03x05 - Ozark Mountain Misery

[bunniefuu]

[ Thunder crashes ]
-come here. Come here.

-I have to stay here.
-I know, babe.

I need my chain saw.

[ Thunder crashes ]

That was close.

This is not safe.

-Amy!
-I want to use that tree!

Give me the saw!

I need the tree to help me
hold this up.

Get off of there!

We're gonna get
stuck by lightning!

Come on! Hurry up!

Let's get out of here!

♪♪

Woman: holy crap.

Mother nature, she wins.

Narrator: marty raney's
been building homesteads

For 40 years.

I was raised offgrid

In the toughest place
on earth -- alaska,

And I've taught my kids
everything I know.

Misty: a homestead needs to be
nurtured every day.

You get out what you put in.

Matt: I have the utmost respect
for wildlife.

Hunting is a privilege
and a necessity.

Narrator: together, the raneys
save homesteads...

Misty, shut it down!

Narrator:
...on the edge of disaster.

We're gonna get struck
by lightning!

Let's get out of here!

-This is crazy!
-No!

[ Crying ] I'm really worried

That we're not gonna make it.

My résumé, I'll show it
to you right now.

♪♪

--Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪♪

This is where I started out,
little darlings.

Raneys were the actual
first family

That ever homesteaded
in this area.

Right now,
we're in raney country.

This all started with my great
great-great-great-grandfather,

Tom raney, in 1890.

Tom just got out of prison.

Is there something
you want to tell us?

[ Laughs ]

Narrator: the raneys have
traveled to

Their family's ancestorial home
state of missouri

To answer an sos call from
a struggling offgrid couple.

By the end of the 19th century,
missouri boomed

With the country's
original homesteaders,

And marty is taking a detour
to show matt and misty

A piece of their own
family history.

This is it.
Look at this place.

Take it in.

The last time I walked through
this field, I was 15 years old,

And it was just me
and grandpa jeff and his wife,

Flo, doing all the work.

The barn was over there,
but I guess...

I don't know if it was
a lightning strike or whatever.

The barn is burnt down.

I'd loved to have shown it
to you, but it's not there.

It feels good.

There are a lot of emotions
because it's been so many years,

And I never thought
I'd come back.

This is where I was from.

Much of the country
right here behind me

Was homesteaded by raneys
dating back to the 1890s,

And that's hardcore.

This experience has been
somewhat of a privilege

To actually come back home.

♪♪

It's really cool to be here
and see this.

-You like it?
-Yeah.

The people
may be dead and gone,

But the legacy and the desire
to live freely,

Deliberately and simply
under the banner of homesteading

Is alive and well.

-Okay, guys.
-Onwards to the other homestead?

Yeah, onwards to the homestead.

Narrator: the raneys head deeper
into the ozark mountains

In the millions
of acres of dense,

Rugged forest that cover
its rolling peaks.

Wild hogs, deer, turkey,
and rivers full of fish

Create a haven
for black bears and coyotes,

But here, man's biggest
threat is mother nature.

Torrential rain followed
by lengthy droughts

Causes chaos all year-round.

Look at how hilly
and crazy the terrain is.

This is a tough place
to homestead.

-I don't care who you are.
-Yeah, I agree.

Even for a raney.

Narrator: sitting on this
remote mountaintop

Is a homestead in dire need.

Woman: what you digging for
there, sweetheart?

Raspberries!

Narrator: seven years ago,
ini and wren russenholt

Met working on a canadian farm.

There ini was in the gardens,
and he gave me a tour,

And then he said, "do you
want to eat a worm with me?"

She said, "yeah,"
and I was like, okay,

"This person is weird enough,"

And then, well, the rest
is kind of history.

Narrator: after getting hooked
on homesteading,

They spent 38,000 bucks

On their own 18 acres
of forest in the ozarks,

Their mission to live
purely off the land.

All righty.
Digging holes.

It's an amazing thing.

If we're hungry,
we can grow that.

Narrator: but in missouri,

Mother nature
doesn't pull any punches.

Wren: do you see that?
It's moving in.

