Leave that.
After Jayme's parents died,
I know Jayme felt
a lot of responsibility
to do things right here.
I know He looked up
to his dad a lot, and his dad
instilled in him values to,
you know,
be a caretaker of family.
[Misty] Well,
it's pretty crazy actually.
Yeah.
It was a neat little surprise.
I mean,
that's why we're here.
You know, the desire
to come out here
and, like,
reclaim this place,
to finish it, to do it justice
and honor his parents.
I do think like that might
have been his dad
saying hi during all this,
you know?
We get things like
that from his mom, too.
-[Misty] Yeah.
-Just little things
that pop up.
[Misty] Yeah.
And we all kind of like
the synchronicity
of it always is like,
"Oh, that could be a message,"
you know?
-Yeah.
-Like, it's pretty cool.
So we'll kind of...
We'll leave it on there.
We'll make it kind
of a centerpiece for Jayme.
I'm starting to feel
that crunch time
as far as the greenhouse
is concerned,
we're getting there.
Trying get these nails in
without breaking the glass.
Where there's the will
there's way.
[reporter on radio]
Good morning, I'm Val Cook
with a look at the KASL
weather forecast.
The heat is on.
105 degrees
as the forecast high
for this afternoon
in the Newcastle area.
Oh, it is hot.
[Rick] back at the Black
family's duck coop.
-Woo.
-Hey, Matt!
We need to hurry.
[Rick]
With morning temperatures
already nearing
100 degrees...
[Misty] The ducks look bad.
[Rick] ...Matt and Misty
prepare to move
the nearly 2,000 pound
duck shelter
to the shade
of the nearby tree line.
Yeah. Let's go.
Let's get 'em cooled down.
The best and fastest way
to get these ducks moved
is to just throw 'em
all in the duck parlor
and move everything over
at the same time.
But it's gonna be hot
in that parlor.
These ducks aren't
gonna have their water.
We'll get a little tighter.
And then you're hooking
just right on the lip,
right in the middle.
Okay.
We've never done this...
[chuckles]
before, but hopefully
the parlor will protect them
and they will roll it
very smoothly
to its new location.
All right. Here they come.
Release the "quack-kens".
[ducks quacking]
Oh, God. There we go.
There we go.
Come on, duckies.
Good job.
-Look at 'em go.
-[Jessica] There we go.
[Matt] Slow down.
Let 'em go in.
[Jessica] Good job.
[Matt] Good job.
We'll see you
on the other side.
Good.
It seems like the temperature
went up 10 degrees.
Oh, yeah.
Hot, hot, hot.
-Now, Jessica?
-[Jessica] Yeah?
Keep an eye on that strap.
-Okay.
-It'll fray.
I mean, I've seen it.
Once the strap frays,
even just a little bit,
it's pretty much useless.
Useless. Okay.
It is a 105 degrees.
And inside that parlor,
it could be five
to 10 degrees hotter.
The only risk that I see,
and it's a big one,
is if a strap breaks,
then you have
all these sitting ducks
inside a hot box
with no pen to go to.
And that can't happen.
I don't like
stressing them out
when it's this hot.
I'm hoping that I built
the parlor strong enough
that it'll withstand the move.
[Jessica] Matt!
Fray.
[Matt] Oh, no.
[Jessica] Matt!
Fray.
Oh, no. Okay.
Hey, put it up.
Just go up and flat with it.
[Jayme] 110 in the sun.
[Matt] We gotta keep moving.
[Jessica] Okay. Good. Good.
We're okay.
[chuckles]
I'm freaking out inside.
I kept checking
on 'em through the...
the chicken wire,
the window we had open,
and they were panting.
But this is only a matter
of minutes now.
We can get them out
and get them water.
[ducks quacking]
[chuckles]
[Jayme] Nothing to it.
Whoa!
All right. Woo!
-What do you think?
-Ooh, that was intense.
Trying to move this parlor
was insanity.
We...
we were very stressed out.
Really getting afraid that
we would lose some ducks.
But we got the job done.
It's a great relief.
I can't believe
you got it down here.
Bring it in. Group hug.
We did it! We did it!
Woo!
[Misty] This is the well-worn
path over here.
[Rick]
Later that afternoon...
[Misty] This is still on
your property?
[Jodi] Yeah. All of it.
[Rick] ...Jodi takes Misty
to what they consider
to be the most sacred spot
on the homestead.
And this stretch,
Jayme picked two spots
and put his parents'
ashes in it.
So this stretch
is super important to us.
He comes up here,
like on the anniversary.
[Misty] Do you mind if I ask
how they passed away?
It was a fire.
And then we found out
that it was double suicide.
And the only thing
that they left us,
like, as a message,
was that they didn't have
any hope.
