04x01 - Poisoned

[bunniefuu]

The very ground that
I'm standing on is poison.

Misty: there isn't a lot
of signs of life.

There's no clean drinking
water here on the homestead.

[ Coyote howls ]

All the goats
have been eaten alive.

[ r*fle c*ck ]

See the eyeballs?
Can you see the eyeballs?

[ Coyote howls ]

Homestead's running out of time.

[ Truck horn blares ]

This is totally crazy.

-Whoa!
-Pull him out.

Well, you got a field that will
never grow a vegetable.

How do we fix it?

[ Exhales deeply ]

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

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪♪

Marty: do you know what
the number-one thing

That kentucky's known for,
what is it?

Fried chicken?

[ Laughter ]

Look at that barn.

This looks
totally abandoned.

The actual homestead's
right up there on that ridge.

The homesteader, he says
he can't grow anything.

He's tried for years,
and at this point,

They're just desperate.

Narrator: the raneys are heading
into the kentucky wilderness

To try and help a homesteading
family in distress.

The bluegrass state
boasts 75,000 farms

And 13 million acres
of fertile land.

But some areas of
the daniel boone national forest

Have been left
polluted by coal production,

And one homestead hasn't grown
a vegetable in seven years.

They took all the coal out
and took all the good minerals,

And it was left barren.

We definitely need the raneys
to come in here

And bail us out of trouble.

Narrator: all fixes
must pay for themselves

And be completed
in seven days

Before the raneys move on to
their next desperate homestead.

I see signs of life.

-I'm guessing you're jeremy.
-Yes, sir.

Up there's my wife
and my daughter kaylee.

-Hello!
-Hi!
-Come on down.

Really appreciative
you're all here, I really am.

-We're happy to be here.
-Hello. Thank you for coming.

Marty: you're welcome.
This house is amazing!

Who built it?
-I did.

-Impressive.
-I thank you.

Looks are deceiving, though.

You can't eat a house.

The garden's failed,
the milk supply's failed.

So that's pretty much
our food supply.

Come on, chickies.

I think we've been married,
what, 20 -- how many?

-4.
-24 Years.

Now, in the 24 years,
she's been wrong three times.

But hey, you know,
it's my wife.

Narrator: seven years ago,

Donna and jeremy rains spent
their life savings of $15,000

On five acres of land in the
daniel boone national forest.

Donna: daniel boone is
his sixth great uncle.

That's kind of a big deal
if you live in kentucky.

It kind of made me realize
why I am who I am

And why I love the woods
and the nature the way I do.

Here's my home behind me.

I put every board, every screw,
and every nail,

And I did it all by myself.

It used to look just like this
right here --

A whole cluster of pine trees.

Narrator: with the help
of daughter kaylee,

They introduced a herd
of 23 dairy goats.

Kaylee: I love animals.

I've been dreaming of being
a veterinarian

Since I was, like, 3.

Narrator: but before long,
the young herd --

The homesteads only source
of income -- was decimated.

Donna:
they coyotes, they k*ll 'em.

I had one,
they tore her to pieces,

[ Voice breaking ]
and she was pregnant.

It makes you about want
to throw up.

Narrator: protecting what
remains of the rains' goat herd

Costs them
many sleepless nights.

See the eyeballs?
Can you see the eyeballs?

But it's their barren land
from coal production

That's threatening
their own survival.

I had high hopes that we could
take and use the animal manure

And make the soil usable
and, you know, viable for crops,

But none of that
has worked for us.

Can't grow any kind
of vegetables.

Now we go back to the grocery
store for our vegetables.

Donna: that's $3,000
or $4,000 a year

That we're going
backward on now.

Narrator: and the homestead's
fresh water springs

Have also been contaminated.

We have to go a long way,
and it's really rough

Trying to get to water
that's safe to drink.

If we don't get this homestead
up and running,

Then I might not be able
to go to college.

I would have to stay here
and help mom and dad.

Jeremy: plan b is to refer back
to plan a.

There's nothing else
to back up on.

If this goes down,
we're done for.

Marty: the challenges for us
on this homestead are immense.

But right now, I want to see

Where they get
their fresh drinking water.

Narrator: each year, jeremy
spends thousands of hours

Collecting water
from a spring miles away.

We're deep in the woods.

This ain't country,
this is the back country!

It's pretty amazing to me

The effort that these
homesteaders are going to

To get water --
this is incredible.

♪♪

Marty:
this is a long ways

From your homestead.
Jeremy: yeah.

Sometimes she works,
sometimes she don't.

