07x02 - Cold Hard Lockdown

[bunniefuu]

♪♪

We don't know, like,
about you guys,

But the quarantine hair
is like [ laughs ]

The quarantine hair...
This is actually, like,

My hair looks amazing right now.

I usually look like...

Mine looks really good, like.

Oh, my gosh.

I hope you guys
look better than we do.

Actually, I hope you look
exactly like us.

Man: All right. Here we go.

It's not as easy as it looks.

Okay. This is my cellphone.
[ laughs ]

Homestead is where the heart is.

We're on the forty.

What's a quarantine
on a homestead?

We've been on
our 40-acre homestead

In hatcher pass, alaska.

Okay. Social distance.

I'm out here
in the middle of nowhere.

I don't see anybody anyways.

[ whistles ]

Narrator: The freedom of a
self-sufficient lifestyle

Has never been more valuable
than today,

But only if you put in the work.

[ screams ]

That's it. Mollee: Oh, yeah.

That's it. Oh, my gosh.

Narrator:
Now, for the first time ever,

The raneys open
up their homestead...

We're documenting everything
ourselves.

Narrator: ...For an exclusive
self-shot glimpse

At their way of life...

Watch out.

...In the remote
alaskan wilderness.

Look at the size
of these tracks.

We are taking full advantage
of this quarantine.

[ rubble crumbles ] look out!

Narrator: As they push forward
on their own dream,

We reflect on some of
the biggest challenges

They faced keeping other
homesteaders' hopes alive.

Now it's officially a homestead.

Plus, the raneys check in
with some of the families

That have taken
their lessons and thrive.

Misty: How is it going?

Trust me, you have done so much
getting us moving forward.

I got to get back to it.

I got to go back to work.

Bye.

♪♪

Stay tuned.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: It's midday
on the raney homestead

And temperatures hover
near zero.

As the country enters
another week of lockdown,

Marty raney faces
a new crisis of his own

On his 40-acre property...

Lack of water.

Back in the day, one black hose
went down to that spring.

You push a switch
inside the cabin,

Kicks on the well, fill up


But we had one of the coolest
winters on record,

Meaning that 700-foot line's
frozen somewhere.

You know, the water line's
right over there.

If we can dig it up,
get it on top of the snow,

The hot sun
will heat the black line,

And maybe we can get water.

Narrator:
The cabin's water system

Was constructed two winters ago

When the raney clan was
beginning to stake its claim

On the 40.

It's the enemy...
Some cold weather.

Narrator:
Seeking a reliable water source,

Marty called in misty
and her husband, maciah.

Misty: I'm thinking of burying
a container with holes in it,

Putting a pump in it.

My end goal is
to stop hauling water.

Misty's plan to trap
the natural water flow

By immersing a barrel
in the mud hole,

Then they'll install
an electric pump

That will force the water


To an arctic entry
and insulated cabin extension.

Okay. So, we have
the 55-gallon drum.

We're gonna drill
some holes in it

So that allows it to fill up.

Maciah: Yup. [ thud ]

Okay. Drop in
the electric submersible pump.

All right. We're there.

Narrator: First step, the barrel
is submerged into the spring,



♪♪

Next, they'll connect the pump
to a generator.

Should we test this thing?

[ generator starts ]

Okay.

[cheering ]

Maciah: 5 gallons
in 20 seconds. Not bad.

That's 15 gallons a minute.

Right now, my biggest concern
is we have to pump it

Up the side of this mountain.

So we're gonna lose volume
and pressure to fill the tanks

Up top at the cabin.

Let's flip this thing on
and see where we're at.

Narrator: Once the 700-foot hose
is connected,

Misty's water system
can pump 15 gallons a minute

Up to the cabin.

Here it comes. Boom.
We got water.

[ cheering ]

Yeah.

You're now officially done
hauling water.

Woman: Oh, my goodness.

Narrator:
But now, two years later,

The brutal winter
has brought that system

To an ice-cold stop.

Marty: What's going on?

We're burning daylight,
and it's really sunny.

And if we don't dig up the line,
it won't unthaw.

You have it dug up
from here to the cabin up there?

I do. Is it totally exposed?

Yep.

You did all that
by yourself up there?

Yep.

Mollee set
the consummate example

For everything...

Work, energy, good attitude,
ethics, morality, all of it.

You're always working.

Well, everybody works,
it's not just me.

Marty: She's the kind of
the center of the universe

Of this family.

