07x05 - Rugged Road Home

[bunniefuu]

Hey, what kind of an idiot
would buy 40 acres...

But you could only
access half of it?

Boom. Up there is inaccessible.

Why? Take a look.

We've dubbed these
the cliffs of insanity.

[ man screaming ]

Man: Alright, 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 40.

What's a quarantine
on a homestead?

We've been on our


In hatcher pass, alaska.

Okay, social distance.

I'm out here
in the middle of nowhere.

I don't see anybody anyways.

Narrator:
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.

Look out!

Narrator: As they push forward
on their own dream,

We reflect on some of
the biggest challenges

They've 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 thrived.

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.

[ devices beeping ]

Stay tuned.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator:
The raneys' 40-acre property

Is in the midst of a thaw

After the worst winter
the family has ever seen.

And now when spring chores
on the raney homestead

Should normally begin,

Marty has a revelation
that will change everything.

[ bird screeches ]

Marty:
When we started out, we wanted
to be as close to the mountains

As we could get and as far away
as we could be from the road.

So the cabin was built there

Because we did
everything by hand.

And without an excavator,

It didn't make sense
to go any further.

We've been in this cabin
for two winters and realized

That this isn't
the best place to be.

The sun light
never reaches this cabin

Month after month.

We call it affectionately
the ice box canyon.

What we've decided to do
is to say goodbye

To the ice box canyon

And move to the top
of the cliffs of insanity.

♪♪

Narrator: The project would mean
rebuilding in just six weeks

Before the raneys resume
their rescues in the lower 48.

It would become
the most ambitious project

Marty has ever undertaken.

Instead of resting
on our laurels and saying,

"well, this is fine,"
and settling for second best,

We have to take full advantage

Of what this 40 acres offers.

And it offers a pretty serious,
sun-filled future up there.

♪♪

As I crest the top
of the road here,

You can just see
how much sun is up here.

♪♪

Right?

Look how beautiful it is,
and how flat.

I actually can't wait
until we're on top

And I can actually see
the benefits of all that sun...

For solar power, passive heat
coming through the windows,

Even during wintertime.

And every night a breeze.

Every night a breeze.

Wind power.

You may not believe this or not,
but that's the ocean.

Right there,
that line out there.

This place is the mother lode.

This 40 acres
is a hard piece of ground,

It's a hard 40 acres.

It's a hard homestead.

And if you look
right through there,

You can see our tram.

It all started right there.

There's just been one challenge
after another.

Narrator: When the raneys
first moved onto the 40,

The little susitna river

Was a seemingly
impossible obstacle

In the way of their dream.

Marty: What I'm thinking about
is a cable crossing.

You're going to have a wire
that goes across.

Yep, just tree to tree

And designed to carry
at least two people

And a bunch of gear.

The first thing
that's going across there is me.

And I'll head all the way
to that tree is my plan.

From this point,
I can kind of see

A little bit better
where to cross.

I can see water
going into your wader.

Sorry, buddy. I'm trying
to get across the river.

[ marty grunting, shouting ]

Hey! Aah! Damn it. Aah!

You got it! You're almost there!

[ sighs ]

[ laughs ]

Whoo-ha!

Mwah!

Narrator: First step...

Marty fastens a cable
around the tree on the far bank.

Then he tensions the cable
that will support the tram.

♪♪

Marty: Matt, I got an idea.

Let's just pull a bunch of it
out right now

And hook it onto the truck.

Go!

Go!

Go, go!

Whoo!

[ matt grunting ]

We're there. Okay.

Okay! We're going off the edge.

Narrator: With the cables
strung across the river,

The final critical step

Is to safely fasten
the 400-pound steel tram.

- Whoo!
- Got it.

Just let it gravity out
and stop.

Alright, here I go.

♪♪

Whoo! [ laughs ]

It's perfect!

Look at it! Awesome!

♪♪

That was awesome!

[ yodeling ]

Narrator: On land this rugged,
access is never easy.

And today, marty is preparing

To face down
an even bigger challenge.

Marty: Well, if you're
wondering why we call

This 20 acres on top of this
bluff the cliffs of insanity,

Here's a perfect example.
If I fall right now, I'm dead.

