11x08 - Mesa Meltdown

[bunniefuu]

[Marty] When you see
the mom and dad...

It's okay, buddy.

with five kids just struggling
to survive the winter

in high elevation Arizona,

what do you do?

We dropped what we were doing

and made a beeline...

[man] Dad. Dad.

for that homestead.

Let's get to work.

Oh.

No.

The solution
is now the problem.

If it starts to rain tonight,

we're gonna lose water.

I knew homesteading
wasn't gonna be easy,

but this is way more
than I anticipated.

[Misty] Trying to get it done
in these conditions

is gonna be not easy.

[Marty] I don't see problems
on homesteads.

I see challenges...

[man] That's it.

That are not insurmountable.

[man] Watch out.

[Misty] This is big enough
to feed five kids.

[Marty] Here we go.

Oh, my gosh. Jesus.

[Daniel]
Fresh water in this tank.

The future is bright, right?

You guys have changed
our lives.

[dramatic music playing]

Welcome to Arizona.

We're heading to a homestead

that's nearly


about the same elevation
as Base Camp on Denali.

[Misty] Wow.

You got higher winds,
colder temperatures.

You're not getting much help
from Mother Nature.

This is winter time.

Enjoy this sun
because if clouds move in,

we could get 2 feet of snow
on this homestead.

And that's a fact.

I'm wearing
winter boots, folks.

Yeah, you really picked
a good choice.

[Misty laughs]

[Matt] Getting into
the high country, kids.

[narrator] The Raneys
received an urgent SOS

from homesteaders

in the untamed high country
of Northwestern Arizona.

The region is in the middle
of a chaotic yo-yo winter

with heavy freezing
and snowstorms,

followed by days of
sweltering heat and thaw.

And the combination of desert
and mountain ecosystems

bring a rogues' gallery
of all-season predators.

It's from this
difficult climate

that the Raneys
respond to a young family

whose first-year homestead

might not see springtime.

My name is Daniel
and this is my wife Alyssa.

[Alyssa] We have five kids
all under the age of nine.

And we live on a 36-acre
homestead in Arizona.

[narrator] Eight months ago,

the Brennan family pulled up
roots from the Phoenix area

and moved four hours north
to the high desert

in search
of their off-grid dream,

but struggling through their
first unforgiving winter

has been a living nightmare.

[Alyssa] You know,
we never lived in snow

and so it just, kind of,
created a lot of issues.

The roads
have just been so bad

that we're very limited
on options

on how to get water
to our property.

I'm getting worried

because we've come close
to running out of water.

[Daniel] In the Valley,

we really didn't have
many predators,

but here,
we have lost chickens.

[Alyssa] We found some remains
outside the coop.

[Daniel] Our barn cats
were attacked.

We're not sure what's
picking off our animals,

but they're here.

We haven't been able
to get our garden

or any food growing.

I'm not sure
if we can make it.

Raneys, we need your help.

[Marty] Hey. Hello.

-[Misty] Hi.
-[Alyssa] Hi.

-What's your name?
-Daniel.

Daniel. Marty Raney.
Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.
-Melissa. I'm Mom.

-My name's Alyssa.
-[Marty] Daniel, Mom?

-So this is my mom.
-[Marty] Nice to meet you.

How long have you guys
been out here?

So this would be
coming up on one year.

-Your newbies?
-[Daniel] Yes.

-[Alyssa] Yeah.
-Where'd you move from?

-Phoenix area.
-[Marty] Oh.

So you've only been out here
one winter?

Yes.

And we unfortunately are not
out of winter just yet.

I heard it's supposed to snow,

like, in the next couple days.

[Alyssa] Oh, yeah.
It's coming here.

I met my husband Daniel
about 10 years ago,

and we have been together
every day ever since.

I've always wanted land
for animals

and to raise our own food,

to be self-sustaining.

We want our kids to learn
to provide for themselves.

[Alyssa] When he initially
brought up homesteading,

I was a little bit hesitant,

but I knew
that we could make it work.

[narrator]
The Brennans believed
they found their future

in a 36-acre,
fully off-grid property

at the base
of a 500-foot tall hill.

After bringing in livestock
and planting a garden,

their homestead seemed off
to an encouraging start,

but it wasn't
without challenges.

When we first moved here,

I knew that we would
have to haul water,

which I was fine with.

We are hauling
250 gallons of water

twice a week minimum,

up and down
12 miles of dirt road.

Once winter hit,

due to how much snow
and mud was in the road,

hauling water became
basically impossible.

You constantly think about,

"Are we gonna have
enough water?"

[Daniel] There was
a chicken coop there

prior to us purchasing
the property.

It's in rough shape.

Our goats are inside

because we do not have
a secure place

to put them outside.

Once we got our first snow,

our garden just shriveled up
and it was gone.

So we can't grow
healthy food.

Three days a week,
I go down to the valley

which is four hours
away and work,

and then Alyssa's by herself
with all the kids.

[Alyssa] When things go wrong,

I have to try
to deal with them

until he can make it home.

That's a lot for one person
to try to do by themselves

with the five kids,

and I feel
like I am overwhelmed.

[Daniel] Growing up,
my family moved around a lot,

so we didn't have much
consistency,

then, I didn't like it.

So my goal for this homestead

is to raise our kids here
in one location

so it, kind of, creates
a forever place for them.

I grew up in a household

where my mom was always
involved, very hands-on.

I wanted to carry that on
to our kids,

but not being able
to provide the basics

for the family makes me feel
like I am completely failing.

I knew homesteading
wasn't gonna be easy,

but this has just...

It's just way more
than I anticipated

and it's just drained me.

[Marty] All right.
What's happening here?

So this is our 2,500-gallon
water tank

that supplies water
to our house.

Okay. Where does the water
come from?

[Daniel] We haul it in.

[Marty]
How much water's in here?

I would say at least


It feels like
it's empty, but...

It could be close.

And then how does it get
from here into that house?

There is a water line
that goes from here

underneath the house
and then comes up,

and then there's
a booster pump inside

that we have to have power
to get water

actually in the house.

Okay.

I'm noticing
on that shop over there

-that there's gutters.
-[Daniel] Mmm-hmm.

And they look like they're
going to water storage.

-[Daniel] Yes.
-[Marty] Did you install this?

-[Daniel] Yes.
-Good man.

Usually,
when this tank gets full,

I'll move that gutter
to this tank.

[Marty] So there's been times
where you've had 750 gallons?

Correct.

What I'm looking at right here
is smart homesteading 101.

Once these are full,
where does this water go to?

[Daniel] The animals.

Why can't the family
use this water?

We haven't figured out
a way to treat it.

-It looks good.
-Right.

Right? And it was captured
on the metal roof...

-[Daniel] Yes.
-and went straight into here.

So it didn't have time
to get a lot of contamination.

So maybe 100 gallons
in the 2,500-gallon tank

-that you hauled from town.
-Yup.

[Marty] I'm looking at 250
on that trailer, right?

That's the good water
we'll call it

right now, for a family
of seven to use.

But now, I see

that the weather's changed
since we've been here.

It has.

-That happen a lot here?
-[Daniel] Yeah.

It could be like this
and then, two days from now,

we could be
in six inches of snow.

If it starts
to rain tonight...

all these containers are full
and we're gonna lose water.

Yes.

That's sacrilege.

So when you look on the roof
systems of this homestead,

you see water catchment,

but it's not enough.

We need to improve it,
expand it,

and somehow protect it
from freezing.

Once that happens,

this family
just might have a chance

at surviving the next winter.

[dramatic music playing]

[Alyssa]
This is the garden area.

Those are the garden beds.

Daniel planted
some jalapenos and tomatoes,

but everything just, kind of,
got covered in snow

and we did get
critters eating it.

You're on the backside
of the mountain then?

You're on the shady side?

Yeah.

But that might not be
a bad thing

because plants need sun
and they also need shade

in a climate like this.

You're dealing
with the high temperatures,

you're dealing with high wind,

and you're dealing
with zero humidity.

It's next to impossible
to grow anything.

I try to do the best I can,

but being here
by myself so much

with five kids
and all the animals and stuff,

you just...
You get overwhelmed.

And I have come to the point

where I have cried
and I'm like,

"I don't know if I can
continue doing this."

Daniel's gone
half the week working.

When a homestead
isn't self-sufficient enough,

somebody has to be
out there providing.

Unfortunately, there's way
too much work here

for one homesteader to do
on their own.

You need an easier
functioning homestead

that's actually practical
for a mother of five.

Yes.

You guys are drowning
in the desert.