Narrator: when they aren't
plagued by storms and floods,

They're hit with
severe droughts,

And the russenholt's irrigation
system is nonexistent.

You'd have to carry buckets
from the well to our garden.

You know, it's just two of us,
and there's so much to do,

And...ah.

It gets a bit overwhelming
sometimes, for sure.

Narrator: the $4,000 canvas yurt
the couple call home

Is rotting in the damp climate,

And they're getting sick.

[ Sneezes ]

[ Coughs ]

Not breathing so well
after sleeping in the yurt.

-Oh.
-Kind of feeling like [bleep].

Narrator: with a damp yurt
and dried-out crops,

Wren and ini are losing
their battle with mother nature.

You know, this dream
was hard enough

When we had a space to stay,

And now that we don't have
a safe place to sleep,

It's just compound.

Ini: help on our property
could mean the difference

Between life and death.

Hello! [ Whistles ] morning!

Good morning.

We come from a land of
far away.

-Hi.
-What's your name?

-Wren.
-Nice to meet you. I'm ini.

-Thanks.
-It's muggy here.

-Oh, yeah.
-[ Laughs ]

That and the ticks
are the two biggest things.

-Ticks?
-Yeah.

-You have one now?
-Yep.

-Did you really?
-They're all over the place.

Okay. Hold on. Might as well
get it out of the way.

I just noticed
you're wearing a kilt.

-I am.
-Is that normal out here?

I found it to be the most
useful work outfit.

And you just told me there's
a crazy tick infestation.

Make a note of all
of this, please.

There's a lot of raneys in this
area, and I just got to ask.

-Mm-hmm.
-Do you know any raneys?

My mom's maiden name is raney.

-Are you serious?
-Yeah.

-You're kidding me.
-No.

-Spelled the name way?
-R, a, n, e, y.

-My gosh.
-You guys, too?

They say every raney is related.

Okay. It's starting to
get weird. Let's leave.

Narrator: there may be
a family connection,

But the raneys can't
stick around in missouri.

In seven days, they must move on
to another homestead in crisis,

So matt wastes no time

Checking out the russenholts'
food situation.

I see a lot of plants
growing --

Uh-huh.

...all around
your guys' property.

We've got some fava
beans growing there.

All these are greens.

There's 1,500 garlic.

This whole open clearing
is eventually

Transitioning towards
food production.

What are you eating
right now?

We've got lots of greens,
curly cress, swiss chard.

I mean, you're just...

-This is kale.
-Mm-hmm.

We munch on that. It's good.

I love it just like this.

Okay. Yeah.

I'm looking at this
homesteading couple.

They look like they don't have
a lot of meat on their bones.

They're living off of grass,

And they need some
serious protein.

You guys get a plus
plus for gardening,

But I will tell you this.

In alaska, what keeps us alive
and what allows us to work

Is that protein that we get
from moose, caribou, salmon --

-Yeah, nice.
-Halibut, cod.

If you're gonna
get work done,

You're gonna need that
serious source of protein.

Narrator: but even ini
and wren's leafy diet

Is at risk.

In the dry season, each bed
of their one acre of crops

Needs at least


So when it's not raining,
what do you do?

Well, ini, he'll just
pump this for me,

And I'll stand with the hose
while he's a champ pumping.

-Can you show me?
-Sure.

So it's about 200 foot deep,
the static water level.

What?

It takes probably about


He's got to stand here
pumping for, like, 20 minutes

And just if I focus on,
like, one or two beds.

I'm just gonna say it.

-This to this scale...
-Yeah.

...is not going to work.

A hand pump for this size
of a garden is scary,

And look how big it is.

You could work so hard for all
of this to have it disappear

In a two-week drought.

Narrator: across the homestead,

Marty and matt
want to get eyes on wren

And ini's only refuge from
the harsh missouri weather.

-Wow, home sweet home?
-Yeah.

-This thing is just wide open.
-Yeah.

This is a glorified tent.

I mean, there's no buffer
between you

And the outside world.

I'll be honest with you.