A man works from sun to sun,
mollee's work is never done.

Marty: That's about 250 feet,
and we've got...

Mollee: I go to 300.

Another 500 to go I bet.

We should be able to get it.

Only 500 feet
of ice chipping. Cool.

At least 5 feet of snow,
maybe 6, actually fell here,

And then we drove all over it
with snow machines

So this is kind of
on our main path into the cabin.

That said, you know, you drive
on that snow, you compact it,

You condense it,
it freezes, and it becomes ice.

But now that
we're addressing it,

We'll dig a trench,
we'll bury this underground,

We'll insulate it,

And we'll never have
to do this again, hopefully.

♪♪

And the reason
it's not buried now

Is because a 700-foot trench,


Is a daunting task.

♪♪

Narrator:


Matt and his wife, katie,
and son, indy,

Shelter in place
on the big island of hawaii.

Katie's family cacao plantation

Sits on a region with 130 inches
of annual rainfall,

Which brings water problems

Of a completely different kind.

Katie: In alaska, we have to
wait all year for summertime

To plant our vegetables,

And then we have
a really limited time

To be able to grow our own food,

But here in hawaii,
the rainy season can last

For months.

You can't plant things
that are delicate,

Like lettuce or herbs outside.

They all have to be
in the greenhouse,

Because the rain will k*ll them.

Good job potting. [indistinct]

Narrator:
Greenhouses are essential

In protecting vital crops
from severe hawaiian weather.

Two years ago, the raneys
responded to a call in oregon,

Where the kondash homestead
was also in dire need

Of a greenhouse to protect
against extreme weather changes.

April: I wasn't prepared
for this type of climate.

It was June, 80 degrees,
and the next day it snowed.

And I had all my plants
were about this high,

And then they wiped it out.

Narrator: April struggles
to grow any crops,

And their growing season
is over in just six weeks.

Misty: If you're on the top
of a mountain,

You're gonna see
some cold temps.

And what I'm thinking is
you might be standing [chuckles]

In your new subterranean
underground garden.

So I'm thinking go down
into the earth,

Steal the warmth
from the actual earth,

And that temperature,
it stays the same year-round.

Narrator: Misty's borrowing
a method invented by farmers

In the south american andes.

The walls will be retained
by dry stacking boulders

And juniper logs.

And raised beds will push
the plants closer to the light.

Finally, the entire garden
will be covered

With a durable plastic roof
for maximum sunlight,

Extending the growing season

And saving the kondashes
thousands.

Next step,
matt carefully selects rocks

That fit together
and self-support,

Filling the gaps
behind with soil.

Misty: Look at all of the light
that's reflecting.

Then, April paints
the garden's rocks

For heat retention.

Black absorbs heat.
Take those high temperatures,

Charge these black rocks all day
long, and release that warmth.

Release that energy back
into the garden all night long.

Okay. The roof's on.

In the beginning,

You were wondering
what was going on.

April: Now I see.

Now it makes sense, right? Yeah.

It's gonna help a lot.

Not only are they gonna
survive this next winter,

But they're gonna
survive 30 winters.

I'm thrilled that you guys
come out and do this for people,

And I'm thrilled
I was one of them. [ laughs ]

♪♪

Narrator:
Now in hawaii, matt and katie

Must contend with a different
type of extreme weather.

Katie: Weather in hawaii
plays a huge part

In being able to grow food
and plants successfully here.

If the weather doesn't
cooperate, you can't grow.

Hawaii has a couple
of different seasons.

We have the rainy season.

The rainy season
can last for months.

This is a rainforest.

It rains like no place
I've ever seen,

And it's crazy how fast
these plants grow.

And you have to constantly beat
that jungle down before it grows

And just chokes out
all of the plants.

Misty: I've been here
when it rained every day

For 30 days straight.

So weather can be
a big challenge here in hawaii.

♪♪

Narrator:
Back on the 40, marty and mollee

Chip away
at the frozen water line

That has shut down the cabin's
fresh water supply.

Okay. We pull up
this ice section.

Mollee: All right.

All right. Let's move on down.

I thought I hit it
with the pick.

♪♪

I did. I hit it with the pick.

I don't know
if I put a hole in it.

Okay. So you want to mark it
with a stick?

Well, sh**t.

I don't think it's a hole,

But it definitely
is restricting the flow.

Let's go.

[ ice pick scraping ]

We got ice again.

Not good. Yeah.