How do you get a road there?
And then how do you get

All the materials
to build a house up there?

You'd have to be insane
[chuckles] to try this.

♪♪

Narrator: On the other side
of the homestead,

Misty, her husband, maciah,
son gauge, and mother mollee

Begin a project vital
to maintaining their livestock.

♪♪

The chicks they brought home
last month

Have outgrown their pen
and are in need of an upgrade.

Basically, our plan is to build
this 4x8-ish structure,

Get it very well insulated,

And we have pretty much
every predator on the 40.

So when it comes to that,
making sure it's well-built

Is just crucial for the
longevity of these chickens.

And then, getting
a nice chicken run

So they have this outdoor space
that's dry and out of the snow.

Narrator:
With any livestock run,

Animal safety
is the first priority,

Especially in
the presence of predators.

On the dagues homestead
in michigan,

Misty constructs a fortress

To protect
the family's protein supply.

- You have laying hens?
- Yeah.

We have to buy chickens
almost every year

Because they get taken out
by predators.

I think turkeys
would be awesome.

More bang for your buck.
They're easy to take care of,

And something that
you can take full charge of.

Yeah.

You should be next to
this stream for a water source.

Okay.

Okay. You have
a lot of predators here.

I'm thinking of
many little tree forts.

Let's get them off the ground.
Let's lock them up at night

Tight in a little box
and keep them safe.

Alright.
I'm super excited about this.

Narrator:
Misty and erica get to work

Constructing two elevated
turkey treehouses.

Misty: Erica wants to do more
on the homestead.

And I think the learning
experience for her

Is going to be exciting.

Awesome.

Re-ignite that fire
for the homestead.

Whoo-hoo! Amazing.

Narrator:
With the coops constructed,

They turn their attention
to predator prevention.

I need you to pull tight.

♪♪

Alright.

Boom.

♪♪

Just make a little prison.

Erica:
Couldn't have been more perfect.

There's so much I'm learning...
Measuring, cutting.

I'm pretty comfortable
with stuff now.

- Turkeys are here.
- I am so excited.

My heart is, like, going
to beat out of my chest.

- Okay, so...
- Hi, turkey!

- Whew!
- [ laughs ]

Oh, she's strong.

Misty: This is probably
one of my favorite builds

That I've ever done.

I really do love it.

I am an official turkey farmer
as of now.

[ laughs ]

[ both laugh ]

♪♪

Narrator: Now, facing
the multiple predator threats

Alaska has to offer,
misty must build a coop

That will keep
their own birds secure.

We've got our new spot.
We're ready to go.

We have all the materials.
Let's start building. You ready?

Yeah. You got your tool belt?

No. [ laughs ]

So, you want to keep livestock
pretty close to your cabin

If you've got
a lot of predators,

Which we do on the 40.
So we actually designed

And built this coop
in two sections

So that when you take it
all apart, it's portable.

When my parents do move
up into the cabin,

The chickens will need
to go, as well.

So, we're getting all
the materials across the bridge,

Loading them on 4-wheelers.

We have a problem today.
It's so muddy.

We're going to shuttle them
as far as we can in the mud,

And then we're going to have
to bring them up

Piece by piece by hand.

That's it. Move. Go.

♪♪

Good job. Another one?

Narrator: While work continues
across the homestead,

A valuable family member
returns to the 49th state,

But this time,
he's traveling solo.

I have flown back to alaska,

And I've quarantined
for two weeks.

It's been weird.

Anytime I'm at home,
I'm with katie and andy.

And the fact that we're not
together is just... Bizarre.

You know? It's crazy.
I miss them like heck,

And I really look forward
to a time

When they can fly back to alaska

And come,
and we can all be together.

Marty: The main thing
is not to surprise a bear.

So I've made lots of noise,

And I've done a few,
"hey, bear!"

♪♪

"my outhouse gets
painfully cold in the winter.

Do you have any tips
on how we can keep the seat warm

While sitting out there?"

♪♪

Blue board.

Put this over the entire deck
of your toilet

And cut a hole not very big.