Pretty much, yes.

[Misty] They're up against it.

Anytime you choose
to homestead in a desert,

you're gonna have
all of the problems.

But at high elevation,
they're intensified.

We're gonna come up
with a plan.

[dramatic music playing]

[Matt] This is
the smallest goat pen...

-[Melissa] Little pen.
-I've ever seen.

Not too much playing
going on, huh?

-Look at this. It's so tiny.
-[Melissa] I know.

[Matt] It can't be bigger
than 6-feet wide.

They're not fitting
in their diapers anymore

to be in the house so they've
definitely got to...

You got them in diapers
in the house?

When they couldn't come out
here when there was snow,

we had to let 'em run around
the house to get exercise.

So we put, like, suitcases up,
let 'em climb on it.

But we had to put diapers on

so they didn't mess
all over the house.

At night, they're in a kennel
in the house.

[Matt] Oh, man.

These goats definitely
need a bigger space.

[Melissa] Yeah.

But something that will keep
them safe from predators.

[Melissa] Absolutely.

And something that will keep
them warm from the weather.

Is there more livestock
on the homestead?

We have some chickens left

and three ducks down there.

Take me to that chicken coop.
I wanna see it.

[Melissa] Okay. Let's go.

[Matt] You don't spend
a lot of time up here.

-Or do you?
-[Melissa] I do.

I just help out
as much as I can.

-[Matt] Okay.
-[Melissa] Yeah.

So, I mean, this is better

than what I saw
with the goats.

[Melissa] Yeah. Yeah.

[Matt] There's a...
There's an actual structure,

a coop if you will.

The chickens,
they use for the eggs,

so they're not eating them.
So they name them.

And the kids love them
and it's sad

when one gets picked off.

Have you ever found a dead
chicken on this homestead?

They have found
a dead chicken.

It had been picked clean.

It was just bones and stuff.

But other than that,
they're just disappearing.

That definitely raises
an eyebrow or two.

-Oh, yeah.
-Maybe even a mustache.

[laughs]

-Sorry.
-[Melissa laughs]

I like to go
from doom and gloom

to dad joke
in zero seconds flat.

It's gonna be my number one
goal to make

sure that all the livestock's
gonna be safe

but it'll also be
very productive

so the homesteaders
can have that livestock

give something back.

These homesteaders
are getting spanked.

Desert, excruciatingly hot,

high mountains,
excruciatingly cold,

and we're right here
in the middle, winter.

And there's not enough water.

The good news is Daniel
has captured 500 gallons.

-That's amazing.
-A good starting point.

And hopefully,
we can work together.

Him and I, pull out
all the homesteading stops

and get this homestead
operational with enough water,

because it's a lot
of mouths to feed.

The garden is dilapidated.

The whole homestead

is on the north side
of this mountain.

And I do wanna create
some type of garden,

but the fact that
the sun disappears at 3:00

is a real problem.

You need warmth
this time of year

and you're not gonna get it.

So the goats sleep inside
the house in a dog kennel.

Oh, my gosh.

Melissa has seen
the chickens disappear,

the ducks disappear,

so I wanna build something
close enough to the house

with a lot of human presence

to keep these animals
safe year round.

And that way,
they'll be happier

and have them produce
and not get picked off.

They're pretty up against it.

[narrator]
To rescue the Brennan's
homesteading future,

Marty will solidify
their water supply

by upgrading the existing
water catchment

and storage systems,

eliminating their need
to haul in from town.

Misty will fortify
a food source

against weather extremes
and animals

by constructing
an all-season greenhouse

and an enclosed
outdoor garden space.

Matt will secure
a safe livestock zone

to ensure successful
goat breeding,

milking operations,
and egg production

with a new predator-proof,
all-weather goat barn

and relocated chicken coop
with 6-foot-high fencing.

But with a snowstorm

forecasted
just three days away,

it will be
a race against time

to complete
the most urgent builds.

[Marty] Okay.

So, you look like
you're dressed

for cold weather
and hard work,

but I want all three of you

showing up here in the morning
with your homesteader pants

pulled up to here.

[Melissa] Wait, what?

[Marty laughs]

Dad.

[Marty]
What's wrong with that?

Homesteader pants
pulled up to here?

No, Dad.

It's not even funny.

With that said,

we'll meet you
right here in the morning.

-Fair enough?
-[Daniel] Fair.

-All right.
-See you guys in the morning.

[Marty] See you.

[Matt] All right.

[Misty] Oh, my gosh, Dad.

I thought he was serious.

I thought
he didn't like our pants.

[instrumental music playing]

[chickens clucking]

[Marty] All right.
Well, here we go.

[narrator] On the 8-month-old

Brennan homestead...

It seems like it's getting
real cold and windy.

[narrator] Marty and Daniel
devise a plan

to optimize the homestead's

existing water
catchment system

ahead of the approaching
storm.

I'm gonna propose
a couple things to you.

So I'm getting a little
nervous about this weather.

You're down
to about 100 gallons.

And this tank, the main source
of water for the house.

On day one, you showed me

the rain catchment system
in place,

and three of these containers,
they're 250 each.

There's 750 gallons right now.

The tanks are all full.

If it rains or snows,
it's gonna come off that roof

and it's just gonna overflow,
we're gonna waste it.

-Yes.
-I don't want that to happen.

So, how do you feel
about this?

We move that black tank,

move it right here,

and then we'll empty

all three of those tanks
into it.

If we get it done
expediently...

-[Daniel] Right.
-we'll have 750 gallons today.

But more importantly,

we'll get that tank
in the ground

where it'll never freeze
on the bottom.

It'll use the geothermal
of the earth

to keep it
from ever-freezing solid.

We'll bury all those lines
and we'll insulate 'em.

[Daniel] Okay.

And then somehow
we'll get it into that house.

I like this idea.

I'd love to catch this water.

And I think
being the tank right here,

we could probably even
fill up that tank, so...

[Marty] Really?

I think so with the rain,
so...

That's what I wanna hear.

So...

I'm glad you're on board,
okay?

I think we need
to get cracking.

[tense music playing]

[Matt] Wow.

Look at that view.

[narrator] On a deck
overlooking the Brennan's
36-acre property,

Matt and Melissa

get a bird's-eye view
of his plan

for the homestead's
new livestock area.

It's not
the best visibility...

No.

to be able
to see the chicken coop.

I wanna move the livestock

where they can be monitored
and observed.

Moving the livestock
closer to the homestead

puts them closer
to that human footprint

and actually keeps
the animals safer

and less likely to get
picked off by predators.

It also helps Alyssa,

who spends
about half the week

by herself with the kids,
to manage that livestock.

I think it's a good idea.

It's easier for water
and to take care of them.

[narrator] To create a safe,
year-round livestock zone

that will also provide space
for milk production
and breeding,

Matt will construct
an 8 by 16 foot goat barn

just yards from the house.

Then the existing
chicken coop

will be moved
next to the barn

and reinforced,

giving the chickens
their own safe space

while keeping
all the livestock

centrally located
for easier care.

There'll be
some groundwork here.

[Melissa] Mmm-hmm.

But I actually think
this is the spot.

That sounds good.

-Let's get to work.
-Yeah, I'm excited.

It's very hard for me to see

the challenges
my daughter and her family

they're going through.

I've been up here
so much, helping,

but I don't have
experience in this.

So I think we just start
cutting in to the side.

Just stay over here

and make sure

that I'm not getting too deep
or too crazy.

Okay? Here I go.

[instrumental music playing]

[Melissa] That's good driving.

I think that Matt's idea
with putting it

near the house by the front
is a perfect idea.

They can see everything
right there,

make sure everything's safe,

and help them achieve
what they wanted to do

and live off the land
and be homesteaders.

Throw the bush
into a pile somewhere.

Don't get poked.

Look and make sure
it's not gonna get you.

[Melissa] Okay.

[Matt] Good job.

All right. Now we got
a lot of open space.

I still need to go
real quick.

Got a couple more tricks
up my sleeve.

[goats bleating]

[instrumental music playing]

[Misty] Hey, yo, Alyssa,
come on over.

[narrator] Down at the garden,

Misty digs deeply
into her bag of tricks

to tackle
the Brennan family's

alarming lack of food.

Okay.
Here's what I'm thinking.

I would love to be able
to give you a greenhouse.

The problem is

you're on the north side
of this mountain

and I'm worried about
the amount of sun
you'll get...

[Alyssa] Mmm-hmm.

if we go right up
against your house.

So here's what I'm thinking.