Watch yourself.

I have an obstacle...

[ laughter ]

...A dog.

Come on.

[ laughs ]

She's helping.

Got earn your keep around here.

♪♪

Honey, you're almost there.

Mollee, listen. Whew.

Listen.

[ ice crunches ]

Ice. Oh, no.

Ice is gonna melt
with a black pipe

In the hottest day
of the year today.

We'll let it thaw
for a little while

And then we'll disconnect it.

And you'll see it,
the little tubes of frozen ice

Will come sliding out.

I don't know what should we do?

Let it soak this weekend
and then give it a shot?

I say at the end of the day,

Disconnect all
your little connectors,

And that way you can let the ice
come out and you suction.

Yeah, but it definitely
needs to thaw.

Okay. Let's keep going.

♪♪

Narrator: Coming up...

Our water system froze up.

Now we're hauling that water.

- Oh, no.
- No.

Mollee: Oh, no.

[ bird cries ]

♪♪

Narrator: Master homesteader
marty raney and his family

Are quarantined
on their 40-acre homestead

Where a frozen water line
has cut off critical access

To water.

With the hose
exposed to the sun,

He hopes the ice will melt,

But with 100 gallons of water
needed per day,

He and his wife, mollee,
are forced to improvise.

The best plan we could come up
with is just 55-gallon barrels,

Brand-new.

Keep it all clean,

Pump it directly down
into spring, which you'll see,

And then haul it up here
and then pump it into the cabin.

The bad news is we
don't know actually

If this is gonna work,
because the trail's soft,

And this is a lot of weight.


times 8 pounds per gallon,

So that's 880 gallon...


Mollee, let's ride.

♪♪

[ owl hoots ]

♪♪

Narrator: In hawaii, matt
and wife, katie,

Assess the next task on
her father's cacao plantation.

The goal, to ensure his legacy
keeps going strong.

My father started
this homestead.

He planted everything
that's on this property.

This was the dream of his.

My dad was the one that was
doing all of the work

By himself, pretty much.

But my dad had to step down
because of his health.

And so now myself, my brother,
and matt are all stepping up.

Narrator: Cacao beans are
harvested and processed for use

As the main ingredient
in chocolate.

Since the plant thrives
in tropical climates,

Cacao farming is
an up-and-coming industry

In hawaii,

Where locally produced chocolate
sells for as much as

$40 per pound.

Maintaining this cacao
plantation is a full-time job.

Helping get the greenhouse going
and producing more vegetables,

Now there's gonna be
more people living out here.

There's another thing
that me and katie

Have really taken care
to be a part of.

We got cucumbers. Boom.

We got a pineapple. Pretty cool.

Ouch. These things
are real pokey. [ chuckles ]

One thing's for sure, you know,
we got a lot of herbs,

But we need to plant
a lot more edible food.

You know, we need lots of
leafy greens, a lot more beans.

Filling up this greenhouse
and having it produce

A lot more than it is
is definitely a goal

While I'm here.

Whoa.

[ motor whirring ]

Narrator: Back on the 40...

Marty: We're trying to get water
from our spring.

Come on. Let's go.

All right. So, we can see that,

I mean, this is kind of
terrible runoff water

That's coming from miles away,

And it's picking up beaver poop,
moose poop, grizzly poop,

Wolverine poop, fox poop,
coyote poop, lynx poop,

Raven poop,
eagle poop, bunny poop.

Wrong. Moose poop, dog poop.

There's two moose
up there pooping.

I'm just saying,
would you drink that water?

No. But our spring right over
there is crystal clear.

Marty: Can you see that, ciah,
how clean that is?

Maciah: Oh, yeah. Crystal.

So, this has zero contamination
from melting,

I mean, you can see it's,
you know, coming right out

Of the mountain.

And, yes, that bank melted,

But overall, we really have
trusted for years now

This source
as a drinking source.

♪♪

This is terrible.

I never, ever dreamed
we'd be doing this.

I don't like it.
It's not very sanitary.

Keep the end of this
really clean.

Yeah.

Look. This is a brand-new glove.

Take this glove
and wipe the end of that.

Here.

♪♪

You only need a foot
of that clean,

Just to go on top
of the barrel, all right?

Yeah. Okay. Thank you.

Marty: It's a chore that I would
have loved to have eradicated

From the list of things to do,
but you do what you have to do.

Why? Because cleanliness
is next to godliness,

So someone said.