When you sit on this blue foam
in alaska at 50 below zero,

It just seems to be warm

As soon as you sit down
with this insulation.

[ bear huffing ]

♪♪

Narrator:
In south central alaska,

The raneys begin
the ambitious challenge

Of accessing untapped acres
of their property.

But with uncharted territory
comes unknown dangers.

♪♪

Marty: Moose tracks right here.

Lots of game up here.

What does this game trail mean?

It means if you're going
to have chickens,

Better make sure
it's animal proof,

Because right now,
since time began,

This 20 acres was owned
and roamed by everything wild.

♪♪

See if they're working
as hard as I think they are.

There they are, building
our new portable chicken coop.

And it looks like
they're working hard.

[ whistles ]

Looks good!

♪♪

We just finished
getting the foundation in,

Which is just
these concrete footings.

I actually wanted to do
kind of all above-ground

As far as the foundation goes,

So that when it does come time
to move it, that it is portable.

Misty: What have we got here?

Mollee: The best chicken house
I've ever seen.

Alright, we got a wall she did.

I'm at the tippy toes.

I'm on the tippy toes
at the top of the bucket.

[ maciah chuckles ]

Ah!

Of course
it doesn't want to go in

When you're reaching


Eventually, the chicken coop is
getting moved to a game trail,

Which is a highway for animals.

And so every single trick
that I have up my sleeve,

I'm going to have to use.

Otherwise, all the chickens
are going to die.

And you make one mistake. And
in one night, you'll wake up,

And there won't
be anything left.

[ sighs ] no pressure.

To keep the chickens safe,

We're doing a heavier gauge
down below

And some chicken wire up above,

Which is pretty important
in alaska

Because we've caught all kinds

Of interesting animals
on our game cams.

We even have buried chicken wire
on the bottom

That's attached
to this whole foundation,

This whole rim
so nothing can dig under.

Narrator: Alaska boasts
one of the most diverse rosters

Of deadly predators
of all 50 states.

Two years ago, the raneys
were called to nearby fairbanks

After a mysterious predator
decimated a family's livestock.

Nice to meet you, kim.
Very nice to meet you.

How many chickens
did you guys have to start?

We started off with seven,
and then we ended up with none.

Oh, man. Has this always
been like this?

No, that's where
whatever got in there

Ripped this off of here and...

And then just went in
and got them?

- Yeah.
- It could have been wolf.

All the animals
that are going to come here

Are going to come
at the tree line.

You put it in the worst
possible spot.

Narrator: Matt's first task...

Relocate the coop
and make it secure.

♪♪

Matt:
I'm going to turn a little bit.

Step back.

You got one shot. It's on there.

Over the block.

It's in a way better spot

Now we've got to make sure
it's predator-proof.

Narrator: With the chicken coop
away from the tree lines,

Matt insulates, panels,
and-predator proof the interior.

[ chickens clucking ]

What do you see?

The heavy gauge wire.

They use that for cattle.

You know, if it can stop cattle,
it can definitely stop a wolf.

Think this is going to change
our lives big-time.

That's awesome, matt.

Narrator: Now misty prepares
to take the next steps

To avoid a coop catastrophe
of her own.

Matt: Man. Coming together.

What do you think?
Are they going to be stoked?

Yeah, the chickens
are, like, getting big

And they're ready for this.

This is their new home.

Do you see the moon?

Lookit. It's night.

Whoo!

♪♪

[ bird chirps ]

Marty: Hey, bear!

Alright, little darling,
coming into the country.

Narrator: 300 feet above,
at the site of the new cabin,

Marty assesses the predator
threat on a nearby game trail.

Marty:
I'm on my way to the moose
that was k*lled by two wolves.

It's right up there.

[ wolf howls ]

Animals on the prowl.

I was skiing, and I came across

A freshly k*lled moose.

I have no idea
what took it down.

Staying in the dry grass.
[ footsteps crunching ]

I want every animal
within a mile from here

To know I'm here.

Narrator: Determining the types
of predators is important,

But establishing
a human presence

On the new land is critical.

Marty: The main thing
is not to surprise a bear.

So I've made lots of noise,

And I've done a few,
"hey, bear!"