And it's looking like
she's ain't going to.

So then I've got to go up there
and tear the line apart

And siphon it
and get it going real good,

Then I'll put it back together,
then I come back down here

And siphon it from here.

This is totally crazy.

Narrator:
to siphon water through a pipe,

The source needs to be higher
than the outlet.

If the water can be sucked
through the pipe,

Then in theory,
gravity should keep it flowing.

We've been out here
three hours,

And we're gonna go back
to the homestead

With one gallon of water.
Let's go.

♪♪

More than 3,000 coyotes prowl
the daniel boone national forest

And thrive
on unprotected livestock.

So the goats,
they just naturally

-Choose this area?
-Yes.

I don't know if it's 'cause i,
you know, look like a troll,

But this cave
is really cool.

The thing is,
I don't see any goats.

Like, where are the goats?

Donna: when we came, I had
three boys and 20 girls.

The goat milk, we used that for
bartering and we used that --

We sold it at,
like, farmer's markets.

And so that was the extra
income that we needed,

And this is all that's left...

[ Voice breaking ]
out of all those other ones.

Just one goat?

[ Sighs ]
that's a really tough loss.

So I can see a problem
right here.

Right now, there's nothing
keeping the goats in

And keeping the coyotes out.

Matt: she's actually
used these goats as,

You know, a source of income.

Their cash crop has just
completely been eaten alive.

♪♪

Narrator:
marty and jeremy return from
the water run and join misty

To see why they failed
to grow any crops.

This is the time of the year
I think everyone's planting.

Jeremy: I know.

And you, instead of planting,
just gave up?

Three years, nothing
but a green pepper.

You know, I'm better off
just to eat the grass.

This was all coal production
from back in the early 1900s.

[ Exhales deeply ]

This is not
good news.

We've used goat manure,
rabbit manure,

And chicken manure.

I just thought that with all
the fertilizer,

"Hey, we can make
this thing work."

Year to year, what were
the changes that you made?

Did you try anything different,
or did you add?

Just the location.

Marty: so went from one end
to the other, you've tried it.

That's right.
Yes, sir.

Have you ever had
this soil tested?

-No.
-We've got to test this ground.

Narrator: samples will be taken
from all around the homestead.

Misty will send these to a
local lab for overnight testing.

Misty:
you have an entire homestead
that was stripped for coal.

I mean, that's a hard obstacle
for the raneys to overcome.

These soil samples,
when they come back,

Hopefully it's not as bad
as it sounds.

[ Coyote howling ]

We're supposed to fix
in a few days

What they've tried
to pull off in five years.

Misty: at least he'll know
the reason why.

This is gonna get heavy.

Here he is.

Jeremy!

-Hey, buddy!
-Well, here we are.

We meet again.

Don't sh**t the messenger.

♪♪

You've got arsenic, cadmium,
copper, chromium, selenium --

All of those metals
have poisoned

The ground
we're standing on.

So you have land here that will
never grow a vegetable.

Sucks, is what it does.

How do we fix it?

Well, misty took samples
all over the property...

Okay.

And this was taken
from that south hill

Right up there on virgin ground.
-Yeah.

And this soil looked good
in its report.

Okay?
-Okay.

Misty: it's much darker
in color, crumbly.

Basically what you're looking
at right now

Is bad news in this hand,
and the future in this hand.

We're gonna develop
a brand-new garden

Up there on that hill --
all of us together.

It's a lot of hard work.

Are you in?
-Oh, yeah!

-Oh, yeah!
-You are?

-No problem!
-Yeah!

Narrator: to try and solve
the major food crisis,

The raneys plan to construct
a new garden

On the toxin-free hillside.

Matt will dig out the goat cave,

And attempt to build
a coyote-proof shelter,

So that donna
can reintroduce a new herd.

But for this homestead
to survive,

Marty must solve
the water crisis

Stopping jeremy from trekking
three hours a day

For each gallon.

Appreciate it, buddy.

Thank you, ma'am.
Misty: you're welcome.

The hardest thing you can do
on a homestead

Is clear raw, virgin land.

It's also the most dangerous.

Here we go again.

Narrator: coming up...

Marty: we're gonna jack up
a tree on this side.

... Marty uses an old logger's
jack hack...

-Crazy?
-Yep, very. [ Laughs ]

Narrator: ...and the raneys
get resourceful

To save the homestead.

Wood ash is an amazing material
to use in your garden.

Marty: coming in!

Matt: I want to turn this cave
into the goat fortress.