When Jayme lost his parents,
our world changed.
It was completely unexpected.
We didn't...
We still don't know
how to understand it.
We think it was the stress
of two years
of trying to get this place
built just some sort
of mental overload.
-[Misty] Are you kidding me?
-No, not at all.
That is the most
tragic thing I've ever heard.
That was the stuff that Jayme
went through right away,
why it was so devastating,
why he was so messed up
for so long
and he was away at school.
And he blames himself for
not being here to help them.
Not knowing
what was going on with them,
that that could happen.
It's...
You can't ever understand
that, you know?
It took us a really long time
to, you know, get to the point
where we are,
where you can even,
like, talk about it,
not be tormented by it,
like every day.
A really long time.
You know, I...
I loved his parents so much
and I related to them so much.
I mean, that's why we're here,
because he and I both
are so much like them
in wanting to be here.
We need to get past this.
We...
You know,
that's why Jayme needs
to own this and do this.
[Misty] Mm-hmm.
That's why
it's so important for us.
[Misty]
I appreciate you saying
you didn't have to tell me.
I think you know that's too
what was like hard about
reaching out to you guys
for help was like,
if you knew
what we'd been through...
just to get here.
We're not the type of people
that ask for help
with any of this.
You're very deserving.
And I think we're in
the right place at this.
At the right time.
[Marty] So...
[Rick]
Over at the well site...
[Marty] ...here's
the short version on wells
and freezing temperatures.
[Rick] ...Marty,
build crew foreman Clint
and father and son
well drillers Ryan
and Pappy...
How deep does
the frost get here?
I've seen it five feet deep.
[Rick] ...push forward
with their efforts
to bring the homestead's
well to life.
That means that a waterline
that's five feet down
could freeze.
So we will set
what is called
a pitless adapter
inside the well casing.
We are gonna drop
this down the well.
And you see
that hole down there?
That brass fitting
is gonna poke out
if we have
some kind of miracle
and can find water
in this well.
The waterline will
actually come from the well
to that brass fitting down
that ditch,
which is over six feet deep.
The waterline
will never freeze.
The pitless adapter
that allows the water to go
below the frost line
to the house
so that it can't freeze
in winter.
Okay, here we go.
Oh, boy.
[Marty] What's wrong?
[Ryan]
The pitless is too big.
[Marty] You're telling me
the pitless is not fitting
in the five inch casing?
[Ryan] No,
not the way it should.
-Yeah.
-[Marty] It's not fitting?
[Ryan] Yeah, not like this.
I'm coming out.
We'll look at it.
Question for you.
This is pretty weird,
but we could cut this--
-That's what I'm saying.
-...and re-threat it.
[Ryan] Now we get creative,
right?
Yeah.
That brass grind's good.
Well, this whole time
I'm thinking,
will the pump fit down
the hole?
We can't even get
the pitless adapter
to fit inside the five inch
well casing.
We have to break out
a grinder,
cut the threads,
do an incredible
homestead hack.
-Let's thread it...
-[Ryan] I like it.
Let's put the gasket on.
...just to get the valve
in the casing.
-Is it gonna work?
-[Ryan] Yep.
It's gonna work.
Looks good.
Clint, please, please tell me
you've got enough threads
on there.
Gonna work?
Clint,
tell me it's gonna work.
[Clint]
Yeah, it's gonna work.
[Marty] Boom! I love it.
That was a close call.
Good work, man.
When you work at 100 miles
from anywhere,
you tend to figure out
how to make something
work out of nothing.
That's the joys
of rural America.
Please tell us
what's going on.
[Rick] As the day's work
draws to a close.
Um... I gotta like,
try and get this out
because this is really crazy.
[Rick] The Raneys
gather for an update.
I had Jodi take me
around the property.
This is gonna be hard.
[weeping]
It's the craziest thing
I've ever heard
on any homestead.
-What's that?
-These guys have just had
like a sequence
of it's not even bad luck.
It's like trauma.
She takes me to the place
where Jayme spread
his parents ashes
and proceeds to tell me
it was like double suicide
where they burned
their house down
and they both died.
[weeping]
Oh, my God.
If you were Jayme and Jodi,
I couldn't even imagine
what that feels like.
And I've been, like,
carrying this around, like,
I was like,
I have to tell you guys.
This makes
a little bit of sense
because they actually
seem very...
-[Misty] Heavy.
-Yeah.
They genuinely need a rescue.
They need good news,
like for once in their life.
And if we don't
get them water,
that's like, really not okay.
Jayme has said
that he inherited
all of those pressures
from his parents.
Yeah,
because his parents are here.
His parents are here.
People work really hard
on a homestead.
It's the pressure
is definitely there.