You got the screens
open right now,

And it's really muggy in here.

It definitely gets
a little bit humid.

You both are experiencing
respiratory problems

From sleeping in this room.
-Yeah.

Right.

There's a mold problem.

It's very dangerous
to your health.

It's just like having
a grizzly bear

Or a mountain lion
on the homestead.

♪♪

It's actually less
muggy out here.

-Yeah.
-Get some fresh air, man.

Right now, I'm looking
at their home,

And it's infested with mold,

And they can't sleep
in it anymore

Because it's become
a health hazard.

We come out to help people
on homesteads,

And right now, this homestead
doesn't have a home.

♪♪

Narrator: the raneys have
a mountain to climb

To save this homestead.

All fixes must pay
for themselves or save lives.

Misty must think big and plans

To build a massive
irrigation system

To drought-proof
their vital crops.

Matt's task is to teach
ini the local skill of

Bow fishing to supplement
their greens,

And marty will attack
their deadly mold problem

Using native lumber to build
an entirely new log cabin.

It's becoming painfully
obvious to me

That this nice
homesteading couple

Have put all the garden projects

In front of the basics.

Let's start with
a safe place to live.

Knock, knock. Anybody home?

This is your very
romantic yurt tucked away

In the missouri wilderness.

-I love it. I get it.
-Mm-hmm.

But what you have right there
is a little mold farm.

You can't beat mold easily.

It's painfully obvious to me
that yurt is coming down, fact.

♪♪

Hold on. Hold on.

We're not ready to say
goodbye to it.

This isn't a place to live.
You have health issues.

It's got to go.

Well, it needs to be fixed.

As far as the raneys
are concerned, it's condemned.

This is all we have right now.

We're trying to help you
the best way we can

In the shortest period of time.

You know, ini and I would
tackle it on our own

If we don't feel comfortable
with what you guys want to do.

We have to come together,
or we're just going to

Drive out of here.

Narrator: straight ahead...

What if I build
something out of cedar?

Narrator:...marty's got
a radical plan...

The hardest building that
you can build on planet earth

Is a log house.

Narrator:...that will stretch
him to the limit and beyond.

I need 75 trees, but you're
only gonna give up 10.

That's not gonna work.

Narrator: in the wilds of
the ozark mountains,

The raneys have just
one week to save couple

With no hunting skills,

Their only food source
at risk of drought,

And a shelter
full of deadly mold.

[ Coughing ]

That yurt is coming down, fact.

Wren: I'm not ready
to let it up.

Like, this is all
we have right now.

What if one of you gets sick?

We haven't tried
sanding the wood.

We haven't tried
taking off the top

And looking at the back
side of the insulation.

What's crazy is i, personally,
have had the same problem.

Molly, my wife, got sick,
couldn't breathe well at night.

It's subtle. It's sneaky.

Just when you think you've
conquered it, there it is.

It's back again. It's tough.

That's why I'm not going
to try to fix this yurt.

Here is my proposal.

What if I build something
out of cedar logs

That resembled
the shape of a yurt,

An eight-sided
octagonal building?

Because you've already got
the holes and the concrete

And the foundation here.

You can cook in it.

You can live in it,
and most importantly,

On that same foundation
of that yurt,

You can sleep in it.

So what's it gonna be?

I don't know.
What do you want to do?

We should do it.
We should totally do it.

-We should do it?
-Yeah.

All right. We'll do it.

-You serious?
-Yeah.

-Oh, yeah.
-Okay.

-Happy packing.
-Yeah.

The yurt was the first thing
we had here.

I didn't want to see it go away.

I don't know exactly
how it's gonna go,

But we need our needs met.

We need a safe,
comfortable space.

♪♪

-You in there?
-Oh, yeah!

Wren: hey, raneys!

Narrator:
early the next morning,

The moldy yurt must make way

For marty's new log cabin.

So is today
tear the yurt down day?

-Today's tear the yurt down day.
-Okay.

We can do it your way,
or we can do it my way.

-What's your way?
-You guys got a match?

-Oh, man!
-No!

Oh!