So any bears would probably
be sniffing the air right now

And catching wind of a human
and just running, frankly.

♪♪

Man.

They drug
most of this moose away.

♪♪

And it's not buried.

That's a really good sign.

Bones, hair
ripped off this thing.

Oh, my gosh. Picked clean.

Picked clean.

♪♪

Picked clean.

These winters are long,
and these winters are cold,

Everything from a magpie, wolves
or coyotes, and other animals

Will come back
to this thing for the next year.

I mean,
it's in their predator rolodex.

This is a serious sign
of the wilderness.

Our neighbors are at the top of
the food chain, not the raneys.

Obviously, they have a territory
that they range in.

It does drive home the point.

We're going to drag everything
from our pet dog, pet cat

To livestock...
Chickens, goats, whatever.

The responsibility,
the onus is on us,

Because I am certainly aware of
what's roaming around out here.

♪♪

Hey, you guys! I'm going to
answer some viewer questions

Along with gauge.

This one has to do with him.

It says, "show us some tips
for homeschooling.

What have you been doing
with gauge?"

So, we have been working
on this chicken coop.

We just come out,
work on it a little bit,

And then do math
and reading and writing,

'cause that's super important.

Gauge pretty much has been
working with power tools

Since he was about 5 years old.

So right now, you're just
following your screw pattern,

Which is in here.

And that's about it.

We've been reading
"charlotte's web,"

And we finished it.

Now we're on "stone fox"...

Now we're on "stone fox."
...Which is a really good story.

But it's good to get outside
and use your hands

And learn how
to build stuff, right?

Yeah. Really fun.

It's actually probably
funner than recess.

Mm!

♪♪

Nice.

Yeah. So, that's about it.

[ bird screeches ]

Narrator:
Marty pushes forward on his plan

To move the raney cabin

To the top
of a 300-foot cliff on the 40.

But the past winter
damaged the access road,

A problem marty must fix.

Marty: So, let's take us
a little walk up.

♪♪

It's hard to believe
that a couple of months ago,

There was 4 feet of snow here.

Now that the snow's
melted rapidly,

Eroded the lower half
of this road,

I can get up here and continue
what I started in the fall,

And that is a safer road
to the top.

♪♪

[ chuckles ] it's steep.

♪♪

You can see why
every single person I know

Said, "you'll never
make it up there."

Well, we've accessed it, but now
we got to make it accessible.

Nothing will make it up here.
It's sketchy, full on.

Narrator:
The road marty needs to build

Up to the top of his property

Is sloped more than 45 degrees
in many sections

And is only 10 feet wide.

But it's a challenge
marty faced before

On the hill of death

On the jones homestead
in oregon.

- Look at this cliff.
- That's a steep cliff, man.

Whoa.

Marty: This is a little more
sketchy right here, guys.

Let's not get k*lled.

Hello!

Oh, hey. Welcome.
Thanks for coming.

You must be terry. I'm terry.

This is my wife, ginger.
Ginger, nice to meet you.

We're thinking we're going
to get an excavator...

And we're going to try
to get a road up here.

[ laughs ] seriously?

I'm serious.

Is that even possible?

We're going to find out.

♪♪

Narrator:
On the 3-acre homestead,

The only suitable land
for crops and livestock

Is inaccessible
atop a steep hill.

This is enormous.

And the only way
for marty to reach it

Is to carve a road
through solid bedrock.

Marty: Whoo-ha!

♪♪

It's pretty hard.

- Hear that?
- It's pretty hard.

Ohh.

Now there is nothing but bedrock
against the face of the cliff.

♪♪

I mean, it's...
It's a cliff right here.

Uh-huh. It's not even possible.

Maybe I can put a guardrail in
behind that stump

And behind this one back here
to build out on it.

Terry: See what he's doing?

He thinks he's going to bring
that excavator up here

Using that as the road.

Ginger: Where nothing was
to begin with?

I told him he's not.

If I could get 40 more feet,

Their dreams could come true.

Whoa. Whoa.

Straight.

♪♪

Whoo-hoo!

Misty: Whoo!