You know, it's half full,

And it's amazing that
you can see the difference.

It's like this crystal-blue,
clean water,

And then you go to the creek

Where it's runoff,
that snow melt.

But just so you know,
if I had to, I'd bathe in that.

But think...

I wouldn't.

I know. I'm kidding.

Thank god, literally,
for that spring.

Yeah, that spring's amazing,
and it never, ever freezes,

Ever. Look how clear it is.

All in a well.

We've been working so hard
for other people, frankly,

And trying to develop
this property,

We've never had the time
to pan for gold in the spring.

What do you think?

What are the chances that
there's gold nuggets

As big as horse turds
in this creek?

Hey, I got the fever.

I got the fever.

♪♪

Narrator: Marty's gold fever
comes with good reason.

Last year, the raneys
had an opportunity

To strike paydirt downstream
on the same river

That feeds the raney homestead.

On a rescue
of the tubb's property

In nearby fishhook, alaska,

Matt saw a potential gold mine
on its riverbanks.

Let me ask you this question.

I'm looking at the topography
of this river,

And it looks perfect for gold.


the tub's homestead

Is the world-famous
independence mine.

In half a century of operation,

It produced


Worth an estimated $210 million
at today's prices.

For kevin, finding gold on
this river bank could be huge.

Nobody I know, not the previous
owners or the neighbors work

The channel were the logical,
concentrated gold would be

If there was any.

It makes you wonder.

Yes, let's do it. [ coughs ]

Let's find out. Fair enough.

♪♪

Narrator: Matt constructs
an old-school gold sluice

Using repurposed materials
found on the homestead.

Matt: Totally perfect.
I've found a wheelbarrow.

I got some old rebar,
a grate from the kitchen,

And I'm gonna get that
all together and build something

That can really sift through
thousands of pounds of material

An hour.

We'll run some water
through here.

Hopefully, we'll strike gold.

All right. Coming in.

♪♪

Now, that looks good to me
right there.

Narrator: A sluice box works
by washing out the light rocks

And dirt and collecting
the heavies, like gold.

This leaves a sludge
of black sand,

Which is then panned.

Matt: I'm starting to see it,
starting to see a lot more gold.

I'm really confident
that we build something

That's super cool that you can
use for many years to come.

I say we run a couple more loads

Before we got to go
do anything else,

What do you think?
It's a great idea.

Narrator: For marty, for now,

Water is more valuable
than gold.

Now, the big question is

Are we gonna be able to haul



Do you want to do one water?

Do it with one water
and then come back around?

Split... I think we should.

Why do two when
you're gonna get stuck?

I'm gonna do two
against your better judgment.

It's full.

Whoo-hoo.

Let's see if we can
make it back to the cabin.

The point.

Can you steady me
around that corner,

Just walk alongside?

And if we start to lose it,
just scream, and we'll stop

And try to right it. Okay.

All right. Let's try.

♪♪

- Oh, no.
- No.

Mollee: Oh, no.

♪♪

Narrator: On the raney homestead
at hatcher pass...

All right. Let's see
if we can make it.

Narrator: The raneys are
fighting an uphill battle

In their quest to bring water
back into their cabin.

♪♪

[ thud ]

- Oh, no.
- No.

Mollee: Oh, no.

Oh.

♪♪

Maciah: What happened, gauge?

Gauge: When they went
around that corner,

If you come up close,
there's, like, a little slant,

And it just went off the slant.

Right here.

So, what I don't like about
this kind of stuff,

You start off all pristine, and
there's zero contamination,

Now...

It's good.

You ripped if off with the hose.

Whatever. I just don't like it.

Just doing what you have to do
so the wife can have water.

And when your grandkid
comes over

And wants to take a nice bath,
you got to have water for it.

Mollee: [ laughs ]

Let's start all over.
Let's try it again.

Let's go. [ engine revs ]

♪♪


and now we'll try it again.

[ sighs ]

Doesn't do any good to yell
or cuss or kick a barrel

Or do a double backflip,

You still got to get water
from here up there,



These warmer temperatures
started like in the last day

Or two and warmed all this snow,

Made the trail, the snow rot.

So now when you got two


When you go around a corner,

The sled sinks into
the rotten snow.

Everything falls out.
You start all over.

That's my excuse, anyway.

Narrator: Two years ago,
marty experienced a homestead

With an even worse
water hauling crisis.