-The stress people give out.
-Yeah.
And I don't want that
to happen to these people.
These homesteaders,
out of everyone we've met.
They might be the ones
who need the us most.
Thanks for telling us.
We need to know this.
[Ryan] What I'd like to do
is cut this building in half
and then put it over here.
-Whoo!
-Whoa!
[radio jockey] Looking
at the KASL weather forecast
here in the southwestern
Black Hills.
Mother Nature
has a hot one in store for us.
We're gonna top
that triple digit mark.
Now they've got some bad news.
This homestead on a day
where it's 100 degrees,
still has no water.
We still have
a lot of work to do
and make sure the livestock
are gonna be safe.
[Misty] This family,
they've had so much trauma.
We're already halfway
through the week.
It's not gonna be easy.
But this family deserves
like the world.
[Marty] Let's get back
to work right now.
[Rick]
With only three days left
to save the Black homestead,
the Raney still have
major projects to complete.
While Matt has shifted
the duck shelter
into a cooler spot,
he must protect
the ducks from predators.
[Rick]
Though Misty's gotten a start
on the new green house,
she has yet to solve
the problem of the homesteads,
infertile clay soil
and the most critical project
of all,
the 20-year-old
incomplete well
remains a mystery,
meaning the lack
of sustainable water
continues to threaten
the future of this homestead.
[Misty] All right.
[Rick] Near the center
of the homestead,
the greenhouse site.
[Jodi] What can I help with?
We're gonna cut
a bunch of these little guys.
We got a little behind.
We've had a little bit
of hiccups with the ducks,
but now it's push full on
as far as the greenhouse
is concerned.
-This needs to be knocked in
with a hammer, this block.
-[Jodi] Oh, okay.
-And like, flush it out
a little bit here.
-[Jodi] Yeah.
Basically just using firewood
and ripping down
some flat surfaces
and then piecing it
all together.
[Jodi] Oh...
So each length
is gonna be different.
-Okay.
-I think it'll go fast and...
-Right.
-...cut the material,
it's free.
Right. Yeah.
Our growth season
is super short.
We have to start plants early.
We had a really hard time
with that this year
without something
like a greenhouse.
So having
the tree house greenhouse
to get the plants
going is absolutely essential.
[Misty] Meanwhile,
I'm closing up this gap
with this.
What we're doing
with the Raneys
is really setting us up
to be fully functional.
So I'm, I'm really hopeful
for everything
I'm gonna be
able to do in that space.
And then
just each measurement...
[Misty] Knock that in.
-[Jodi]
Try and force this block.
-Yeah, I love seeing that.
Yeah, totally.
With Jodi,
I think we're finally
getting to the point
where they're gonna start
seeing the vision.
And I think she's starting
to get hopeful that
everything's gonna turn around
after this week.
So now it's just full steam
on the greenhouse.
Don't stop moving,
cut logs, rip logs,
and hopefully not die
from heat exhaustion.
I'm working
in a 105 degree temperatures.
[Jodi]
I think we're getting there.
[Jessica] All right.
Does that look good?
-[Matt] Well, just like this.
-Okay.
[Rick]
At the shaded tree line,
Matt and Jessica
begin construction
of the new predator proof
duck sanctuary.
[Matt] Here we go.
-So we don't
really have time to waste.
-Okay.
[Matt] We're gonna build
a hoop coop real fast.
Okay.
Set it down. Step on it.
And then go up
in the middle just like this.
[Jessica]
It's gonna be great help
to have these on our property.
It's gonna get
those ducks some protection.
All right.
Push it up in the middle.
Working with the Raneys,
I'm feeling a lot better
about what we can accomplish
here on the homestead.
It gives me hope, you know,
to keep going
and chasing this crazy dream
we've got here.
-Not just one layer,
two layers of fencing.
-Yep.
An owl
cannot fit through there.
So we've protected
everything inside
from anything on the ground...
-[Jessica] Yeah.
-...and anything from above.
-Let's close the ends.
-[Jessica] Yeah.
Make a temporary fence
and a door to open up.
-[Jessica] All right.
-And then
those ducks are coming in.
Let's do this.
[Matt] All right.
[Misty] Hello.
[Rick]
Over by the new greenhouse.
-[Bradley] Hello.
-[Rhea] Hi.
-[Misty]
How's it going you guys?
-[Bradley] Good. How are you?
-[Misty] Misty.
-Misty, I'm Bradley.
-[Misty] Bradley.
-Rhea.
-[Misty] Rhea,
nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.
[Rick] Misty enlists the aid
of local aquaponic experts.
I'm so happy
to see your faces.
[laughs]
Part of the greenhouse
is gonna be raised beds
with soil.