[ laughs ]

♪♪

That is something
I never thought we'd do.

What terry and ginger don't know

Is I'm facing
the exact same scenario

In alaska on my 40 acres.

Narrator: To access the upper
level of his own property,

Marty must reinforce the road

To withstand
the extreme alaskan seasons.

I've got about two weeks
to do the best I can

To get it wider

And fix some of the grade,
fill in...

You know,
just make it less crazy.

I don't know if you can see
how steep this is,

But I'll tell you,
with that 200 excavator

And those wide paths,

This was narrow
and extremely dangerous.

Look how steep it is
over the edge.

Look how tight this corner is.

Can you imagine?
The excavator's 10 feet wide,

A little wider than 10 feet.

So here's 6'2 " or 3", right?

Add 4 feet.

When I'm up here working,

The excavator track
is right here.

You never know until you try.

And even when you tell yourself,
"I can't do any more"...

♪♪

...Keep trying.

Nothing ventured,
nothing gained.

[ seagulls calling ]

Narrator: Back at the cabin,
misty, mollee, maciah, and gauge

Finish up the shell
of the chicken coop.

Maciah: Got the roof crew.
Misty: Got the roof crew.

Toughest of us up there.

We got the 9-year-old
on the roof.

This is the job he most wanted.
[ both laugh ]

- He's doing good.
- It's not that high.

- He's doing good.
- He's doing really good.

I'm just taking a moment
to have a brew.

You want one?

Yeah, that sounds good.

Narrator:
Now that the roof is up,

Misty adds insulation
to protect the chickens

From the bitter alaskan cold.

In alaska, trying to keep
a chicken alive

Is actually pretty challenging.

We even went the little extra,

Which is the vapor barrier

And then taped all the seams
so it's airtight.

We built our coop really
airtight and heavily insulated

And try and keep it as warm
as we possibly can,

And then we'll add
some ventilation later

When they're bigger and
they don't need to be as warm.

These animals are going
to see temperatures

Around 25-below.

It's all these little things

Extra that you kind of
have to do in alaska.

We're putting on some doors.
We have it all insulated.

We have the wood up.
We need to get our window in,

But we just used scraps and
just kind of threw it together.

But I really like piecing stuff
together. I think it's fun.

And more importantly, you're
just recycling scraps of wood

That would have
no purpose at all,

Because, you know, like,

What are you going to do with
that piece of wood? Nothing.

♪♪

Marty:
Making sure I had a safe road

With an excavator
that's 10 feet wide...

You've got to have at least


Otherwise,
you're going to end up

Going off
the side of the mountain.

Narrator: Self-sh**ting their
life in quarantine on the 40

Misty, son gauge, and husband
maciah put the finishing touches

On the family's
first portable chicken coop.

Misty: Okay, what are we doing?

We're screwing on the window.

Yeah!

So, does it fit?

Oh, it fits!

Misty:
Gauge, he worked on the whole
thing from beginning to end,

And pretty much, he learned
every skill you could...

You need to build anything.

♪♪

Perfect. Where are those
weeping holes? Right here...

Is one, boop!

And there is another one.

And that allows water
to drain out,

So make sure
those are on the bottom.

I think it's
incredibly important

To pass down every single thing

Maciah and I have learned
along the way to gauge.

Hey, gauge,
let's go get the chickens.

- Yeah.
- Ready? Here we go.

Wow, this is heavy.

This is very heavy.

We got it. You don't
have to go very far.

- Good job, gauge.
- My arms.

Maciah: Good job, buddy.

I thought we were gonna
put them in like one by one.

Oh, no way, jose.
That'd be crazy.

Okay.

Now you want to go to the other
side and open the door? Yes.

We're not done,
but we're just going for it,

'cause they need out of their
cage. They're getting too big.

[ chickens chirping ]

Cheep, cheep, cheep!

All kids are, like, really smart
and very capable and excited,

Excited to do the smaller
projects where it's manageable

And then you get something fun
at the end of it.

♪♪

The chickens are in their coop!

So, 4 weeks old yesterday,
and it was time for them

To move to the next level,
right, gauge?

- Mm-hmm.
- Aww, look at them.