The rains property in kentucky
sits on poisoned ground,

And the family's
only clean water source

Is at the top of a mountain.

Each year, jeremy rains spends
thousands of hours

Collecting water
from a spring miles away.

Marty: This is a long ways
from your homestead.

Yeah, I come back down here
and siphon it from here.

This is totally crazy.

We've been out here three hours,

And we're gonna go
back to the homestead

With one gallon of water.

Let's go.

Narrator:
To solve the water crisis,

Marty and a small drill team

Get to work on digging a well
in the family's backyard.

Yeah, baby.

Man: We've got water.

♪♪

Narrator:
After six days of drilling,

The situation looks bleak.

Let's see what happens.
Don't get discouraged yet.

That's the worst thing
we can do is to get discouraged.

♪♪

Marty:
Now I'm starting to worry.

Water is life,
without it it's dire.

Honestly, I just I don't know
what to tell these homeowners,

You know.

It looks like
we have a dry hole.

♪♪

Oh, we've got water
look at that.

Narrator: Then at 400 feet,

The drill team pushes through
the coal seam

To reach a reservoir
of uncontaminated water

With only minutes to spare.

Water. There's water.

Yeah, baby. Cha-ching, baby.

Marty: The lesson here
is never give up.

No matter what you're doing,

Never throw in the towel.

♪♪

Marty: The difference between
those two homesteads,

The rains and the raineys,
is they have a road

To their homestead,

And that gives them the option

To call up
a well drilling company,

Have them drive out
and drill a well.

The raney homestead
does not have that.

And that's not
in the plan, ever.

It's not in the plan.

This time, we're gonna
go half and half,

And if we make it,

That's good,

And if we don't make it,
I'll just wait

Until early in the morning,

And maybe the colder temperature

Will make the trail harder.

And that's the issue, right?

And don't get me wet, thanks.

We got to get rolling,
the sun's going down.

Okay.

[ engine revs ]

♪♪

And a right here.

♪♪

Marty: Whoo! [ shouting ]

♪♪

So, we have an electric pump
that will transfer water

From the barrels
into the holding tank.

So, this is the line that goes
into the water.

♪♪

We'll put the pump on here...

Ohh. Yeah.

...And then we'll pump the water
from the barrel, this line...

Show them where it goes, honey.

It goes into the tank.

Okay. All right.

So, the chamber is full
of water.

So once it starts spinning,
it can allow this water

To be pulled up and pump,
and you'll hear the load on.

[ machine whirs ]

And in that corner
is a holding tank,



So 110 gallons at a time,
three trips, the tank's full,

The 300-gallon storage tank
at the cabin's full.

And then, you know,
to try to conserve water,

Because you don't want
to pack water,

You know, three times a week.

[ machine whirs ]

Mollee: We did it.

Oh, I know, honey.

We have to figure
out another system.

It's one thing
to find water on your property,

But if that stream or creek
or spring freezes

In the winter,
you don't have water.

♪♪

Narrator: Coming up...

Look! Look.

Oh, my god. Look.

Mollee: There's the spring.

And boom, all the water
she could ever want.

There's the line,
and water's coming out.

Look how clear it is.
Look, look, look, look.

Oh, yeah. That's it. That's it.

♪♪

Okay. I have a viewer question.

This one is...
How can I make my food last

As long as possible?

We really do a lot of canning.

We do some smoking.

Man, look at that.

But sometimes we catch
a ton of fish, you know,


a sheep, a caribou,

And the meat starts to add up.

So one of my favorite techniques
that we do as a family

Is to vacuum seal it.

That's what we do,
is we get these vacuum sealer.

You can pretty much get this
at any store.

We get the vacuum sealer bags.

It's a super easy,
user-friendly process

That allows you to vacuum seal
your fish and your meat,

And it lasts for a year or two.

I feel extremely blessed to be
on this homestead.

We're just reliant on ourselves
so the freezers full,

We have shelter,
and water, and family,

And we just have the basics
kind of covered.

That's still pink,
it's not freezer burned.

We got some moose wieners.
Same thing.

If power is an issue
with where you live,

Freezers come in propane.

I recommend vacuum sealing
and getting a big freezer.

♪♪

Narrator:
Thousands of miles away

On the big island of hawaii...

This is my favorite
part of the day.

Katie teaches matt a lesson
in plantation cultivation.

Katie: Here we have
a vanilla orchid vine,

And these are the beginnings
of the vanilla orchid buds,

And then further up
in the canopy,

We have our open
vanilla orchids.