Narrator:
the raneys have traveled deep

Into the daniel boone
national forest in kentucky

To help the rains family
with a dying homestead.

The ground is poison.

Narrator: 22 goats
have been k*lled by coyotes.

And they tore her to pieces,
and she was pregnant.

The homestead's water
is contaminated,

And all there attempts to grow
crops have ended in disaster.

Jeremy: no matter what we try
to do, it just dies.

It just will not produce food.

Narrator: but misty's tests
have found non-toxic soil.

Misty:
it's much darker in color.

We're gonna develop
a brand-new garden

Up there on that hill.

[ Chainsaw revs ]

Narrator:
now there's a forest to fell

Before the raneys can start
building a garden

On the homestead's
only fertile land.

The raneys
are back at it again!

There's trees falling,

I feel like my life's
in danger --

A girl's dream.

Timber!

Marty: whoo!

Get in here!
[ Laughs ]

Narrator:
marty wants to fell a 100-foot
oak across the hillside

To form a retaining wall

So that misty can backfill
fresh soil behind it.

Matt:
we saved the worst for last.

And to add to it, the weather
has completely changed.

Narrator:
a strong wind has kicked up,

Pushing the tree
in the opposite direction

From where it needs to fall.

We don't have the time
to stay home

And wait for the wind
to die down.

We've got to pull out
some homestead tricks,

And we're gonna use
a bottle jack.

We're gonna jack up a tree
on this side

And here's like a hinge --

A door hinge.
Right.

And this is open,

And we're
gonna try to do this.

Crazy?
Yep, very.

[ Laughs ]
all right, get in there

And help your dad jack.
We've got to go!

If what we've done here works,

The tree's going that way,
right?

If this sets back,
let's all head for that ditch.

[ Chainsaw revving ]

Watch out, dad.
Whoo!

-[ Shouting ] what?
-You're, like, two inches.

Woman:
[ indistinct shouting ]

Oh, go!
[ Indistinct shouting ]

Look out!

Misty: [ groans ]
holy crap!

My heart is pumping really hard.

I don't think my dad's
too stoked right now.

It just cracked out
and was like bam!

That's the fastest
I've ever seen a tree come down.

I apologize for that, 'cause
that could have been disastrous.

And you were standing here.

It's down, nobody got hurt,
and that's all the matters.

We'll learn from that.
Amen!

♪♪

All right.
Well, here's this project.

Narrator:
the next day, matt starts to
fight back against the coyotes.

Matt:
I want to turn this cave

Into the goat fortress
that it needs to be.

And as soon as you
shut that gate,

You don't ever have to worry
about them ever again.

Yeah, if they were safe

And I didn't have that fear
and that worry,

Then I could always
bring in younger ones.

And then it wouldn't --
I mean, a couple years,

I'd be back up,
you know, easy.

Narrator: matt's plan
is to dig out the cave's floor

By at least three feat to create
more space for the herd.

He'll then protect the enclosure

With a 7-foot-high
coyote-proof fence.

Okay, so we're turning this
a fortress, okay?

We have a lot of work,

I hope my dad's got
something up his sleeve.

♪♪

Dad. Whoa.

-What do you think?
-This is awesome.

♪♪

For the life of me,
I don't know why

He's driving it in
over this cliff.

There is a driveway.

[ Laughing ]

I've called in a favor.

People like to help people that
work hard on their property.

All right! [ Grunts ]

Oh! Air conditioning
and everything.

Thanks, dad!

Here we go,
it's the first scratch.

Finally, my dad
has gifted me the excavator.

I usually am the guy
with the pick and the shovel.

Feels good.

Oh, crap.

I think I've hit water.

Hey, dad!
-What?

Check this out.

That is a tremendous
amount of water.




That's terrible.

If you found a spring
on your homestead,

You'd probably
do a double back flip.

But here, it's actually
poisonous water.

♪♪

Back up at the garden site,
misty shows jeremy a trick

To turn felled trees
into fertilizer.

Wood ash is an amazing
material to use in your garden.

Has a ton of potassium in it,

Which helps build
those sugars in your plants

And creates this hardy,
really strong plant.

So let's throw some oak
on that burn pile

And start
burning it down, okay?

-Sounds great.
-Okay.

Jeremy: I'm absolutely blessed
to have the raneys here.

I know that they know
what they're talking about,

And I know that they know
what they're doing,

So it's a blessing to know
that it's all in their hands.

Your house
is truly amazing.

-I appreciate it.
-You put a lot of effort.

Yeah. Yeah, I went back here
since I built the house.