What do you think
they're thinking right now?

"this is awesome."

Misty: What does this do?

This helps them
digest their food.

Yeah. You can just
sprinkle it all around.

He did such a good job.
Gauge helped the whole time.

Gauge pretty much built
the chicken coop.

We just drank beer.

That's amazing. Good job, gauge.

- We drank beer?
- We did?

[ laughter ]

I was drinking beer.

[ laughing ] I guess
I was drinking beer, mostly.

What do we do now?

Come in, maciah.
Come in, maciah.

Arms out. Yay.

- Chicken coop!
- We were so amazing.

Chicken coop on three. 1, 2, 3.

- Chicken coop!
- Chicken coop!

♪♪

Narrator: Across the homestead,
marty preps for a task

That has zero margin for error.

♪♪

Marty: Alright. I don't know
if I can film this

At the same time. I'll try it.

Making sure I had a safe road,
a wider road,

Means you're scratching out
more bedrock,

More granite

With an excavator
that's 10 feet wide.

So you've got to have
at least 10 foot wide.

Otherwise, you're going
to end up going off the side

Of the mountain,
possibly getting k*lled.

This is mollee filming him.

♪♪

And nervous.

Right about in the middle,
right there,

It's a really steep
and narrow spot.

♪♪

In the past, when marty has done

Anything that's
a little dangerous, I leave.

To do something that risky
is not fun to watch for me.

♪♪

Narrator:
Marty is no stranger to pushing
an excavator to its limits,

But when the raneys were
visiting the ruder family

In the smoky mountains
of tennessee...

Matt: This driveway's insane.

Narrator:
...Marty pushed the ex further
and deeper than ever before.

I'm going to remove
the organics,

The trees and the brush
that are growing in that pond.

My goal is to provide clean,

Healthy drinking water
for the livestock.

I'm going to go out there!
We're going to get them all!

Let's do it!
If I start sinking on a side,

Start screaming. Okay.

♪♪

Have you ever seen
the loch ness monster?

Well, after today,
I believe in it,

Because once the tracks
disappeared on the excavator,

This pond had
the loch ex monster.

♪♪

That's the craziest damn thing
I've ever seen.

♪♪

We go one tree left us
that's all the way across!

Let's leave it!
I'm going for it.

Let's go.

Crazy gets the job done.

And if you're not crazy,

Frankly, you'll
never make it as a homesteader.

You got it!
You got it! You got it!

♪♪

You need to be in
an institution. You know that?

What's left? It's all gone!
Every tree, every bush!

Yes or no?
Yes! That's it! You got nothing.

Everything's out.

Whoo!

♪♪

Narrator: Back on the 40,
marty has one last obstacle

On his road to the top.

♪♪

Marty: I came to a hard bedrock
vertical corner,

And I was trying
to get around it.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

We were scratching out
more bedrock, more granite.

That whole thing, all that mass,

All of it, hard as a diamond.

[ growls ]

♪♪

Clawing and scratching
and scraping,

Virtually at times


And ultimately, we made the top.

♪♪

We made it.

Just accessed the top
of a 200-foot bluff.

Oh, yeah. Looking good.

It's good, as far
as being up on top.

I'm very excited about it.
I think it's great.

I-I'm glad it's over

And he... he did it.

Marty: Whoo!

Check it out, darling.

Check it out.

I've kind of scratched
a road up the cliffs,

And it was probably
one of the most dangerous things

I've ever done,
but it's a starting point.

It's a ray of hope,

Where everyone is like,
"you actually did it.

You actually accessed
the upper 20 acres,

The upper half
of our 40-acre homestead."

And that's huge. It's
a game-changer, as they say.

It's a life-changer,
as they say.

♪♪

Check out the new country.
You're going to love it.

Oh, gosh.

Wow. So...

Everybody goes, "oh, I'm never
moving to alaska.

It's got too many mosquitos."
good!

Don't come.

But... It's fine, you know?

What people don't know...

There's not really
that many mosquitoes here.

Okay? That's a little secret.

When you stand
in a place like this,

And you got a couple
mosquitoes around your ear

Or trying to get up your nostril

And you complain about it,
you don't deserve to stand here.