The other part
of the greenhouse
is gonna have aquaponic system
running through it.
Aquaponics
is an amazing system
that a soilless
and doesn't require
a ton of water.
So when it comes
to this homestead,
it's perfect.
Why you're here,
as I want to put
in this hydroponic system
with a twist,
I want to do
a duckaponic system.
So aquaponics
uses fish waste as fertilizer.
I'm just putting my own
little homestead twist on that
and using ducks
for that fertilizer.
This was the original pen
right out front,
but Matt has moved them
over in the tree line,
so those big black tanks
will eventually be
full of fertilized water,
duck manure.
-[Bradley] Yeah.
-And then I just want to run
an above ground line to here.
They have a ton of ducks,
a ton of fertilized water,
and if we tie
the two together,
you will have
an endless supply of produce.
So what do you think?
-[Rhea] It's gonna be great?
-I think
that's gonna be sweet.
-Oh, yeah.
-So you have
from this window line down.
So what do you guys think?
I have some
four inch PVC pipe,
four sticks of it.
And as far as elbows
and end caps,
I think we can piece it
all together.
I think we could do
like a simple ladder,
NFT system
that'll tear
the water back down
and we'll put a little
reservoir in the corner
to where we can keep
a water storage
so we have
continual water flow
and then we'll just
top off the reservoir
from your duck pond.
As long as we got
a reservoir tank
and a pump, we should be fine.
-Let's all get to work.
-Okay.
Yeah, let's get it started.
-Okay.
-We can do that.
Whoo!
Jodi and Jayme
were on the right track
when it came to these ducks.
They were trying to
create some type
of manure for a garden,
but where
it's at is in that water.
We got some drainage.
Boom!
I like it.
It's gonna be perfect.
[Marty]
Tighter than the frog's butt
in a bucket of water.
[Rick]
Over at the old well head.
You have the honors.
Here we go.
[Rick]
Marty and local well experts,
Ryan and Pappy.
[Pappy] Okay.
[Rick]
Lower a pump into the nearly
1,000 foot deep hole.
Okay.
This is the first
piece of pipe
that goes in the hole.
Why?
It's going to the bottom.
It's attached to the pump.
There is water down there.
But can we get it out?
I don't know.
We're gonna find out
in just a few minutes.
And these guys are gonna blow
and go
and just keep adding
20 foot sticks on here
one after the other.
We're going down.
We'll put on 20 foot pieces
of pipe 20, 40, 60, 80.
Hoping
that we can reach water.
Well, you can try
and try and try,
but until you do it,
you never know.
[Marty] Amen!
Now it's just add pipe, right?
[Pappy]
Add pipe. Put in sticks.
Here we go.
But somewhere down there
is a problem.
There's a restriction.
We're 20 feet down.
The next stick is 20 feet.
Watch it come down,
we'll be 40 feet
in this hole with two pieces.
Something happened
down that hole.
We can't see it.
We don't know what it is.
But if the pump
doesn't go past
that then we're
in big trouble.
And it would answer
the question
why in 20 years
has no one gotten
one drop of water
out of this well?
We got 40 feet of pipe
in the well.
[cows mooing]
[Rick] In the hills
of eastern Wyoming.
[Marty] All right.
We got a 930 foot well.
[Rick]
Marty and local well experts
Ryan and Pappy
continue to lower
a three and half inch
diameter water pump
into the Black homestead's
well.
Okay, see this trailer?
It's empty.
All 25 of those
of inch and a quarter pipe
are down that hole.
Do the math.
Boom!
-[Pappy] Oh, damn it!
-[Marty] What happened?
Is it gonna fit?
I don't like that.
Yeah, I don't like that.
[Ryan] No.
So if we can't get the pump
all the way down to the water,
our last Hail Mary would be
to perforate the pipe
above the pump,
which would allow water
to seep in from the top
and raise the static level up
to the pump.
[Rick]
With the pump unable to reach
the full 900 feet down
to the bottom.
Marty and the team
will attempt to technique
called downhole perforation
by punching small holes
in the well casing.
If successful, these holes
will allow any water
closer to the surface
to flow into the well,
raising the water level
to meet the pump.
[Marty]
That's a last ditch resort.
But I'm confident in
this father and son team
from Wyoming.
Those two have forgotten
more than I know about wells.
[Matt] Come on. Follow me.
[Rick] Back at the tree line.
[Matt] During the winter,
how much insulated space
does this amount
of ducks need?
[Rick]
Matt rallies the homesteaders
for a final push to complete
the new duck sanctuary.
At least twice
with the amount,
Yeah.
We've made a lot of progress.
Now that the ducks are safe
from predators,
they're safe from the hot sun.
We can think about the future
on this homestead.