Oh, my god. It's happening.

Marty: I'll do it. I'll do it.
I'll do it.

Thank god you're not
wearing a kilt today.

[ Laughs ]

There we go. Whoo!

The transformation in these
two people is amazing.

Yesterday, it was very proud,
stubborn couple of homesteaders,

And after they fully
started to realize the plan,

These are two completely
different people.

If we can keep this smile
on their face the whole time,

It'll be a miracle.

There have been black
widows in this yurt.

-Everyone...
-Oh, mother of god!

Marty, you've got to be
careful, man!

[ Screams ]

-Oh, really?
-They're so squishy!

-I just squished him!
-Oh, really?

Huh, you scream
like a little girl.

It does feel like
a new beginning.

You know, one side
is being torn down.

It's not working for us.
It's actually making us sick.

Here it comes!

And we're gonna resurrect
something even more beautiful.

-Whoo!
-Whoo!

It took us less than an hour
to tear that down.

It's going to take us


To get this building back up.

This is gonna be
the hardest thing

We've ever done
in this time span. Okay?

Narrator: to build the log cabin
onto the yurt's old foundation,

Marty plans to harvest
native cedar trees

Direct from ini
and wren's forest.

I see a cedar right there,
by the way.

So any time there's
a yellow flag,

I have chosen these trees
to use for certain projects.

So they're already coming down.

This is, like,
a really significant tree...

-Yeah.
-...first one of your log home.

Yeah.
It's a pretty big deal.

Let me just gas this up.

What kind of oil is that?

-Well, it's --
-regular bar and chain oil?

-Yeah.
-'Cause I've got something here,

And this is just
regular canola oil.

-I'd prefer you use this.
-All right.

So you want me to put
cooking oil in my chainsaw?

Yes.

My main concern is that
there will be gallons

Of petroleum-based fuel
spewing into the forest.

You know, I'm thinking, "at what
point, are we being just

A little bit too careful?"

Ini is amazing. He's so smart.

To me, he's comical.

I'm not sure he knows that.

I'll keep it around in case
I wanna make some bread

And pancakes later.

Okay. We're good to go.

-We're good to go.
-Okay.

[ Chainsaw whirring ]

-Whoo!
-Oh, yeah.

If it takes cooking oil
to grease the skids

Of this homestead to get it
moving in the direction

That's gonna make it
succeed, bring on the canoli.

♪♪

Narrator:
in the russenholts' garden,

Misty has the epic task

Of protecting an acre
of crops from drought.

All of these plants,
their only food source,

That'll all go to waste

Unless we get this
water situation sorted.

Here is what I'm thinking.

I want to, first, build a stand
and put one water tank

To where you can gravity
feed to your garden --

Cool. Yeah.

...and run some kind
of flume to another tank

And have this above-ground
watering irrigation system.

Narrator: misty plans to install
a raised 305-gallon tank

At the well head
filled by a solar pump.

A log flume built
from fallen trees

Will gravity feed the water
all the way to the garden

Where a second
smaller-gallon tank

Will distribute water
to a system of pipes

And saturate the entire
acre of crops.

Let's pull up
all of these trees.

'Cause we don't actually

Have to cut
anything down, right?

That's pretty amazing.

-All right.
-How's it feel?

-Love it.
-Okay.

-All right. Girl power.
-Okay.

So go ahead and put
some gravel in, my friend.

All righty.

I can't even tell you
how excited I am.

It's gonna save us
so much time and energy

And just make our life
so much better and easier.

Nice. Good job. All right.

Narrator: marty has felled
the first seven cedar trees

Toward ini and wren's safe haven
from the elements.

[ Saw whirring ]

You do know that I'm looking
for a lot of trees, right?

-Like, a lot?
-At least 70.

Holy.

I mean, I've see about
a half a dozen so far.

Uh-huh, that is
a lot of trees.

I don't want that many trees
gone from this area, though.

But you do want a log
home out of cedar?

I do. I just think
that's too much.

We just tore your house down,

And you have have
no place to live.