An average greenhouse
obviously collects

the passive heat and heats up.

Mmm-hmm.

But in this region,
you have high temperatures

and you have low temperatures.

So building you a greenhouse

that isn't gonna get too hot

during your summer season
is a challenge.

And the only way
you're gonna be able

to really maximize
your growing season

for Arizona at high elevation

is if you go underground.

So I'm thinking a walipini,
which is a sunken greenhouse.

Walipinis literally means
place of warmth.

You get temperatures that
are regulated year round.

You dig down deep enough,

the ground stays
in the late '40s, early '50s.

And whether
it's snowing outside

or 100 degrees,

that temperature is acting
as a heater

or an air conditioner.

[narrator]
Misty's pit greenhouse

will be 10 by 20 feet long
and 6 feet into the ground,

filled with raised
garden beds.

It's covered by a pitched,
translucent roof

that will shed rain and snow

and provide warmth
to the year-round
crops inside,

while an enclosed
area outside

will hold additional plants.

I'm gonna start digging
right here.

-Sounds good.
-Okay.

We're ready to get to work.

[Alyssa] I want to grow
food here

to feed our family
and I want our children

to be able
to live off their land.

And hopefully,
this will give me

the opportunity
to make that happen.

[Misty] Have you guys ever
had equipment here before?

No.

Have you dug here before?

By hand.

You don't know
what kind of ground you have?

A lot of clay?

A lot of clay.
Sometimes you'll hit a rock.

Have you ever heard
of caliche?

[Alyssa] No.

So in this part of Arizona,
you have it.

It's literally soil deposits

that have turned
into hard-rock cement.

And it can vary
between a couple feet

to a vein
that's 15 feet thick.

[Alyssa] Wow.

We don't really know
what we're gonna find out

until we start digging,

but if we hit a vein,
that could be a problem.

-Got you.
-[Misty] Okay?

Yup.

If I hit it
and it's 15 feet thick,

we're definitely not putting
a greenhouse there.

It looks pretty soft.

[Misty] Yeah.

So far so good.

What, we're gonna go around

digging a bunch of holes
on the homestead,

hoping that we're not
gonna hit it?

We don't have time for that.

[Alyssa] Looks good.

I can't believe
how moist it is.

[Misty] Oh, see that?

See the smoke?

Yeah, I see that.

[Misty]
It looks like it's white.

When you see smoke like that,
you're just scraping.

Yeah.

[Misty] You're not really
penetrating anything,

so that's not good.

-Oh.
-You can hear it.

Oh. No.

I can't dig through that.

Oh, no.

It is really thick.

I'm hitting it as hard
as I can with my bucket

and it's not even
penetrating at all.

Oh my God,
this is really not good.

I mean, this is terrible.

This is, like,
actually really terrible.

We were already up
against it,

and then to start off

by only getting 4 feet deep
is not good.

I think my biggest concern
right now

is the solution
is now the problem.

It's not gonna happen.

[suspense music playing]

[Misty] It's not gonna happen.

Okay. So this is really bad.

I thought we were gonna gain
inch by inch,

but I was literally
hitting it.

It's as hard as cement.

I'm not penetrating it at all.

So this is pretty much
worst-case scenario.

And now, I'm at a point

where I can't do this
by myself.

I have to find my dad.

I don't wanna damage
that piece of equipment

and I need his expertise to

see what we're really
dealing with.

[tense music playing]

[Marty] How's it going
up there?

-It's not good, so...
-[Marty] Wow.

What does that mean?

What's wrong?

This is really crazy.

We've hit caliche

and it is not chipping,
it's not moving.

I need you to come over...

-[Marty] Let's go.
-see what you think.

So let me jump in here
and scrape around a little bit

and just see
what you're dealing with.

[tense music playing]

[machine whirring]

Oh, yeah.

That's hard.

[Misty] Oh, yeah.

These veins run really long,

but is it the worst idea ever

to move to a totally
different location?

No. That's not gonna work.

-It's probably everywhere.
-Yeah.

-Yeah.
-I'm sorry.

So let's not try
pounding through it.

Yeah.

I don't think
it's gonna change.

We've already gone this far,

I think we should just
stick it through

and, you know,
build what we can

and the best thing
that we can, and--

-[Misty] Right here?
-Yes, right here.

She's got a problem,

but I don't see problems
on homesteads.

I see challenges
that are not insurmountable.

It'll make an amazing floor.

How do you guys feel
about this?

Go to the bedrock layer

and then use rocks
like those right over there.

-Go--
-[Misty] And berm it?

[Marty] And berm it
to get the elevation

for the geothermal effect.

[Misty] That could work.

I'm gonna keep digging.

[Misty]
Welcome to homesteading.

You can't control things,
and you adapt.

I think that's, like, key.

[Alyssa] We've been doing that
a lot.

-[laughter]
-[Misty] Good.

So changing it up a bit,

doing the best we could,
I think it was the best.

And I'm excited to continue
to learn from through these.

It's definitely a big space.

[tense music playing]

That work?

[Misty] Yeah.

We're done.

How's it feel?

We got 5 feet.

Yeah. This looks perfect.

I actually can't believe
we got this deep.

This is really good.

[Marty] Cool.
Does that work for your floor?

You're not going any deeper.

[Misty] I mean, beggars
can't be choosers, right?

[Marty] Copy.

And we're gonna bring in rock.

We'll figure out how to retain
some dirt for the walipini.

[Marty] A what?

A walipini.

[Marty] Watch your language.

[laughs]

[country music playing]

-[Matt] Come here. Let's chat.
-[Melissa] Okay.

So I started digging back

as far as I thought
we needed to.

[Melissa] Mmm-hmm.

I could tell you right now

if we cut out
this whole little peninsula

-that's jetting out here...
-Right.

that would give us
the space we need

for the goats and the chickens
to run around.

-Okay.
-But the only problem is,

is you got a couple trees
in the way.

One of these trees
is incredibly useful.

This is a big juniper tree.

Juniper is really resistant
to water and rotting.

Mmm-hmm. Okay. Okay.

This tree will outlast
the cedar 50 years.

Oh, wow. Okay.

So the last thing I wanna do
is cut a tree down
for no reason.

[Melissa] Right.

This tree is in the way.

We're gonna turn it
into a really structural

awesome support system
for our barn.

Okay.

The Mojave Desert
is a harsh environment

and juniper trees

are a common
building material.

People have been
building with them

for thousands of years,

long before
anybody settled in Arizona.

I'm not gonna reinvent
the wheel here.

There's a ton
of juniper trees.

I wanna use those juniper logs

to build a goat barn

that will stand
the test of time

in these harsh conditions.

[chainsaw whirring]

Stand over there.

Timber!

[screams]

[chainsaw whirring]

-[Matt] That went well.
-[Melissa] Yeah. Good job.

[Matt] If this was
dimensional lumber,

this would cost so much money.

-Wow.
-So we're not gonna waste

one part of this tree.

I'm really excited
to start cutting it up

and we'll get it
all separated.

You ready to grab
the branches,

-put 'em in a nice pile?
-I am.

I don't know
anything about homesteading.

I try to pick up what I can
or be here and support,

and I'm just glad
the Raneys are here to help.

I'm really happy that
we're doing what we're doing

to protect the animals.

I love those goats so much,

so I'm hoping
whatever we build

is gonna keep everything out
now and they'll be safe.

There's 100 pieces of plywood,

so we need to get these,

put on the forks
of that skid steer.

Let's just get 'em stacked
nice and neat on here.

[country music playing]

[laughs]

That's pretty awesome.

These homesteaders
have been collecting materials

like plywood and pallets
on their property

to be upcycled later.

I'm gonna incorporate 'em
into my pole barn
for the goats.

What is the story
on these pallets right here?

[Melissa] They were here
when they moved in.

I really like pallets
for building.

-Grab onto this pallet.
-[Melissa] Okay.

[drill whirring]

Pull it.

Now, pull that side up.

Yeah, just stack it
right there.

[country music playing]

[Matt] Nice. Perfect.

[Melissa] Ooh, sparks.

-Lift it.
-Okay. Got it.

Don't get... Yeah.
There's always nails.

Watch your hands.

There's always nails,

there's always stuff
in the way.

[Melissa]
That's a lot of pallets.

So each one of these
is a little over 2 feet.

So you got
one, two, three, four.

How many 2 by 4s?

And how much 1-by material
that you didn't have to buy?

I didn't know that these were
all 2 by 4s in between here.

I never really looked
that close.

So we will be building
with the juniper logs

as our main
structural support.