Okay.
So this is the plan.
What I'd like to do
is cut this building off flat.
Cut it in half
and then lift over
and then put it over here.
[Jayme]
Twin buildings, essentially.
But it'll be one building.
Okay. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
-No...
-It's one building.
And it will be connected.
I'm gonna cut this building
in half.
Take one side.
Put it next to the other.
Double the square footage.
Lower the roof.
So it's easier
to insulate that building,
so these ducks can survive
in the cold winter of Wyoming.
We're basically like
repurposing this building.
How we're using this now
there's a ton of wasted space,
and now it will literally be
like a 8 x 24.
-Yeah.
-Cut it together.
By cutting the parlor in half,
you take all that dead space
that was above the ducks,
that was just cold
and bring it down,
you know, half the height.
So now it's only four feet
and that gives the ducks
more of a confined area
to keep their body
heat together.
Um.
It makes it easier
to insulate.
This gonna be a
combination chainsaw
like a Sawzall
and like a skilsaw, you know.
-[Jayme] All right.
-Sounds good.
All right.
Jessica, you're the best
with the chainsaw.
-Sorry, Jodi.
-No.
We'll see.
We'll see how straight it is.
[Matt] We'll see.
All right. All right.
Cut across to here.
Okay.
In the past,
I kind of just flew
under the radar and,
you know, I just did my thing.
But now it's kind of like
I have pride in the fact
that I can do
so many different things
and I am capable.
Gaining that confidence
was needed to be
what I was already
meant to be out here.
All right.
So I've cut
the building in half,
but now I need to move
the top half
next to the bottom half,
so they can have
a year round coop
for all these ducks.
Okay, here we go, everybody.
[Jodi] Oh, my God.
[Jayme] Oh, boy.
Okay, in.
Yay.
Get on the ground.
Spin it.
Coming down.
-Whoo!
-Whoo!
[Jodi] That was insane.
[Jayme] Yeah.
All right.
We got the top half
of the building
next to the bottom half.
We just need to tie it
all together,
add some extra framing,
and then these ducks
will have a year round coop
that will keep them safe
from everything
that Wyoming can throw at 'em.
I was worried, like,
a couple few times.
[laughs]
I was trying
to go really slow.
[ducks quacking]
[Matt] Let's button this up,
so they're safe overnight.
[ducks quacking]
[Marty] So do me a favor.
[Rick] By the house.
Back up about one foot.
[Rick] While Matt,
Misty and the build crew
hurry to complete
the greenhouse,
gardens and duck sanctuary.
Marty pulls homesteader
Jayme aside.
Grab that tarp.
Flip it back.
Okay, so
we, uh,
we scored this Blaze King,
which this is basically
the same exact stove
-I have in my cabin in Alaska.
-[Jayme] Okay.
This is a proven stove
that will hold the fire
all night long.
Okay.
I've seen 40 acre homestead
that you own with trees
that need to be thinned out.
That's true.
Besides just being
a money saver,
the fact that
it's Marty Raney approved
makes it a little more
confidence in it.
Before the Raneys got here,
I was stuck in a rut
of just maintenance
maintaining
and kind of just surviving.
The cool thing
about cutting firewood,
it heats you twice.
[laughs] That's true.
Once when you're cutting it.
-[Jayme] Oh.
-Phew...
Marty gives fatherly wisdom
that I haven't
had to have that again.
You know,
I can't thank Marty enough
for helping me get out
of where I was and put me
where I am.
I look forward
to chopping wood.
I chopped wood as a kid.
Marty really took the time
to take me out of that rut.
[Marty]
We will help you unload it.
Awesome.
To help me see that
this is my homestead
and it's gonna run
how my family thinks best.
[Marty] Okay, let's do it.
[Misty]
So it rained last night.
[Rick] Over by the old pens.
[Misty]
And it is soggy in here.
[Ricky] Misty assesses
how she can maximize the yield
of the Black's garden area.
They've struggled
because when it comes
to growing food,
they have
this impossible clay.
But when it comes
to trying to capture water,
it's the perfect material.
This homestead gets rain.
But the problem
is there's a ton of clay.
So when they get rain,
it seems like
it just downpours
and then just runs off
the side of this mountain.
They're not really
able to water anything.
So the idea is to build
these sunken in swell
garden beds.
So here's this sunken
in garden bed.
It'll act like
a little swimming pool
that will capture water,
and then you add compost
and soil.
There is zero evaporation
because all of the water
is covered.
It's completely buried
with debris and soil.
So you can't always change
the location
of your homestead,
but you can change
everything else
when it comes
to the type of gardening,
the method, the madness.
And I believe
you can grow food
pretty much anywhere.