♪♪

Matt: You kind of
already said it, just...

I'm gonna pollinate.

No, this is the process
of pollinating it.

Okay.

Because vanilla
is not native to hawaii,

There are no pollinators
to pollinate it here,

So we have to do it ourselves
with our handy-dandy toothpick.

Each flower is only open
for one day

And not even the whole day.

So you only have a couple hours
to pollinate each flower.

So what you do
is you take the toothpick,

And there's a flap
that's covering the female part

And you lift that up

And then you take the male part,
which has the pollen...

That's the male part
of the flower...

And you fold it down
to touch the other part

And put the pollen on there
and then it will be pollinated.

My dad grew pretty much
all of these

The vanilla vines from seeds.

It's handed down
from generation to generation,

And hopefully someday we will
still have this property.

It will still be well-maintained

And that we can pass it on
to our son.

♪♪

Narrator: Back on the 40,
marty and misty

Bring matt up to speed

On the homestead's
recent challenges.

Marty: Can you see us?

Yeah, I can see both of you.

Hey. Hi, matt.

You guys are missing
one of your key members.

It's me.

Have you seen any


Over there in hawaii lately?

Hmm. No.

This has been the
coldest winter in a long time.

We affectionately call
the cabin and the yurt

The ice box canyon.

That said, our water froze.

So we've been packing water.

Yeah, that sounds really brutal.

Weeks went by
without one ray of sun

Touching the cabin.

Zero chance
to generate electricity

Through solar power.

So what does that mean?

Lots of gas for a generator,

And that is not the way
that I want to homestead.

Hey, I'm sad.

I can't believe that you guys
have been roughing it

That hard in the cold.

I mean, it's got
to be pretty brutal.

The homestead
has been neglected.

The water issue,
the gardening and animals,

And just everything as a whole,

There's a lot of meat.

And you might be here
through the spring

And part of the summer,

We possibly are gonna be
on our property.

Being self-sufficient,
self-sustaining, self-reliant,

And, frankly, self-preserving
on that 40 acres is paramount,

And it's the only thing
on my mind right now.

I'm all on board.
I'm all for it.

So let's just get it started.

All right. Signing off.

We'll see you guys.

I'll let you know
when I got a plane ticket.

Bye-bye.

All right. Okay. Bye.

Say hello to katie and indy.

[ chuckles ] all right.
I'll give them a squeeze.

[ birds chirp ]

[ owl hoots ]

Narrator: With the water lines
still frozen

And hauling water unsustainable,

Marty must seek a new source,

And wife, mollee, may have
come up with a solution.

Late in the fall right here,

I hit a spring, so I put
a 4-inch pipe in the ground,

I insulated it, and I thought,

"whatever, I'll get
clean mountain water

Anywhere
I can, any chance I can."

Well, it froze.

Mollee said,
"let's go see if that spring

Is thawed out up
on the mountain."

I thought I'll humor her.

This homestead
is surrounded by water.

All these mountains
have springs.

They're just coming out
of the side of the mountain.

I'm trying to find out
where my pipe is.

And we're trying to take
that pristine, clear water

And drink it and use it.

There's the line,
and water's coming out.

Look how clear it is.
Look, look, look, look.

Oh, yeah. That's it. That's it.

Look.

Look.

Oh, my gosh.

It may have ran all winter.

It may have ran all winter.

Plant our veggies.

So, we're gonna plant
some vegetables today.

We're gonna do our tomatoes,
celery, and beans.

Okay.

Matt: Green beans.

[indistinct]

Green bean.

Plant it.

You know, these are his first
seeds that indy has planted.

Should we do celery next?

And we can teach him
how to grow a lot of stuff

On this property.

Give it a good pat.

Yeah, good job.

No, no, no.

No.

[ laughs ]

♪♪

I am soaked.

There are dangers
to gardening with the baby.

Katie: [ roaring ]

I got.

You got me.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator:
In hatcher pass, alaska,

The raneys quarantine at
the end of a long, cold winter.

Freezing temperatures
have cut off their water supply,

Forcing the family
to haul barrels back and forth

From a nearby stream
to their cabin.

But now they may have found
a nearby source.

Mollee: Everything else froze,
but not this little spring.

Look at that beautiful water.

Oh, my gosh.

That is awesome.

Oh, my gosh. I'm so glad.

I'm so glad. This is...

Look how clean that is.