You have so place to cook,

And now I really
don't have all the trees

That I need to do what we
told you we were gonna do.

-That's not gonna work.
-Yeah.

Okay?

Unless we source cedar logs
somewhere else out there

In missouri,
this entire job is shut down.

Narrator: coming up...

Marty: go! Don't be shy!

Narrator:...the fight to build
a weatherproof homestead

Steps up...

-Up. Move.
-All right. Let's do it.

Whoa!

Narrator:
...as mother nature rains down.

Right now, I'm standing
on a lightning rod.

Narrator: the raneys are
battling to save a homestead

In the ozark mountains.

Crops are under threat
from drought,

And a moldy yurt
was so dangerous,

Marty tore it down.

But his plan to rehouse
ini and wren

In an octagonal
weatherproof log cabin

Has hit the buffers.

I'm looking for
at least 70 trees.

I don't want that many trees
gone from this area, though.

[ Sighs ]

♪♪

Narrator: the next day,

Marty's been
on the hunt for logs since dawn.

I hear you're the go-to guy
if I'm looking for logs or...

Okay.

We're building the most
difficult home

That you can build,

And I'm pushed
for time right now.

♪♪

Narrator: mid-morning and one of
his homestate contacts

Comes up trumps.

Wow, that's a sight
for sore eyes.

Narrator:
a local homesteader delivers

Over $2,000 worth of cedar logs.

Get over here and get
your hands on them.

-Oh, my god.
-Feel that.

Oh, my goodness.

We've tapped into the local
neighbors, you know,

And this community
is pretty cool.

So when the logs showed up,

Ini: I was just, like,
basically speechless.

It was like, "oh, my god.
This is really cool."

So, very, very,
very, very happy.

Keep coming, whoa,
easy, easy, easy.

I've built concrete houses,
and I've built stone homes,

But trust me.

The hardest building
that you can build on

Planet earth is a log house,

So they better be prepared
for some marty raney

Homestead 101.

-You got it?
-Yeah.

-You're strong.
-Well, thank you.

Need a hand? Okay.

You've got a flat-sided log
that fits flat on our floor,

But now you have to put
your thinking cap on

Because you got a round log,

And you're trying to
fit it to this log.

Basically, you're just
transferring lines.

So let's make us a little
compass out of these two pins.

Back to math class.

There you go.

Now watch this.

If I ride this point on this log
all the way over and transfer

All the way down,

It will leave
a perfect line on this log,

Following the perfect
shape of this log.

Narrator: to create
the octagonal log cabin,

Marty uses a process
called notching.

Compass lines enable him to cut

Perfectly interlocking
grooves into the logs,

And it'll take


This eight-sided structure.

We have a line right here,
and we're ready to cut.

-All righty.
-All right.

-Stand back, little darling.
-Yep.

[ Saw whirring ]

Grab that hammer and start
knocking that out of there,

Please! Go! Don't be shy!

That's a girl! Go!

Look at how beautiful
that groove is!

-Wow, gorgeous!
-Whoo!

-Look at that color.
-I hate to even cut it.

[ Saw whirring ]

-That work?
-Nice!

-That work?
-Looks pretty good!

Okay.
Move it on that mark.

Sunk right in. It fits.

-It's a good job.
-Look at this!

Seeing your guys' set up here

Reminds me of myself
when I started out.

-Yeah.
-I lived in shanties.

I lived in 2x4 buildings,
no outhouse.

Misty and matt used a 5-gallon
bucket, roughed it.

And in time, I completed a very,
very serious, custom,

Beautiful log home.

The point when we first
get started, it's tough,

And you rough it.

If you persevere, you end up
with a log home.

-Sounds good.
-Crazy?

I'm lucky.

I think the raneys definitely
have a go-get-her style,

Just, bam, "get it. Get it.
Keep moving. Keep moving."

And I'm not always the most
flexible in the beginning,

And as I see it unfold,

I realize that they have
really good intentions,

And what they're bringing
here is really beautiful.

♪♪

Narrator: while misty forages
ahead with the water tower

She hopes will save
the homestead's crops,

Matt wants to find
some meat for the table

In the ozark's
abundant waterways.