So when it comes
to Jodi and Jayme,
they just were using
the wrong techniques
and this technique
they're gonna be shocked
at how successful
they are growing food.
So the clay swells are in
as they fill up with water.
We're gonna start layering
these clay swells
with logs and branches
and topsoil and compost.
Okay, so,
so this garden technique
is not a new concept.
We're actually just mimicking
Mother Earth.
Jodi's been finding old logs
everywhere.
We can find them.
This is awesome.
We actually get to see
before we bury everything.
The swell garden beds
in action.
This water is actually
gonna speed up the process
of breaking down
all of these logs
You can start to see
as these logs break down,
they turn into soil
and then they allow for life.
Think it'll work great.
A lot of work
bringing logs down.
But I'm really excited
to have this in place
for sure.
I just love this idea.
It's a big job,
but this is a big homestead
and they deserve it.
-[Marty]
It's gonna take a while.
-[Pappy] Yeah.
So we need to send somebody
right now to town
to get parts and pieces.
[Rick]
It's Marty, Ryan and Pappy
begin work
on their Hail Mary solution
for the Black's well.
We're gonna be
working on this all day
before we even test this
for water.
Yeah.
[Misty] Hey, you.
How's it going?
What's going on?
[Ryan]
Misty enlists Matt's help
to connect
the new duck sanctuary
to the greenhouse's
aquaponic system.
-So I'm trying to build
a duckaponic system today.
-Yeah.
So I need to be able
to have ponds in place,
full of water,
full of duck manure
and running a line
from that over to the garden
and the greenhouse.
Okay.
[Misty]
I'll see you in a little bit.
All right.
What Misty needs right now
to finish the greenhouse
is water that ducks
have been swimming
and doing
their little droppings in.
We need this tank.
-[Jessica] All right.
-Let's roll it.
What do you think?
-[Jessica] Yeah.
-[Matt] Just drag it. Roll it.
-[Jessica] Roll it is best.
-All right. I like it.
We got,
like, less than 10 hours
before we leave
this homestead,
so scrambling
to finish the hoop coop.
-Does it fit in here?
-[Jessica] It's like a glove.
So, correct me
if I'm wrong, Jessica.
Once we have it dug down,
maybe like a foot
and build a ramp
for the ducks,
will they be okay?
Yeah.
If it's a decent ramp
with a decent grade,
then, yeah, they'll be
able to get up in there.
And then
I'm gonna work as hard
as I can to get that pond
for the ducks piped
over to Misty's garden area
that needs
that nutrient rich water
that only these ducks
can provide.
Okay, let's see
if we fit in that hole.
Okay.
Oh, yeah, that is.
That is good.
Okay, let's move
all that dirt over here,
and then let's create
a little bit of volcano.
-[Jessica] Okay.
-So grab a shovel.
Matt, his ability
to take this vision
and to bring it to life
is amazing.
The ducks
are in a better location.
They have shade.
There's more space than
there was in the original pen.
Having that hoop structure
to get the protection
from the aerial predators
is a huge element.
We still don't have water.
It is this like
looming cloud still,
but we're still all hopeful
that we can get
life out of that hole.
[Matt]
Okay, so here's step two.
Let's get it all plumbed up
with a hose
going over to Misty's garden.
[Jessica] Yep.
Now that I have all the pools
for the ducks installed
and all the piping's running
over to Misty's greenhouse,
we need one thing, water.
A lot's riding
on what my dad can figure out
with that well behind
the house.
I need water in this thing,
right now.
[Jessica] Right now.
[cow mooing]
[Marty] It looks like
there's one, two, three.
[Rick] Back by the house.
[Marty] Four, five,
five sticks of gutter.
Ten feet long.
[Rick] As Ryan and Pappy
continue with
the well preparation.
Marty looks
to provide the homestead
with another supplemental
source of water.
I'm gonna take
a few pieces of this up.
Why?
Because look what's happening.
Look, I'm gonna feel real bad
if it rains
and we don't have water
catchment.
This homestead needs
that well.
Does that mean we just abandon
rain catchment?
Absolutely not.
Clint!
Oh, hi.
So I say we just cowboy
some gutter.
It will run right
into that thing
and if it rains,
I won't feel bad.
I'll meet you at the house.
-Okay.
-See you there. Thanks.
Oh, and we'll probably need
screws and g*ns,
but let's go.
On this homestead,
you want to capture
every single drop you can,
especially if it's free.
So it looks like
I'm able to slide
this under that the drip edge,
this finished piece.
So we'll get all the water.
And if it rains,
I'm gonna be real happy
that we've done this.
The rain catchment system off
the roof is free.
The gutters, transfer the rain
into containers,
the containers are high enough
to gravity free water
anywhere on this homestead.