This was your idea to see
if this thing was working.

I'm impressed. Thank you.

Well, I wonder
we should have checked it

A lot sooner than that.

We were fortunate enough
to find a spring

That never froze,
even when the temperatures

Dipped to 30-below-zero.

That would fill our tank
in maybe an hour,

And look at the direction,
it's all downhill.

Cabin is right over there.

This is higher than the cabin,
it'll gravity feed our tank.

Now we've have that water line

From there to the 300-gallon
storage tank.

And boom, all the water
she could ever want.

Honey, I'm impressed.

Mollee: [ laughs ]

♪♪

Narrator:
A successful homesteader

Takes action
when faced with tough decisions

To preserve
the viability of their land.

Over the past four years,

The raineys have rescued
dozens of homesteads

On the brink of disaster.

But the global pandemic
has proven one thing...

That a self-sufficient lifestyle
is more valuable now

Than ever before.

Now the raney's check in
with homesteaders

To see how they've thrived

Since their rescue
and throughout the crisis.

♪♪

No rescue required
more big decisions

Than the randles' louisiana
homestead last year.

The family's property
was pummeled

By life-threatening tornadoes,
besieged by torrential flooding,

And was in desperate need
of some raney ingenuity.

Marty:
You live in tornado country,

We have to have a foundation
that's louisiana-proof

For this new home of yours.

We did it.

That will be there forever.

We need something in case
the big one comes.

Mr. Marty raney says,
"do you want a storm shelter?"

It kind of blew me back,

'cause, oh, yeah,
that's another level of safety.

Yeah, let's do that.

I just want to tank you.

[ laughs ]

Woman: Look what the lord did,
he brought a host of angels.

I'm so thankful. [ sniffles ]

♪♪

Narrator: Now the raneys
check in to get an update.

♪♪

All: Hey!

Misty: How is it going?

It's groovy.

It's great.

Wonderful.

Are you guys
staying really safe?

We feel pretty safe.

It's just the whole pandemic
and everything happening,

We have to try to reorganize
what we're doing

Moving forward.

Everything happened
in the nick of time

When you guys came.

Shortly after that,

We had tornadoes
that touched down nearby,

But we didn't have to go
into the shelters, thankfully.

Was it a good feeling
to know that it was there

In case the storm got closer?

Yes, positive.

So, the tornadoes happened
how long after we left there?

Maybe about two
or three months afterwards.

Crazy.

You know what?

You remember when
we were doing the foundation,

And a couple people there
suggested,

"hey, you can just
put this on blocks,"

And you and I were
kind of like...

[ laughter ]

Well, let's talk about things
that you've done

That you accomplished
so far since we left.

We started working
on our solars,

So we got a solar generator.

Putting up more
fencing and lights.

Ray built some
raised garden beds,

And we have, you know,
some vegetables

And things like that
that we've been growing.

We've been working
on an orchard.

Let's talk a rice paddy.

The rice grew so well.

We needed a rice huller

In order to, you know,
get the rice out of the shell.

So that's something
that we didn't know about.

That's what's so cool, you guys.

You guys have been busy.

The progress has not stopped.

All right, faith,

I need to ask...

[ chuckles ]

...Are you walking
around your property

With your head held high?

Yes.

You know, we had the whole
issue with the boar.

And I know everybody wants to
know have I caught a boar yet.

No, I have not. [ laughs ]

But we have had
to deal with snakes,

And normally I would be "ew,"

But perhaps a new level
of confidence, you know,

So I'm I'm very pleased to just
kind of take that on head on.

But, hey, I worked that
machete, I tell you that.

[ laughter ]

So you went you went
from firearm to machete.

So you're full-on predator mode.

- Right.
- Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Are you feeling like you're
on the right track

And the dream's still alive
and happening?

Oh, definitely.

Families like yours
are the reason I do it.

Amen. Thank you, sir.
We appreciate you.

What I've taken away from this

Is that the randles
have it handled.

[ laughter ]

I like it.

The randles' got it handled.

Keep up the good work
and keep us posted, hey?

Yes, sir. Tanks.

[ laughs ] tank you.

Thank you.

[ laughter ]

Misty: Bye.

All: Bye.

Narrator: Next time...

Look at my trusty,
little assistant.

He just turned 9 like
a couple days ago.

[indistinct]

Whoo!

Quarantine raney style.
[ chuckles ]

Matt: What are you guys
carrying? What kind of cargo?