My back's so messed up,

I built my house to where
I didn't have no steps.

I come right out
of the driveway,

Straight on the porch,
and straight in the house.

Why?
Because I know that --

Well, there's
the big possibility

That I could be
in a wheelchair.

Why?
What do you mean?

Jeremy:
I was born with spina bifida,

That's where your spine's
out of your body.

And they did surgery,
put it back in.

Donna: he doesn't like to feel
dependent on anybody else.

He sure don't like to ask
for help.

Jeremy: I built my house
to be wheelchair accessible.

So when he actually quits
working and he sits down,

Like, he's just paralyzed.

I've seen him not been able
to move for a week.

Jeremy: every year --
I don't want to admit it,

But every year it gets worse.

Oh, wow.

Your future,
you're telling me,

You're gonna be
in a wheelchair.

Long-term, this is not the best
news for this homestead.

[ Clears throat ]

Jeremy, this completely
changes everything.

Misty: this garden needs water.

And jeremy in a wheelchair isn't
gonna be able to provide that

When he's traveling
three hours away.

We have to make that our focus
here immediately.

Narrator: coming up...

Right here looks good!

...the raneys must solve
a looming water crisis.

Ah!

Narrator: ...and marty
is forced to call in a favor.

Can you come this way
within the next few days?

Marty:
we've got to go big on this one,
because the problems are big.

Narrator:
the raneys are battling
a kentucky homestead

Poisoned by coal...

Can't grow any
kind of vegetables.

Narrator:
...and ravaged by predators.

Matt's plan
for a coyote-proof fortress

Are at risk of being flooded out
by a toxic spring.

That is a tremendous
amount of water.




And in the half-built garden,

Misty's just been told
some shocking news.

There's the big possibility
that I could be in a wheelchair.

Jeremy, this completely
changes everything.

This isn't just news,
this is bad news.

-Yeah.
-This guy's got to be able

To get water in a wheelchair
before we leave.

That's the bottom line,
right?

-Oh, yeah.
-Let's get on it.

I'm looking for amos moses.

We have to think out of the box
right now

And go big
because the problem's big.

To be honest, this is gonna
be a situation

Where I'm gonna basically ask
for a bit of a break -- a favor.

I need someone to drill
a water well.

Can you come this way
within the next few days?

I basically feel as desperate
as these homesteaders right now.

♪♪

Narrator: the following morning,
misty is making progress

At the hillside garden.

Dad, I need to push this
all out.

There's a lot of stumps
over there.

We stack those logs in behind
those stumps,

That retains the wall.

We're not bringing
in any material?

All we have to retain
this dirt with is these logs?

I've got about three pine,
and I've got that big log.

I can set it right now.
Perfect.

The next step
is to pin heavy logs

Behind the rooted tree stumps,

Making a wall that retains
the garden

Against the steep hillside.

Oof.

Right here looks good!

Matt:
it needs to be dropped.

Will it fit
right in that notch?

You're good, buddy!

-That's great.
-Beautiful.

Macgyver was a rookie.

That's the alaskan way,
buddy.

[ Truck horn honks ]

What is that?

Marty: whoo!

Does that say "well drilling"
on the side?

[ Truck horn blares ]

[ Whistles ]

Yo!

Narrator: marty's well-drilling
contact has come through.

Wow.

Matt: yeah, baby!

Narrator:
in kentucky, it costs around


But amos is donating
his rig for free.

-Good to meet yinz.
-Nice to meet you in person.

Donna: and you have no idea
how glad I am to see you.

I'm glad to be here.

-You gonna make it?
-Oh, yeah.

You're all right, man.

Jeremy:
to see that big rig pull in

Is like superman coming to
the rescue, I guess, you know?

It's, uh...

It's touching.
[ Laughter ]

This is a gamble.

I mean, it could be sulfur
water, it could be good,

It could be water
full of heavy metals.

I understand.

Marty: here it goes!

Look at it go!

Narrator: amos maneuvers
the rig into position

And attaches the first 25-foot
steel rod to the drill bit.

Jeremy: yeah!

That's hope
right there, baby.

I'm excited, anxious, and
nervous all at the same time.

Narrator:
while the drill team begin
their search for clean water,

Over at the goat cave,

The toxic spring has turned
into a mud slurry.

But look at this,
this is like a flood.

I need to get out of here.

Pull him out.

Right now, my whole job's
flooded out.

Marty: it's not good.

Basically, this is all
for nothing

Because now we've built
a duck pond up here, right?