-Hey.
-How's it going, man?

Good. Good.

-This is my buddy, ini.
-Nice to meet you.

-Chris?
-Hey, chris.

Narrator: with help from local
fisherman chris,

Matt wants to teach ini

To bow fish for missouri's
plentiful carp.

Ini and wren aren't vegetarian,
but right now,

They basically only eat
what grows in their garden.

They need some meat,

And they have an untapped
source in these rivers

And these lakes that
they're just not utilizing.

I mean, this is basically
the same type of bow

That you would use
to go deer hunting,

But we have a reel
on it and some line,

And once we hit that fish,
we'll be able to reel them in.

There's a whole mess
of them over there.

♪♪

Yeah, that was
a really good shot

If you wanted to miss it
by about an inch.

If the fish are on top, aim for
that fish right then and there.

If they look like they're
submerged in the water,

Just aim low.

Oh, that was so close.

Ooh, you can see
ripples everywhere.

-You got one?
-Yep.

Nice, man. Oh, dude.

That is a really big fish.

-That's awesome.
-Wow.

Oh, man.

That's a lot of meat
right there.

-There you go.
-Yeah.

I got to get me a boat
and a bow. [ Laughs ]

-I'm impressed, man.
-Yeah.

The best thing about this is

Ini is learning a new skill,
and I think he's a natural.

Hey, man, I see a lot
of protein in there.

I mean, that's breakfast,
lunch, and dinner.

That was awesome, abundant,
productive, exhilarating.

You know, we brought a lot
of fish out of that water today,

And it's going to sustain
me and my family,

And that feels really good.

♪♪

Narrator: early the next
morning, before work can begin,

A missive thunderstorm
hits the ozarks.

Wren: quite a storm.

We're completely surrounded
on all sides by lightning.

Narrator: marty's unfinished
cabin is not yet weatherproof,

And he's worried
mother nature could destroy

The vital next step
of the build.

We're gonna pack a product
between these logs to seal it,

Insulating this building
and making it tight.

It's hard to do if these logs
are soaking wet.

All right?
Let's tarp this thing off.

Matt, 6 feet of rope!
Matt!

[ Thunder crashes ]

-Go. Go. Got to be high.
-I know. This is high.

Find another corner.
Please be --

Got to be higher, misty.

Help her on that other corner!

I got her!
Wren, I'm coming!

Help her on the other corner!

This is crazy weather, man.

And right now,
I'm standing on a lightning rod.

It's raining so hard, all of
this runoff from these trees

Is actually creating
a water catchment,

And it's just gonna
pool up and collapse.

There's no way. Ini!

What?

I need my chain saw!

[ Thunder crashes ]

Narrator: high up in
the ozark mountains...

Where's a rope?

Narrator:
...the raneys are caught in

A dangerous lightning storm

That's threatening to saturate
the unsealed cedar logs

On the half-built cabin.

Oh, look at my floor! Ugh!

Narrator:
the torrential rain is pooling

In the center of the tarp,

Putting all the timber at risk.

Marty, it's catching water.

I know, loud and clear.

-I'm keeping it up.
-I know.

-Misty is over here.
-Honey, come here. Come here.

I have to stay here.

Oh, this is crazy.

Out of the way, cameraman.
It's getting real.

That tree has got
to be cut down. [ Whistles ]

And we'll use it
to hold the tarp up.

♪♪

Why are you taking that tree?

I'm telling you right now,
I'm taking it because

I've got to take it anyway
to put that roof on,

And I thought that would
be painfully obvious.

I want that tree to use!

-What part of it?
-It's a walnut.

I want the whole thing.

This is one of those times
we've got to make a decision

Instead of talking.
[ Whistles ]

-It's going to land on you!
-Watch out!

[ Saw whirring ]

Hey, buddy, tie it off.
[ Whistles ]

The building is dry now.

If it wasn't, you know,
in a fairly desperate situation,

I would sit there and listen.

Today, I just had to be

Marty raney, and say,
"the tree is coming down."