♪♪

Narrator:
In hatcher pass, alaska,

The raney homestead approaches
the dawn of a new era.

With a road now clawed
to the future site of a cabin,

The homestead doubles in size.

But this is only the beginning.

♪♪

This point is spectacular.

I can see the ocean out there.

Come over here, please.

That's the ocean that leads to
the gulf of alaska right there.

Captain cook sailed
right on that very horizon.

And that inlet out there
is called cook inlet,

That anchorage sits on.

And that right there
is the inspiration

That just makes me want
to work harder and work faster.

Can't wait.

Narrator:
Over the past four years,

The raneys 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 raneys check in
with homesteaders

To see how they've thrived
since their rescue

And throughout the crisis.

♪♪

One year ago in missouri,

The oglesby family homestead
was on its last leg.

Ginnese and sam
lived in a treehouse

Perched teetering
on the edge of collapse.

I'm scared.
Narrator: To make matters worse,

Their lack of gardening skills
meant food was scarce.

And ginnese's workshop

Couldn't generate
enough income to survive.

Sam: If she doesn't
make the payment every month,

Then she loses what little space
she had to work.

Marty:
What's going to happen here

Is most likely the most
dangerous thing we've ever done.

Run!!

[ chain saw whirring ]

Narrator:
Without the raneys' help,

They had no chance
of surviving another winter.

Sam: There's been mornings
we woke up,

It's been 30 degrees in there.

What's happening here?
There's not even a stove.

Now the raneys check in
with the oglesbys

To see how they have advanced
on their homestead.

Oh, look at this guy!

- What's up, marty?
- Mwah!

[ laughs ]

Hey. I hear missouri's
the show-me state.

Show me some homesteading.
What have you been doing?

Okay, so, so many amazing things
have happened.

First of all, just our marriage
is 100 times better.

That's the second time since
we've been visiting homesteads

Where the couple said

That that week actually
helped them as a couple

And helped their marriage.
Oh, yes.

If it gets better than that,
I don't know, kids.

- [ laughs ]
- how was your winter?

We stayed in the house
for the first time this winter,

So that's huge. That's huge.

I grew cabbage all winter
and swiss chard.

That's amazing.
There's nothing like

Building something
and having it work.

And the fact that you can
grow food in the wintertime,

You're pretty lucky.

And have you guys
been staying safe?

Or what's it been like
in your neck of the woods?

So, while all this stuff
is going on,

We've just been
living off the land

Like, better than ever.

We're thriving.

Spend more time
together, you know,

Not going out much.

We have an abundance of food,
and we're just safe.

That's so awesome, you guys.

That's really cool, you guys.

I mean, being able
to feed yourself

Like you guys are doing
in a self-sufficient way,

I mean, what's better than that?

The shop, it's bigger.

Is it better,
like, working in there?

Describe, like,
what's the workspace like?

I have been a busy girl.
Enough room in the shop

Where we can set up a table,
and everything is in cabinets.

I have lots of workspace,

And the kids can do
whatever it is.

Have you had some storms?

We have had some storms,
and no treehouse action.

[ laughs ]

I really don't think you would
have made it another year

On those rotten beams
attached to those trees.

I don't think
you would have made it.

After you left, I would say
probably two weeks maybe,

We had a really bad storm.

And I think that the house
would have come down then.

The fact that we found you
or you found us,

Was a good thing, yeah?

Right in time, yes.

Yes. Life-changing.

I'm just really happy
that we did this.

And checking in with you guys
has been very uplifting.

You're just an amazing
powerhouse couple.

It's pretty awesome.
Thank you. [ laughs ]

Yes! [ laughs ] thank you.

- Bye!
- Okay, love you guys.

- Thank you.
- Love you so much!

Bye. Great chat.

- Thank you very much.
- Bye! Love you guys!

♪♪

Marty: Is the road passable?

Is the road safe enough
to travel up and down?

First truck to the top.

Let's see what happens.

We bought a sawmill,

But it's not put together

A 24x24 foot cabin's
going right here?

Yep.

Just trying to wrap my head
around that.