[Melissa] Mmm-hmm.

And then we'll frame
in between with pallets.

[Melissa] Okay.

And then we will sheet
and side

the entire outside
of the building

with that upcycled plywood.

Yeah, sounds good.

[Matt] I think we're gonna
have a really awesome barn.

[soft upbeat music playing]

[Misty]
Look at this whole spread.

[narrator] With a winter storm

rapidly approaching
the homestead,

Misty and Alyssa begin work
on the foundation

for the family's underground
walipini greenhouse.

[Misty] Okay.

So we actually do have
a really nice

trenched-out hole.

The problem is
if you don't retain the dirt,

it'll slough away,

so we'll retain
that 4 or 5-foot

high wall that we have

and then obviously
berm after that.

You've got a lot of rock here.

And what's crazy
about all your rock here

is they look like
little bricks.

They're all flat little cubes

and they're gonna be
perfect to stack,

so we'll just start
shuffling them over

one by one
and create a retaining wall.

-Okay.
-Make sense?

-Yup.
-[Misty] Okay.

So I'm gonna grab this skid
steer and come right back.

[Alyssa] Sounds good.

So you tell me
which ones I should grab.

We'll start with this one.

Coming around.

Move out of the way. Woo-woo.

Okay. Here we go.

Anytime you're on
a homestead,

you're basically just left

with what materials
you have on hand,

but if I get creative,
you can build something

that this family
desperately needs.

[Alyssa]
I think you got that one.

Okay.

So you know what's really good
in all honesty

is we're grabbing
a little bit of fill too.

[Alyssa] I know, it'll help.

That's for the pile.

[Misty] So I'm just
gonna start piling them

around our trench.

And then right now we have
fill and rock all in one.

Should we try and see
if we can grab the big one?

We needed a win.

And guess what,
it's with this rock.

As soon as we get it in,

we'll put a lid on

and the walipini
is not going anywhere.

I'm gonna dump it here.

And will be here for Alyssa's
children children.

We got one grown in the hole.

-[Alyssa] Little bit.
-[Misty] It's really exciting.

So one by one, we'd...

We'll stack the rocks.

Little by little, we'll get
the retaining wall in place,

and as soon as we hit
that 4 or 5-foot marker

and the retaining walls
are in,

we'll shuttle dirt and fill.

And we'll try and berm this
as high as we can get it

with basically whatever
material we have here.

And then we'll roll
the rafters.

We'll put down the poly,
we'll figure out

some type of stairs,
some type of venting,

because in the summertime
you're gonna need it.

-Mmm-hmm.
-Are you getting excited?

I am very excited.

I can't wait to see
what it looks like

in the final outcome.

These rocks were sitting here
when we moved here,

and learning how to use
something off of our land

to help our family,

it's actually very,
very exciting to me.

And we're actually making
progress, so at this point,

I can actually see something
coming to life.

I'm super excited.

We got a lot of work to do,
so let's just keep moving.

-Sounds good.
-Okay. Here we go.

Rocks for days.

[wind howling]

[Marty] Okay.

Hey, we got to move
a water tank.

[narrator] On the upper end
of the property,

Marty's in a race
against Mother Nature

to enact his plan to upgrade
the Brennan family's

water catchment system

before a forecasted 3 to 5
inches of snow and rain

descends upon the homestead.

Watch out.

-Is it dragging?
-Yeah.

Think we can slide
something under there?

Instead,
we're gonna leapfrog pallets.

We can get 20 feet
out of those 2 by 4s

on the next run.

Done.

[tense music playing]

Get ready.

We're good.

In place, centered, done.

Good job. Got any holes in it?

It does not.

Any water leaking out?

Nope.

Correct me if I'm wrong,
is it snowing right now?

It is definitely starting.

I can see that
the weather's deteriorating.

Okay. No time to waste.

There's three totes

that are connected
to that metal roof

and they're all full of water,

so if we're gonna catch
any water,

we need to quickly pump
these three totes

into the black tank.

The pipe is so cold
that I can't

bend it or anything.

[Marty] All right.
So this happens a lot.

Even in warm weather,

sometimes it's hard
to get the fittings on.

All you got to do
is supply a little heat.

The key is don't melt it.

Cool. Feel that?

-Yeah.
-Look at that.

-Is it moving now?
-[Daniel] Oh, yeah.

[Marty] Yeah. Okay.

-Say when.
-Ready.

[tense music playing]

[Marty] Daniel has really
impressed me.

I think that's it.

Yup. Shut it off.

[Marty] He's a hard worker.

I keep the ins clean.

Okay. And he's a fast-learner.

-Ready?
-[Daniel] Ready.

[Marty] It's because
of his catchment system

that we're able
to collect water.

-Should have water.
-Yes.

Working with Marty is great

because Marty has lived
this lifestyle

and he understands about
being able to provide

consistency for the family.

What's the most
you've ever seen in here?

Right in the middle.

Getting more water
definitely puts us

one step closer
to being self-sustaining.

We are almost to the record.

-[Daniel] Yup.
-Okay?

This...
If this storm's really bad,

we're gonna break the record
on water storage in this tank.

Good job. I like your...
You're a good worker.

[dramatic music playing]

[Misty] Notice anything
different today?

There's a lot of snow
and it looks like

there's a little bit
of mud on the road.

Here, we're up in elevation,

but I'm still shocked
to see snow in the desert.

Yeah.

This is hard enough
without the snow.

Trying to get it done
in these conditions

is gonna be not easy.

You can do anything
in the middle of winter

that you can do
in the middle of summer.

The bad news
is it's gonna be tougher,

'cause this road
is getting bad.

This is the section that keeps
them stranded right here.

[Misty]
Shift it into four-wheel.

Oh, gosh.

[Matt]
We're going off the road.

Whoa.

Don't get stuck, Dad.

Dad, no! Go! Go!

Keep driving.

Dad. Dad!

[tense music playing]

[Matt] Don't get stuck, Dad.

Dad, no! Go! Go!

Keep driving.
Keep your speed up.

Uh, no. That was the problem.
Not enough speed.

[Matt laughs]

[Marty] And that's how you get

to a homestead.

Look at these homesteaders
standing in the snowstorm.

[Matt] Come on out.

The weather's fine.

-[Misty] Good morning.
-[both] Good morning.

[Misty] So we barely got here.

-You look, kind of, muddy.
-[Misty] I hear a generator.

Does this mean
none of your solar

is working
because of the snow?

So we do not have lights
in the house right now.

The generator's actually
running our water pump

for our house
and then also the fridge.

Okay. Well, I can see
that there's snow

on the solar panels
or at least the upper ones.

And if there's any
covers like that,

they won't work.

But in a way,
I'm, kind of, glad

that it's snowing
and windy and winter.

Because we're getting a
little taste of what it's like

-to be stranded here.
-Mmm-hmm.

And that truck
without pulling a water tank

or a mom's
rig full of five kids.

I went off the road.

If there's any good news,

it's that your husband and I,
in that order,

-moved that tank behind you.
-[Alyssa] Mmm-hmm.

[Marty] And we put in


And right now,
those empty tanks,

three of them,
should be collecting

another 750 gallons.

So hopefully,
your husband and I

work together
and we can figure this

water catchment system out

and get it
introduced into your home,

and have water from
the sky supplying your home.

What are you guys thinking?

I mean, waking up
this morning to this,

I was concerned, um,

about what we could get done
or what we could accomplish,

but I just wanna keep moving

and get to where
we need to be.

-[Daniel] Yeah.
-[Marty] Copy.

And it's not gonna stop us.

We're just gonna,
you know, make it happen.

-Ready to hit it in the snow?
-Oh, yeah.

-Let's go.
-See you guys. Let's go!

[Marty] All right, let's work.

[country music playing]

All right. So, hear that?

[narrator]
Over at the house...

-Oh, yeah.
-[narrator]
Marty assesses the state

of the homestead's
water catchment system

and power grid.

Making lots
of water right now.

So look what we've captured
since this storm started.

See that right there?

We're pushing


that we've recovered.
Keep in mind, we're doing this

on the other side,
so double that amount.

And it's going to rain or snow
or melt for most of the day,

we might capture


And that was my goal
and it's good news.

But I don't like this
leaky elbow at all.

I can't say that
I'm capturing all the water

if I'm not capturing
all the water.

So...

we still need to upgrade
their gutter system

and connect the water
tank to the house over here.

Hear that sound?

Generator.

See those solar panels?

Covered with snow.

That combination

means money that homesteaders

could use somewhere else,
especially these guys,

because they've got five kids.