Whoa. Hear that?

This is not safe.
We've got to call it.

This is ridiculous.

Narrator: the raneys are forced
to abandon work,

Putting the build even
further behind schedule.

Right now, I don't know
how we're gonna finish

Everything that we've actually
promised that we could do.

It's gonna be
a crazy next three days.

Wren:
we still don't have a home.

I'm really nervous that we might
not get it finished,

So that makes me worried,
feel a little sick.

♪♪

Narrator: the next morning,
there's a break in the weather.

The cabin is dry,

But the storm has devastated
the surrounding area.

The weather forecast
is nothing but bad, thunder,

Lightning, storms, flash floods,
god knows what else.

This is a log home
with eight sides.

You understand
how much work that is?

Narrator:
with just three days left

And more storms on the way,

Marty has called up the local

Homesteading community
to pitch in

And get a roof on the cabin.

This is, like, the homesteading


There's no way this job
would get done

Without these good
people from missouri.

I'm a little concerned that
the weather is gonna come

Before the roof is on,
but let her rip.

We do what we can,
work as fast as we can.

-Looks like we got eight.
-All right.

Let's squeeze them
together, please.

Narrator: marty's building
the eight-sided roof

From the top down

By constructing
an octagonal skylight.

Basically, this is just
a miniature version

Of those walls,

And everything will go
from here down to the walls.

Got it. Got it.

-Chalk line quick, where?
-Right here.

This is a pretty
amazing building.

Pleasure to work
with such beautiful trees.

It's like one big,
huge hope chest.

[ Drill whirring ]

We really do owe it to
the ozark people, you know.

It's pretty amazing.
It's humbling.

♪♪

[ Bird caws ]

Whoo! All right!

Narrator:
across the homestead,

Misty and wren
fit the water tanks

Onto the cedar-log platforms.

This tank is 225 gallons.

Your tank on the water
tower is 305.

You have 530 gallons --

Oh, my gosh!

...of water
on your property now.

Love it.
Ugh, thank you so much.

So we just need to get
the flume running --

Here, right.

...over to this top
of this tank

So it can have
something fill it up.

We're halfway.

What we're gonna do is just
notch this v in the top

For the water to be able
to have a channel to transfer

From one tank
to the other tank.

It's pretty simple.

Narrator:
the v-shaped channels

In the log flumes
will allow water

To flow 70 feet from the storage
to the irrigation tank.

From there, eight pipes
will distribute water

To the entire garden.

♪♪

Up. All right.
Let's do it.

-Keep going.
-Okay.

Keep going. All right.

We're good.

Cut this off, yo.

We're gonna branch
into eight different legs,

Eight different irrigation drips

In order to water
each of these plants.

All right.
Misty, I'm running the water.

Let's see.

-Okay. Here it comes!
-Whoo! It's coming!

Look at this. It's working!

♪♪

Narrator: five days ago,

Ini and wren
had to hand-pump for 25 minutes

To water just one bed of crops.

Now 1,000 bucks spent on pipes,
water tanks, and a solar pump

Protects their crops
from drought all year round.

This is so much easier.

I just turn the valve on,
walk to my garden.

What do you think?
I mean, we've --

This is awesome.
Look at it!

-We've created --
-i love it.

...outdoor log plumbing.

To see the flume get up today,
it's just glorious.

But it's supposed
to rain and flood,

So we're trying to finish
an entire cabin.

I'm worried that it's not
gonna get done in time.

♪♪

Narrator: coming up, locking
down the aluminum roof...

Where's a lightning bolt
gonna land?

Give you one guess.

Narrator:
...before the heavens open up.

Get off of there!

We're gonna get
struck by lightning!

I'm not even kidding you!
Let's go!

Wren: holy crap!

Narrator: in the ozark
mountains, missouri,

The raneys have just 48 hours
left to finish the build on

Ini and wren's log cabin before
another massive storm hits.

♪♪

We all got flood warnings
on our phones this morning,

So we're trying to get
this thing ch*nk

So that it's air-tight
and insulated.