Thanks for that.
Done!
Bring on the rain.
-[Misty] Want me to come up?
-[man] Yeah.
Cut, can you cut two boards
and break them up.
-All right.
-Okay.
[Rick] At the homestead
sun-baked center,
Misty and the crew
race to complete
the duckaponic greenhouse.
It's definitely
one of those time got away
from us homesteads.
We have a ton of work to do.
I need to finish
this greenhouse today.
We held off putting the lid on
because it's been so hot here.
So it feels good to be working
on the very last thing.
As soon as this is done,
we're ready for plants.
Okay, here we go.
Big sheet going up.
So the homestead
has a new greenhouse.
It has amazing new garden.
It's ready. Here we go.
There's just one problem.
There's no water.
So we're using
the same outdoor
gardening technique
in the greenhouse.
We're just putting
in these logs, these branches.
They'll act
as massive sponges,
collect all the water
and then do a slow release.
So when it comes to watering,
this really cuts down
the amount and the time
that it takes
to keep plants alive.
It's amazing that
there's a new greenhouse
and this amazing
new garden space
and everything's ready.
But everything
is completely useless
without water.
So we're gonna throw
some soil in,
some compost.
Because that's kind of
the last thing
when it comes to shoveling.
And then we're done.
Whoa!
[Rick]
Back by the old wellhead.
Okay.
It's that time to see
if any of this is gonna work.
We've come to that moment
just before sundown
in Wyoming.
Does this 20-year-old well
have water?
Does this 20-year-old well
have enough water
to run a homestead?
We've done everything right.
We've got
the right-sized pump,
the right size pipe.
Oh, yeah.
It's pushing air out.
This is amazing.
You hear that?
It sounds like water.
Oh, yeah.
Getting louder.
It's getting louder.
Hear it?
Exciting.
[Clint] What?
Hear it?
Yeah.
[water bubbling]
It's not bad.
Clint, look at that.
That is not bad.
-Looks Clint, clear.
-That was pretty good
-actually.
-Look, look.
That's a miracle.
That should be black, brown.
Even on a brand new well.
Look at that.
Oh, my Lord.
Listen to that sound.
This is really exciting.
If we can do this again,
if we can fill 150 tomorrow
and it's clean.
We're not out of the woods
because if that well
doesn't recover
this much water by this time
tomorrow morning,
This is where you're gonna be
able to set up a place
where you can raise
all the young ducklings.
[Rick] With the Black family's
ducks relocated.
And the ducks,
they're gonna be safe
and you guys aren't gonna be
as stressed.
[Ryan] Matt walks Jessica
around the new coop
for a final inspection.
Now we're able to go
even further
into the future
with our dream.
[chuckles]
A lot of work got done here.
[Jessica] A lot.
But more importantly,
I definitely couldn't have
done it without you.
I definitely have changed
through this process.
I've become more confident,
um, in both my decision making
and my ability to adapt.
I can just swoop into action
now more readily.
I'm really proud.
-You definitely know
what you're doing.
-Thank you.
[Rick] Seven days ago.
The Black family
housed the flock in a pen
unshielded
from natural elements.
Now a new wire hoop,
along with twice
as much indoor coop space,
ensures the ducks
are safe from heat,
cold and predator attacks.
[Misty] Look at this flow.
-[Jodi] That's great.
-[Misty] Right?
[Jodi] That is really good
for just gravity feed.
[Rick] At the homesteads,
new duckaponic greenhouse.
[Misty] And look
at our beautiful color.
-[Jodi] Rich, rich water.
-Right? [laughs]
So you definitely
don't want to drink
this water.
-Right.
-But when it comes to plants,
this is fertilized.
-Yeah.
-This is perfect
fertilized water, right?
-Yeah.
-[Bradley] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-The plants will love it.
-[Jodi] Right.
Now that Matt's finished
with the duck sanctuary,
we'll turn
the aquaponics system
into a duckaponic system.
You have
your 16 gallon-ish reservoir
and this ladder system
that's basically
feeding itself
with this perfect
fertilized water.
So now we're ready
for plants.
Just having a greenhouse
and being able to start
plants earlier,
that's a huge improvement
and our ability
to grow the food
that we need to
to survive out here.
[Rick] One week ago,
the Black family's garden
consisted of one row of plants
struggling to survive
in malnourished soil and clay.
Now, with the addition
of the duck fertilized
aquaponics greenhouse
and a clear level
garden space,
the family can expand
their growing season
with a larger variety
of crops.
Before you leave,
I want to show you something
that we kind of saved for you.
-[Jayme] Okay.
-Okay.
It's right out this way.
This is...
This is really crazy.
We found all these windows
at the salvage yard
that Matt went to.