We're gonna have
to troubleshoot this system.

And our goal
is to have silence.

Meaning, no generator sound

by the time we leave here.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] On the lower end
of the homestead,

the ongoing rain and snowfall

adds a wrinkle
to Misty's underground

walipini greenhouse plan.

[Misty] This is not good.
Look at the water.

[Alyssa] It's getting
kind of slushy.

Things are getting wet,
they're getting slushy.

-This is like the worst thing
that could happen for us.
-Right.

[Misty] I'm trying to be
the "glass is half full"
in this moment

'cause we're so up against it.

But we hit that caliche

and instead
of being a mud pit,

it's nice and hard,

but you can see water

starting to collect
and everything's still frozen.

If it warms up
and all of this snow melts,

it's going to turn into water,

come ripping down the mountain

and this greenhouse
will fill up with water.

I'm super concerned
that we're gonna go

from having a greenhouse
to a swimming pool.

So I'm just gonna
need to, first thing,

build this emergency berm

on this side
of the greenhouse.

Get some ground
or rock in place

so as it melts,

hopefully
it'll block that water.

So, I'll jump
in the skid steer,

build the berm.
What are you thinking?

[Alyssa] Sounds good.
And I know the weather

has always sets us behind
when this happens.

So hopefully
we can keep pushing forward

-and get it going.
-[Misty] Okay.

I like your attitude.
Let's do it.

When the weather came in,
I was worried, you know,

with the snow and the rain,
I thought it was gonna slow

our progress down,

but we're working through it.

So I'm very hopeful

because the greenhouse,

it's just really important
to us as a family.

So, really, I have, like,


to be doing right now

in this moment,
but they're all for nothing

if this thing
gets flooded out.

But it was something
I was gonna do eventually

to protect
the sunken greenhouse

from flooding out every year.

So we're seeing in real time

what we're up against
when it comes to this snow

and it melting
and the amount of runoff

that they see
on the side of this mountain.

Brushing it.

Okay. We're gonna
call that good.

Definitely,
doesn't look that nice,

but it's nice and thick.

When it melts, it should help
prevent the water

from filling up
the sunken greenhouse.

In the meantime,
I'm gonna finish the wall.

This is one
of those homesteads

where you get one step back,

you get two step backs,
you get three

and it makes you want work

really hard for this family
and help this family

as much as we can
because you can see

how every day is challenging,

especially
if you're not experienced.

It's totally perfect.

All right. So we just
finished with the rock.

All the walls are in.

The walipini's on its way.

I'm getting pretty excited

because this
was a feat all in itself.

So the bulk of the work,
the heavy lifting,

it's all done,
and now it's time to frame.

[upbeat music playing]

[bleats]

[Matt] Here's the plan.

[narrator]
At the new livestock area,

Matt and Melissa are set

to get the goat barn
vertical.

Mother nature's throwing us
some curve ba*ls.

-[Melissa] Yup.
-But that doesn't mean

we can't knock this thing
out of the park.

I've already got the logs

that we need
as our uprights...

-Okay.
-for the barn structure.

And we're just gonna go
from the ground up.

We're gonna have
an 8 by 16 barn.

The short side
will be over here,


by 16 going this way.

-Okay.
-You're walking
in the door right now.

-Okay.
-Here we go.

This is the animal pen.

This will be the outside area

and it's gonna go
out to about yay far.

This is the inside
of the barn.

Okay.

You think
it's gonna be big enough?

Yeah, I think so.

We only have two goats
on this homestead right now,

so are we getting
more goats here?

We're definitely
getting more goats here.

My, uh, grandson, Declan

wants to start
making goat soap,

lotions,
whatever you can make.

If there was a barn here

and there was goats
ready to be milked,

Declan could take care
of that chore right now.

Yes. He knows
exactly how to do it

and he's so excited to start.

It's really amazing
to hear that a 9-year-old so

already invested
in homesteading.

Yeah. He's very excited.

Let's grab some
tools and get to it.

Okay.

This thing wants to fall down.

-[Melissa] Mmm-hmm.
-So let's brace it up.

Okay.

That feels
pretty good this way.

Grab another one.

[upbeat music playing]

We got a log standing up.

But let's not get too excited.

Let's get more logs stood up.

Grab a couple more
of those two by fours.

We're incorporating
juniper logs

as a main structure support
to build my pole barn.

-You got it?
-[Melissa] Got it.

[Matt] They eventually
wanna have 20 goats.

Our little barn
can't handle that many goats,

but when they wanna
expand in the future,

they can just
build a bigger barn.

But I can build a bigger pen

so that they'll have
the pen space

for the amount of goats
they wanna expand to.

-All right.
-Wow.

-How's it looking?
-Looks awesome.

That is the back wall
to the goat barn.

-What do you think?
-Oh, I love it. I love it.

It is exciting.

Never done
anything like this before.

You're already
proud of yourself.

I am. Look at me.

[Matt] Look at you go!

[Melissa] Petunia and DJ,
the goats are my babies.

Like, they're...
I call them my babies
instead of calling them goats.

I helped Alyssa
bottle feed them

and they've been
cooped up for a while,

so I'm real anxious
to get this done.

It's gonna be hard
for me to not to think

of them as pets
and think as livestock,

but I don't know.

I'll probably get a little
cotton lay out in the...

in the barn with them
for the first night.

Hey, we're going, like,
log work, okay?

So it's gonna be
a little bit crazy.

Also, I learned
everything from my dad,

so I don't know if you're
gonna learn the right way.

But you're definitely
gonna learn the rainy way.

-Oh, yeah.
-All right.

Let's stand up some more logs

and then we'll start worrying

about putting
a roof over this.

Okay.

[acoustic music playing]

Water's life.

On this homestead,

it's gonna make or break
the future here.

[narrator] With only
three days remaining

on the Brennan homestead
in the Arizona high desert,

Marty makes critical upgrades

to ensure the family
has a weatherproof

year-round water supply.

[Marty] Here's the plan.

Now that we've moved
this tank over here,

we're gonna backfill
this dirt right over to here.

Then we're going
to bring this dirt around

and build
a stone wall out here

to contain this dirt.

Okay.

So once we complete this,

we'll dig
a trench deep enough,

probably up to 24 inches deep

where the water line
is gonna come out of this tank

and head for that house.

Planet Earth
is a thermal battery.

The ground temperature
is always going to be warmer

than the ambient temperature

during the winter.

It can be 32 degrees
where I'm standing,

I could dig down 10 feet
and it's 55 degrees.

So by burying
this tank in the dirt,

building a wall around it.

Money.

The Earth will keep

the water in the bottom
of the tank from freezing.

That's the heavy stuff.

I'm gonna drop it again.

-You wanna run a water line?
-[Daniel] I do.

[Marty] Thank you.

That's enough.

Now, we have to attach
the water line to the tank.

Okay. Ring on, ring on.

Down.

Let go, let go. I can't see.

Done. Good man. Excellent.

Now, we're in the process
of hard-piping

all of the gutter systems
to the big black tank.

Big moment.

Okay. Out with the old,

in with the new, sir.

Oh, easy.

Okay.

Nice tight fit.

Catch all the water.

And now we're gonna
be hard-piped

over there
to the big 3,000 gallon tank.

We're gonna bypass
this temporary system.

Good job.

All right.
Just drop it down, please.
Drop it down, please.

[Daniel] This winter,
driving through the snow

with the road condition
is definitely been rough.

So getting this new
supply line ran was key.

That's gonna help us a lot

just from us having

to not do as many trips
down the mountain,

which is a huge win for us.

Okay. So we're close
to 1,000 right now

and I think
we captured about 500.

-[Daniel] Yes.
-So boom,

that's plenty to run a house.

All that's left to do

is to take it
from the inside the house

where you dug that trench,

get it to the mechanical room

and then turn on the water.

Let's hook this water up.
Come on, come on, come on.

[upbeat music playing]

[narrator] Over
at the new livestock site.

This is like
framing 101, really.

-Yeah.
-But you gotta
start somewhere.

[narrator]
Matt, teaches Melissa

a palatable lesson

in how to frame a goat barn.

[Matt] I want to get
this closed in

by the end of today,
all right?

-[Melissa] Okay.
-[Matt] Let's grab a pallet.

Okay.

We're building
the walls of this barn

that of materials
that we sourced

from this homestead.

It's not an exact science.

You might get
a little lucky on this one.

How you might ask?

How am I gonna get
lucky with this one?

-No, I'm just saying...
-Oh.

you might, you might ask how.