Narrator: misty and wren use
a process called ch*nk

To seal the walls ready
for the next storm

And marty and ini

Install the aluminum sheeting
on the roof.

I need the flashing, please!

Oh, and I need 100 nails,
so don't be shy.

-Ini?
-Yeah.

[ Thunder crashes ]

Well, the roof's on.

The skylight is not, so we're
dealing with a bit of pressure.

Nothing like a little motivation

As in a lightning bolt
that big around.

Where's it gonna land?

Give you one guess.

[ Thunder crashing ]

Okay. Where's that skylight at?

Skylight is here,
wrapped up, protected.

Want to put it on?

Let's do it. I'm into it.

I'm climbing down.

Before we start this,
I know we're the only

Raneys in alaska
homesteading, period,

But I think you're
the only raney --

Mm.

...that is carrying
on the namesake

And what it's known for,
hard workers

Carving a livelihood

And a good life out
of these ozarks.

You guys have embraced,
you know, nature --

-Yeah.
-...and hard work.

Means a lot, really does.

If we don't get struck
by lightning,

We might finish.

There you go.

-How you doing up there?
-Doing great!

Good job, babe.

Narrator: as ini tries to lock
down the skylight...

Good job, ini!

Narrator:
...the heavens open up.

Right in the nick of time.

Look at how much
it's raining right now.

♪♪

Come on! Hurry up!

Let's go! Everybody, down!

Get off of there!

We're gonna get
struck by lightning!

I'm not even kidding you!

Narrator:
flash floods could leave

The raneys stranded for days.

Marty calls for an evacuation.

Let's get out of here!

Can't I wait here in my house?

Okay! You don't have to!
We are! Let's go!

Narrator:
but wren and ini decide to stay

In their unfinished log cabin

And ride out the storm.

-Let's go!
-Let's go!

-Where's matt?
-I have no idea.

He's up here. He's up here.
Come on. Let's go.

Go!

Narrator:
the raneys and film crew escape

Through severely flooded roads

While ini and wren hunker
down in the cabin.

It's been raining
probably three hours so far.

An incredible storm.

Maybe the strongest rain
we've ever had.

The structure feels good, safe.

♪♪

Oh, it turned off.

♪♪

Narrator: it's the raneys'
last day in the ozarks.

A state of emergency has been
declared in missouri

As the raneys attempt
to return to the homestead.

What have we got going on here?
This doesn't look good.

Wow.

Narrator: missouri's worst
flooding in 100 years

Has blocked their way.

Misty: holy crap.

♪♪

Hey, dad, see all that water
going down right there?

It's under the road,
so if you go across there,

The road might wash out.

Is that power lines
in the water right there?

Yeah.

Narrator:
there's no way they can risk

Crossing the flooded road,

And more storms
are on their way.

I've been talking about mother
nature all week and she wins.

♪♪

I feel really good about
the structure

We built ini and wren.

That structure will withstand
any of these storms.

Look at that. It's over.

We don't get to finish
what we started.

It's really --
it's disappointing.

But thankfully, we did a lot.

This is what it is
and we got to go.

Makes me think about
our raney ancestors

That carved out their homesteads
in these exact same mountains,

And they dealt with
all of these floods

And small, tiny wagon
roads in the day.

Somehow, they succeeded,

So can ini and wren make it?

Absolutely. Why?

I'll tell you why.

Wren has raney blood,

And that's
why she's gonna make it.

♪♪

Ini: the worst storm that
anybody alive has ever seen.

Cabin was awesome.

Narrator: seven weeks ago, ini
and wren lived in a moldy yurt

That made them sick.

Not breathing so well
after sleeping in the yurt.

Now their octagonal cedar cabin
is storm-proven and safe,

And they've added a wood
stove and mezzanine bedroom.

What I really like is up here
where the light, moon, stars,

And there is no mold in here.

That's a big --
that's definitely a big plus.

Wren: the raneys totally set us
up in such an awesome way

To make our dreams
more of a reality.

I think there's that kind of
go-get-it energy

That they rubbed off on me
a little bit.

♪♪