As we're cleaning
the windows we find this.
Oh, wow.
That is...
-Looks like your dad
wanted to say hi.
-Right.
[Misty] I thought,
what a sweet reminder
of your dad.
That's touching. That's...
-Great.
-Sorry.
[Misty] No, you're good.
I was embarrassed
of the situation
that my dad left me in.
So I didn't want to ask
for help.
And I easily just would have
lost his homestead.
The Raneys showed me that
there's nothing to be
embarrassed about.
And I just needed some help.
And I appreciate
that they gave me that help.
I wish they were here.
I'm sorry they're not.
But I know that
you guys will be here.
I know you have a long,
long future ahead of you.
Can't pry me away
from here now.
[Jodi] No. [laughter]
Okay, you guys over here.
Family over here, please.
Clint.
Bring that hose.
This homestead is the one
where the water issue
is been going on
for a long time, too long.
Family...
I just...
We relate to people
that have water problems,
trust me.
So is the well hopeless?
Hear anything?
I hear something.
It's coming. Watch out.
So that water
is coming from the well.
-That's from our well?
-[Marty] Yeah.
That's our well.
[weeping]
Shut up.
This is our well.
Don't waste it.
Come here.
Get over here quick now.
-Get over here.
-I'll try it.
Don't waste it.
All right.
That's the 900 foot well.
I don't know what I'm feeling,
like this is,
I don't think I've ever felt
something like this
before honestly.
-Right.
-Like, I can't.
I can't even put it
into words.
[Marty] Look at that.
Thank you all for coming.
Just seeing
your beautiful family smiling,
you've already thanked us.
It's a new start.
It's, we're here.
I'm never leaving.
We don't have to worry about
this anymore.
We can do so much more
that we haven't been
able to do,
because this has been
a fight always.
Almost 20 years.
I didn't think
I'd ever see water
come out of there.
We get to benefit
from it finally,
and not just be tortured
by it.
-We're free.
-[Jayme] Yeah.
-[Jodi] You know...
-[Jayme] That's crazy.
What would
your mom and dad say
if they were standing
right here right now
and saw this?
I think they'd be
just as speechless.
I think they'd have
a hard time thanking you
just like I am.
I wish they could have
stayed here to see this.
[weeping]
Tomorrow is a brand new day
and a super bright future
for this beautiful family.
Their whole life changes
in the moment.
The moment, the second water
comes out of the hose.
Nothing will be the same
from that moment on.
As of tonight, you have water.
-[Misty] Whoa!
-[Jayme] Yes!
For the first time ever.
Dad, like,
dad spider, spider.
[screaming]
[cheering]
[laughs]
Okay. I got myself soak.
[Marty] Let's start living
and wasting water.
-[laughter]
-[Misty] Whoo!
That's it,
look at the smiles.
I love it.
Okay, so this is it.
It came really quick.
Are you happy we came?
Yes, I'm very happy.
I'm very grateful.
And, you know,
thank you to everyone
for making our dreams
that more obtainable.
Jessica, I am really confident
in your guys's ability
to keep this going.
And you're just gonna go up
and up from here.
I am confident that
we are gonna be able
to progress even further.
The Raney's really healed us
as a family.
Everything fits together
so beautifully in the end.
I just couldn't be
more grateful and happy to be
where we're at
and feel stable.
I wouldn't have had
a homestead
if you guys
wouldn't have came.
You seem to have,
you know, some kind of hope
and a different disposition.
A good one. Positive one.
You know, I'm looking forward
to tomorrow morning
and every morning
to start getting stuff done.
The Raneys woke up
motivation in me
that I wake up dreaming
instead of going
to bed dreaming.
Just that positive attitude
is the biggest thing
the Raneys gave me that
I, I didn't think I would get.
Huh. This is it.
They say you can last 40 days
without food.
They say you can last
four days without water,
but you can't last
for a second
out here in Wyoming
without hope.
[Jamey]
Before the Raneys came
everything here
had a negative cloud over it.
Since the Raneys came,
there's optimism.
We know now that
we're going to strive.
The well has been
a really big help.
It's a huge weight lifted off
our shoulders.
Being able to water the ducks.
Yeah.
And then
there's the greenhouse.
We're ready to go
for next spring.
Knowing that I'm carrying on
my parents legacy
is huge to me,
and that's probably
the biggest thing
the Raneys gave me
was the confidence
and pride in myself
to carry out this homestead.
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10x01 - Black Hills Hope
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City slickers get schooled by awesome hosts on their last chance to succeed off grid & survive off the land... among wildlife predators & natural disasters
City slickers get schooled by awesome hosts on their last chance to succeed off grid & survive off the land... among wildlife predators & natural disasters