[both laughs]

-[Melissa] Just like...
Oh, just go straight in?
-[Matt] Straight in.

-Yeah, straight in.
-[Melissa] Okay. All right.

All right. One more.

I've never
built anything before.

I mean, I've watched
construction go on.

I always thought it smelled
gross and everything else.

I am so in love
with the smell of dirt now.

Saw dust, I love it.

Put one right in here.

[Melissa] Like that?

-Yup.
-That's good, right? Yeah.

Matt showed me
how to use the screw driver

or the power...
What is that thing called?

I mean, was that called
the drill?

Power drill, right?

So how come you have to make
it absolutely level though?

What?

Well, we'll actually
do it plum.

-Okay.
-If everything's not square

and plum, when you go
to put on your siding

or your sheeting or your roof,

that's when you're gonna
be like, "Oh, my goodness,

I messed up. We need to take
this whole thing apart."

-Okay.
-It saves you

a lot of work in the end,

but it also
is gonna look good.

[Melissa] It should be
peachy instead of plum,

don't you think?

-[laughs]
-[Matt] Peachy.

Did you get it?

The barn that we're building

it's a little oversized
for two goats

and can actually
hold six goats.

[Melissa] Just like a puzzle.

And if they need
to get more goats than that,

they'll know
how to build a barn

for as many goats
as they need.

-All right.
-I'm gonna go like this?

-Like that? I'm professional.
-Yeah, yeah. If you can.

You can.

[both laughs]

[Matt] Press hard.

Awesome. Cool.

All right, let's keep working.

[Melissa] Okay.

[Matt chuckles]

[upbeat music playing]

Look at the amount
of sun you get.

How's our pitch
and how's our angle?

Welcome to
my greenhouse world.

Come on over, Alyssa.

As far as the lids concerned,

we're using
the transparent plastic.

It's giving
that full protection

to these plants
and it will also absorb

that passive heat
from the sun.

And that combined
with that geothermal

from the Earth,
it's gonna extend

the growing season.

I mean, this is
pretty exciting.

-[Alyssa] Yeah.
-[Misty] What are you thinking

on the build and everything?

I like it.

I'm trying to get a nice,

like, fenced in area
for all the kids.

-[Alyssa] Mmm-hmm.
-To have a space where

they can help with chores
and they can just run and play

and then it's like
practical, right?

-[Alyssa] Yeah.
-But sometimes as a mom,

like how are you juggling
all the things?

-It's hard.
-[Alyssa] It is. Yeah.

Because you have to try
to keep your eye on them.

Especially,
because I don't just have two,

-I have five.
-Are you gonna have more?

-No.
-[laughs] Are you sure?

[Alyssa] I have
no more seats in my car.

So I kinda have to stop
at this point, but it's fun.

I like it and I'm excited
as they get older.

You know, the plan
is to have them

have a space on our land

so they always feel
like they're at home

even when they're older.

Do you see yourself here,

like growing old here?

That was the whole plan.
I don't...

We've moved around so much

since we've been together

and we've only been
together 10 years,

but we've been
in multiple homes

and just moving
the kids around.

And so, I don't wanna
bounce around anymore.

I didn't have to bounce
around, but my husband did.

My husband
didn't get stability

and that was
really hard on him.

And so I don't wanna
do that to our kids.

I wanna...
I wanna stay in one spot

and just continue
to grow there.

It's important.
It's just been a rough winter.

-Yeah.
-I think

even in the hard times,

if you can look
towards the positive,

I think that's, like,
one of the biggest keys

with homesteading
and hopefully next winter

won't be as hard.

You know, I see myself

as a very strong person

that can pull through a lot.

But when I'm trying
to raise five kids

in an environment that,

you know,
they didn't ask for, you know,

not to have running water.

It's hard.

I respect Alyssa and her
decision to move out here

with all of her kids
to give them the better life.

She wants to make
this work no matter what.

They wanna be here.

So we need to get Alyssa

to a place where here
is actually doable.

You do know
this is a better life.

Don't be so hard on yourself.

Be a little more forgiving.

Misty is very good
at explaining things

and moving forward.
I think it's kind of given me

more hope as far
as, you know,

being here and being more
prepared to run a homestead.

Is this big enough
to feed five kids?

I hope so.

They have to make another one
with the way they eat.

[both laughs]

[acoustic music playing]

You've walked
your entire 40 acres?

[Daniel] Down here.

[narrator] On the other side
of the homestead.

But where does
your property go to?

All the way to the very top.

-And beyond?
-A little bit.

So we have a flat area
up there supposedly.

-So...
-What do you mean supposedly?

That's what we've been told.

I have yet to make it there.

You've never...

You never been
to the top of this mountain?

I have not.

Why?

It's steep
and just haven't had the time.

Yeah, I'd love
to get up there.

Our goal is to hopefully
build our forever home

on top of the hill.

You're telling me that,

but you've never
even made it up there yet.

-I have not.
-Wow.

That's fascinating to me.

But I don't mean it
in a bad way

because I have
a 40-acre piece in Alaska

that was split right down
the middle by a canyon.

And so everybody in Alaska
said, "That guy's an idiot.

He bought a piece of land
that he'll never access."

And guess what?

I did.
And now I live up there.

Oh, awesome.

-[Marty] You wanna go?
-[Daniel] Yes.

[Marty] What do you say
we do it right now?

-[Daniel] Awesome.
-[Marty] We'll take

a harder look at it.

[acoustic music playing]

[Marty] Do you have a clue
what's up there?

[Daniel] No.

[narrator] With only 48 hours
left in the rescue,

Marty and Daniel ascend

to the property's
highest point

to survey the homestead's
full potential.

[Marty] Well, we'll figure out
what's up there.

Daniel has never hiked up
his own mountain.

Is there a trail or anything?

-[Daniel] Not exactly.
-[Marty] All right.

He's told me his dream
is to live up there.

So we're going to head up
into these boulders

and find out
if there's any way

to use the mountain they own.

We might see an animal.

Well, let's keep
the voices down

right out through there.
We'll hit the ridge and go up.

Hey bud,

how much water
have you seen running down

this mountain before?

I would imagine
there's a lot of water,

but I have not seen it myself.

-You haven't seen it? Okay.
-No.

Just... But you definitely
see trails in there.

[Marty] Yeah, yeah.

All of that snow melt

is coming
towards the homestead.

Is it possible
to capture some of that water

and then add it
to the other water

we're trying to collect off
the roof system?

It might just be
that added volume of water

that gets them
to the finish line.

That's snow.

Maybe we can capture it
at the bottom.

It's so wild up here.

What do you think?

Wow. It's awesome.

Holy buckets.

Hey, check this out.

Thirsty?

Here.

Not only is it possible

to collect rain
and snow melt,

there is acres of flat ground

and commanding views,


I mean, how far
can we see right now?

Forever.
I can stay here all day.

[laughs] Me too.

You're gonna have
kids all over this mountain.

This will be their sanctuary.

This will be where they, uh,

get shaped and formed.

They'll learn to love nature.

They'll have an affinity
for mountains and the wild.

I know
'cause I was raised like this

and I raised
my kids like this.

[Daniel]
When we bought the property,

our goal was to build on top

of the mountain
and have the kids

help us maintain it
and maybe take on someday.

So seeing all this definitely
opens up more possibilities

than I never even thought of,
of what we could do up here

or up the side
of the mountain

and puts
into a new perspective

of what we can accomplish here

and get done.

Thank you
for taking me up here.

[birds chirping]

[upbeat music playing]

[Matt]
All right. What do you think
of the space?

[Melissa]
Very nice, very roomy.

One of the biggest reasons

-we built this barn...
-[Melissa] Mmm-hmm.

is to be able to get milk
from the goats.

I mean, you can milk a goat

just standing on flat ground.

-Right.
-But it's a lot harder.

I want to build
a milking station

something where
you can sit down comfortably.

And something
that's comfortable

-for the goats to be on.
-Right.

Got our little
milking station.

However, simple and easy
is very effective.

Okay. Let's slap
some plywood on there.

It's so sturdy.

The platform
is perfectly set up

for anybody to get in there

and easily grab that milk.

They'll be feed up here
and then we'll have this

-so you can slide it down in.
-[Melissa] Mmm-hmm.

And then,
it'll keep 'em in there

and make it easier

-to milk the goats.
-Yeah.

[machine whirring]

Now we've got some rope.

Pull it tight.
I got it sandwiched

-in between these two.
-[Melissa] Mmm-hmm.

So all we need to do

is place
the goat's head in here.

And then, we're just
gonna make little areas

of screws where you can just
lasso it on.

[machine whirring]

-Good to go.
-[Melissa] Okay.

The milking station
is awesome.

Declan would really like
to start milking the goats

as soon as possible
and see if he can help
his family.

The goats are gonna be safe.

They're gonna be able to get
the milk from them.

That'll help a lot.

This is gonna work
really well.

You have a ton of area.

You could put two

depending on the size
of the goats if you wanted to,

but you'll probably
just keep it to one.

-Ultimately, it's livestock.
-Yeah.

And you're trying
to have that livestock

-give something back.
-Right.

You're gonna have protein,
you got the milk.

-It's amazing. It's medicinal.
-Mmm-hmm.

And the best thing
about this thing,

all the materials were free.

[Melissa]
They're gonna love it.

[upbeat music playing]

All right.
So big push to the finish.

We fully enclosed
the greenhouse.

We're to the exciting part

where we just need
to put in the raised beds.

But, yeah, if you wanna
just keep bringing

wood over, I'll take it.

[Alyssa] Okay.

For our raised beds,

we basically have
a bunch of scrap juniper.

We're gonna drive some rebar
through the hole

and we're gonna stand them
vertical to create walls

for the inside
of the greenhouse.

We're gonna drive some rebar

and then it'll hold it

nice and tight up high,

a section down low. And

we've created
a steel wood wall

and this will be
the vertical raised bed

for the inside
of the greenhouse.

One by one. We'll get there.

Yoo-hoo.

[machine whirring]

For Alyssa,
it's easy to kind of get

sucked into a mom life,
you know?

But to, like,
use simple things

like a chainsaw,
a drill, or whatever,

it kind of lights a fire
with people

because it's not as scary
as it looks.

[Alyssa] More pieces.

[Misty] More firewood.

Wanna give it a whirl?

Yeah, I can try it.

And to see you at all working

and kind of come together

and to see her
not only have the skills

but just the mentality

that you can, you know,
get the job done,

that you can push through it
and troubleshoot things.

And I think, um, this week
she's kind of seen that.

Yup, you did it.

-And then wiggle.
-Out?

And then, we are done.
Perfect.

I'm very hands on
in the house with the kids

and I do a lot in there.

There you go. Good job.

But coming outside

and working more outside
on the homestead,

I could have put my new skills
to use

and I'm very excited
about that.

So I feel like
if you can master this,

you can master anything

and just throw it
towards the boys.

So we're gonna drive
the rebar through one end

and then we'll rip
a channel on the other end

and just set
the rebar in there.

And then piece by piece,

stack them all together

creating a steel wood wall.

What I do like about this
is when you combine

the juniper with the rebar,

you're gonna get
a very strong wall

that'll last forever.

And now it's time
to put in the irrigation.

[upbeat music playing]

I kinda need this
to be straight.

No pressure.

It's high.
We'll get it nice and tight.

Nothing is getting through.

Yoo-hoo.

[Marty] Okay. Young man,

you've been working
really hard.

I'm very proud of you.

[narrator] On the morning
of the Raney's final day

on the Brennan homestead,

Marty and Daniel have
another mountain to climb

in their quest
for potable water.

Sit down and take a break
right there.

Look around here.

How much water's
in that tank over there?

-[Daniel] 3,000 gallons.
-[Marty] Yeah.

How many totes are full?

-At least three.
-[Marty] Okay.

So every tank on this property

is brimming over the top
with water.

-It is.
-So we have at least


right now.

But we both know
that a family of seven

is gonna draw that water down.

-Yup.
-[Marty]
And what's the forecast?

[Daniel]
We're gonna have rain and snow

in the next two to three days.

Okay.
So I'm not gonna be here,

but we're about to do
something

to catch even more water.

Look at the chair
you're sitting on.

That's a little present
for you.

This has potential
to catch as much water

as that metal roof down there.

Yeah. That is awesome.

That liner
is designed for ponds,

but we're gonna make it do

something a little bit
different.

It's gonna catch water,

but we're gonna transfer
that water

down to a focal point

and then we're gonna pipe it

into one of your containers.

-Oh, wow.
-[Marty] Yeah. So...

-That's awesome.
-[Marty] pop that open.

Here we go.

Ready?

One, two, three.

[upbeat music playing]

[Marty] Good job. All right.

Let's spread this thing out.

Pull on it. Pull.

Pull hard.

Every homestead
has challenges,

but I also have learned
that the solutions

lie right on the homestead.

The answer here
was under our feet.

We'll just lay a liner
on that steep ground,

funnel that water
into a catchment basin

and wait for it to rain.

And he will gather


One, two, three.

[grunting]

There we go. Grab that corner.

Okay, now let's work
our way down, sir.

All right. Good job. Good job.

You'll never know
what's on your property

until you become familiar

with your property.

Okay.

There you go.

-What do you think?
-It's awesome. [chuckles]

All right.
So this is 1,000 square feet.

Real simple math.

If it rains one inch out here,

this thing will collect


-[Daniel] Wow.
-[Marty] So that's two totes.

That's cool.
That's a lot of water.

-Lot of water.
-It is.

So if it rains
one inch right now we can get

almost 3,000 gallons of water.

-That's awesome.
-Or more.

You're a man now
that has some water.

-Yes. Thank you.
-Instead of a lack of water.

Right. [laughs]

Water out here is life.

So being able to catch
more water

off that liner
is huge for us.

We're at the place
where we can see our dream

coming into place
and see our legacy

building on the mountain.

So how many kids do you have?

-Five.
-Okay.

So you know as well as I do,

one dad's rain catchment

is another
five kids slippery slide.

Now let's go attach
a tank to it.

[Daniel] All right. [chuckles]

[upbeat music playing]

[rooster crows]

[Matt] That's right, buddy.

We're going on
a fantastic voyage.

I'm not building
a new chicken coop.

-I don't have any time.
-Mmm-hmm.

The best we can do
is move the chickens

up by the goats
as is with the skid steer.

Make them nice and comfortable
snuggled up to that goat barn.

Right now the chickens
are too far away, so

I want to move them
closer to the homestead

so they'll actually be safe.

But it'll make it easier
for anybody on the homestead,

even their little kids,

to come out in the morning,

collect some eggs,

and serve it up in the pan.

And guess what,

we're gonna move this
with all the birds inside.

-You ready?
-Okay. Yup.

Cool.

Moving the chicken coop

from where it is now,

closer to the homestead

is the safest thing
for those chickens

because predators
are gonna be less likely

to come out
right next to the house

and try to eat
those chickens.

Tell me if it looks like
it's gonna tip.

Okay.

Ah!

[Matt] Don't tip.

[Melissa] Oh, my God.
I don't like this.

[Matt] Going backwards now.

I've been so worried about
my daughter and her family

and now that the Raneys
have been here

and helped
with the situation,

I know that they're gonna
be able to be homesteaders.

Okay. Going down.

[Melissa] And my daughter's
not gonna be crying

because she can't do it
and she feels like a failure.

Nobody should feel
like a failure

and I'm feeling happy
as a mom.

[Matt] All right.
It looks good.

Looks really good.

We've moved the chicken coop
in one piece

and got it in
a really good spot.

Close to the house.

Now, all we gotta do
is fence in this area

next to the goats

and then all the livestock

is gonna be safe
and really productive.

We'll button the fence up

and we'll let
those chickens be free

-inside their new pen.
-Okay, good.

-I'm excited.
-[laughs] Me too.

[Misty] Okay.
What do you think?

-Wild week?
-Yeah.

And it's not snowing.

We're like in
the sun right now.

I think, kind of,
for the first time.

It was good to see
what the challenges were.

And just to really get a grasp

on what the homestead
throws at you at...

-On the daily basis, right?
-Yeah.

To maximize
the growing season,

you got the walipini,

and you have this amazing
outdoor garden space.

You got some under the trees,
so they have shade

from that afternoon sun
and this.

And then, you have some
full sun on the south side.

It's all covered.

It's all covered
down to water.

You have about 275 gallons

catching off of your roof,

feeding the inside
of the greenhouse.

And you have an automatic
wicking watering system.

It's pretty epic.

When you're a mom of five
and you can eliminate

-one chore, it matters, right?
-Yeah.

Your fence is high enough
to keep everything out,

deer, rabbits, doesn't matter.

And you have a safe place
for your kids

to help with all the chores
when it comes to gardening.

This is amazing.

It's bigger
than I had pictured

and it's so much room to grow

and create
our own little spaces

and have the kids be able
to be creative in this area.

So I'm very happy.

I'm very excited.

[narrator] One week ago,

Alyssa's unprotected,

malnourished garden

was destroyed by wildlife

and freezing winter
temperatures.

Now, an in-ground, walipini,

a protective fence,

and a brand new
watering system

will keep the large
Brennan family fed

all year round.

Does everybody have a plant?

[Alyssa] You have your plants?

-Does everybody have a plant?
-There you go.

You get to choose
where it goes.

It can go anywhere.

[Alyssa]
What Misty and I have created
with the greenhouse

and the garden area,

I know it will give me
the opportunity

to feel better as a mom

and to be more hands on.

I'm gonna plant another one.

That was always the plan

when we came up
to the homestead.

It makes me very happy

and very excited to see
what comes next.

[Misty] You're gonna have
a lot of food.

[upbeat music playing]

[Misty] This is the big push
to the finish.

Let's do it.

[narrator] With only hours

until the Raneys must leave

the Brennan homestead,

Marty brings in
a solar expert

to make a final
critical upgrade

to the family's
failing system.

Welcome, Rich.

-[Rich] Yeah.
-This is Daniel.

-Daniel, nice to meet you.
-[Daniel] Nice to meet you.

[Marty] So we were
very fortunate to find Rich.

His company's called
Tri-State...

-All right.
-[Marty] Solar and Wind.

And Daniel has been telling me

lack of power
is a different animal

-out here.
-[Rich] Yeah.

[Marty] That said,

I think we need to look at
the whole system.

-[Daniel] All right.
-Follow this guy.

So, Rich.

That's a mess.

That's a lot
of different stuff

that's not put in properly.

Nothing's talking to nothing.

The little panels,
I don't know

what the medium-sized panels
are doing.

The big panels, I don't know
what the other two are doing.

They need a much
bigger inverter

and a better battery bank.

[Marty]
What can we do for them, Rich?

Okay, so we got
some new batteries

that were donated,

so what we're gonna do
is change out

that inverter
to a 48 volt inverter

that will provide them
much more of demand power.

I like it.

[Daniel]
Figuring out the solar

will make our lives easier.

Having the power
is definitely gonna be

huge for us and the kids.

And we'll have more time
to spend at homesteading.

-Thank you.
-We'll get it fixed.

Well, let me get the boys
and we'll get on it.

[country music playing]

Now, this property
has proper solar power

because there's generous
people still out there.

Big day on this homestead.

[country music playing]

[Matt] Here we go.

Here we goat. [laughs]

That's a really good.

[narrator] Over at
the new livestock area...

Hold this thing for too long,
it's gonna eat my beard.

[narrator] Matt and Melissa

introduced the goats
to their new home.

[Matt]
All right, throw 'em in there.

[Melissa] Come on. Look.

Yeah, look.

Look at what you have.

[Matt] I wanna show you
something I've built

in the backside of this thing.

[Melissa] Okay.

[Matt] Come on.

-Oh, no.
-Lookie, lookie, lookie.

[laughs]

[Matt] This is the most
adventure they've ever had.

[Melissa]
Oh, look at her jump up there.

-Aw.
-[Matt] This is crazy.

It's like they just climbed
their first mountain.

[Melissa] Yeah, they did.

[Matt]
They're on top of goat mesa.

You could see these goats
on top of this mesa

-when you go out the porch.
-[Melissa] Aw.

They like it up there.
Look at them.

[Matt] Look at them go.

-Look at... Look, look.
-[Melissa] Oh, she...

Oh, did you see her gallop?

That was so cute...
Look at her.

[laughs]

Hi, sweetheart. Hi.

[narrator] One week ago,

the Brennan family's goats

were confined to a small pen

and spent nights
inside the house

and their chickens
were falling prey

to predators on the lower end
of the homestead.

Now, the goats
have a new barn

with a milking station.

The chickens
are in a reinforced coop

closer to the house,

and the homestead has safe,

productive livestock.

That milking station's
big enough

for, like,
a little mattress for me, so.

Oh, you're gonna...
You're gonna be sleeping
in here?

I might come out here
and see them at night,

you know,
stay for a little while.

Take a nap.

[laughs]

[Matt] All right.
Should we let these birds out?

[Melissa] Yeah.

Pull the string.

Okay.

Where are you? Come on.

Come on.

The chickens
have their own pen.

The goats have their pen
on the other side.

It's easy to collect the eggs.

And it's gonna be the easiest

to manage all this livestock

in a nice central location

on the same elevation
as that house.

Yup. I like it.

It's much safer,
much better for the kids,

better for the livestock
so we can watch them.

I'm happy that we decided

to put the chickens
closer to the house.

We won't have to worry
about predators coming up.

We can see them
and have a good view on them.

So I'm so happy
all the chickens
came out happy.

We did eggs-actly
what was needed

to make these chickens happy

and so that
they can be cared for

-as easy as possible.
-Yup.

[rooster crows]

[country music playing]

Well, you bought
a piece of property.

It had a 3,000 gallon tank.

You've never seen it full.

It was up at
the top of the hill there

and there was no means
to fill it

other than mechanical,

-physically by hand, right?
-Yes.

So here you go.

It's completely full.

It's hard-piped into a
pretty cool catchment system,

that roof right there.

Do you know
how many square feet

-is on that roof?
-[Daniel] I do not.

[Marty] So it's almost 1,000.

So rained a little bit,

snowed a little bit.

And we captured,
what do you think, 600?

-At least.
-At least.

The geothermal

-waterline's buried right?
-It is.

The water will never
ever freeze again

because this earth

is basically
a thermal battery.

That earth
is probably 50 degrees,

and out here it's 32 degrees

-ready to snow, right?
-Yup.

So you've got


We have a pond liner up here.

So if it rains,

it doubles
your water catchment.

I think
you're in a better place

-than you were a week ago.
-[Daniel] Oh, yeah,

for sure.
Day and night difference.

[narrator] Seven days ago,

the Brennans had to haul
potable water

onto their homestead

and their catchment system

was ill-equipped
to capture rain,

forcing the family
to severely ration water

when winter storms
made the roads undrivable.

Now, they have thousands
of gallons of drinking water

and a fully
functioning catchment system

that ensures
year-round hydration.

[Marty] Okay,
so when it comes to power,

when we met you,
you had a 24 volt system.

-Now you got a 48 volt.
-Yes.

It's really nice
to have good clean power.

-We're set. Yeah.
-You're set. Yeah.

You've never had
that kind of power have you?

No.
It changed our lives really.

[Marty] That means a lot.

I mean,
the future's bright, right?

-It is.
-Okay. Let me find my kids.

We gotta go.
Where's your wife?

Uh, inside.

Would you get her, please,
and meet me at the truck?

Will do. Thank you.

[country music playing]

[Marty] I have to say that
was a very interesting, week.

You guys have
a beautiful family.

You got a great mom

and you have a beautiful
piece of property.

And my gosh,
look at this view.

This was a hard homestead

because there are
so many mouths to feed.

You have such
a beautiful family.

You have the perfect children,

and you're very deserving.

And I wanted to convince you

that that initial reason

of why you moved out here
is possible.

It's doable.
It's hard to say goodbye,

but I'm like, I'm so happy

that, um,
you're in this place.

It's amazing
of how much work was done

and all the things that
I can do now

that I couldn't do a week ago.

It makes it 10 times easier,



raise our kids here,

see our grandkids
come here and so on.

Melissa, do you think
you have some skills

that you could take away
from this whole experience

-and help out?
-Definitely do. Definitely do.

And if they wanna expand
or something,

I can... I can help.

[Matt] Awesome.

[Misty]
There's work to do for sure.

There's a lot more.

Please come back next weekend.

I mean, everything
that you guys have done,

really,
it's changed our lives,

-um, for the better.
-[Alyssa] Mmm-hmm.

[Melissa] Oh.

[somber music playing]

[Marty] It's okay, buddy.

We appreciate that.

Don't think for a second
that I didn't see myself

on this homestead.

We've always lived
in the mountains,

and it's hard
to live in the mountains,

but we were all in
when it came to parenthood

and that's who you guys are.

And it's amazing.

Ever since we've met
these homesteaders,

all we've heard is bad news.

How terrible the winter was,

how they were stranded
without water.

And they basically said

they won't be here
next winter,

unless things change.

Something happened this week.

They're gonna enjoy
this mountain,

they're gonna enjoy
this view.

You can see 180 miles
this direction.

But most importantly,

they're gonna see
what they truly have,

I think, and they realize

how rich they really are.

[dramatic music playing]