Matt: I think we're actually
gonna have to make

Some kind of drainage.

We might have to get
pipes involved.

And we need weeping pipe.

I like that plan a lot.

Narrator: the plan -- to drain
the spring kentucky-style.

When local farmers
are flooded out,

They lay a perforated pipe
called a weeping tile.

It drains thousands of gallons
an hour away from the field

Through a gravel-lined trench.

Marty: you got to get a trench
going all the way out.

We got to divert it.

Ah!

Donna: the longer that we're
taking digging out swamps,

That's longer that the coyotes
are patrolling,

Waiting for a goat --
just snatch it up, eat it.

That's good for now.

Okay, guys.
Come here.

We don't have any
perforated pipe,

But there's metal left
over from that house.

You can see we've drilled holes
in there.

We rolled it up.
Come on, guys -- everybody roll.

Matt, can you get a screw
in that, right there?

On top of this pipe, we'll set
all of these extra small rocks.

And the water will collect in
there now that we have drainage.

The only quality time we get
to spend together

Is when we're working.

I'll agree
that we spend time together.

[ Laughs ]

Good job.

We call that here
hillbilly ingenuity.

Narrator: matt's drainage has
come at zero cost to his build.

[ Grunts ]

[ Chuckles ] manpower.

♪♪

Narrator: over at the well rig,
the crew is down 25 feet.

-Yeah!
-I'm loving this.

I appreciate it!
It means a lot!

Oh, yeah!
We've got water.

Narrator: water contaminated on
the surface is seeped down

And collected
on top of the bedrock.

Now amos must break through this
into shale and sandstone layers

That may hold clean water,
but he's hoping to avoid pockets

That are poisoned
by seams of coal.

The sad reality is you're
at mother nature's mercy.

You're only gonna get
what she gives you.

It's pretty sobering
when the well driller,

With a lifetime of experience,

Looks you in the eye and says,
"I can't guarantee

That we're gonna find good,
clean drinking water."

We could be in big trouble.

Narrator: the raneys
are fighting to save

A poisoned homestead
with no food or water.

With only three days left,

Marty's mission to drill a well
is nearly out of time...

We have a 50/50 chance of
hitting clean drinking water.

Narrator: ...misty's hillside
garden still needs fencing,

And matt must shore up
saturated ground

Before he can complete
his goat fortress.

Matt: so, here's the plan --
if we make a foundation wall

That's on the edge of this,

I think we'll be able
to cut down the erosion.

We might be able to save it
with some rock.

It's got to be strong.

Get that excavator in here
and move some rock, huh?

Coming in!

Narrator:
with rocks from the homestead,
marty uses his masonry skills

To dry stack and backfill
a retaining wall.

Matt: all right, gently.

Marty: how's this side
of that rock look? Good?

Here, that's it.
-Some of these rocks

Weigh a ton.

And he's just placing
these rocks

And twisting them
and setting them,

I mean, just like
he's really got fingers on it.

So I'm really impressed.

A little bit more.

A little bit more this way.

Whoa! Good!

Just behind, we're gonna start
putting in our fencing.

Narrator:
marty locks in the last rock.

And matt's got
a time-saving trick

To secure the fence
posts into the ground.

All right, I'm gonna
pour concrete in here just dry.

This ground
is so saturated,

It'll basically
make itself, okay?

So, your job --
keep it plum.

All right, you got it?

All right, keep it up.

And you really got to give it
all you got.

Doing this dry
and tamping it down,

You can do the whole fence
all in the same day.

It's a really good trick.

That drill rig
hasn't hit water yet.

-No.
-I'm not giving up hope.

It would be life changing
because I can go to college,

And I don't
got to worry about

Getting a phone call
from mom like,

"Well, your dad went out
to get water,

And he's not come back
in four hours."

All these projects
that we have here,

A lot of them
hang on the balance

Of finding water,
you know?

And if that fails,
I just don't know

If i would be comfortable
leaving this homestead.

So I can't imagine
how you feel.

-You got it?
-I got it.

All right, slap it up.

Marty: it actually is turning
into a massive fortress.

♪♪

Narrator: up at the hillside,
misty's leveled the ground

And is installing a fence

To protect the new,
poison-free garden.

We're doing really,
really good.

It was barely $700
for everything.

This garden will provide food
for them for the entire year.

So, will it pay for itself?
Yeah, in the first fall.

We were just talking
about financials.

Every morning I check
the newspaper

And I look for the
forbes richest 500 people.

Am I on there?

If I'm not on there,
I go to work.

Narrator: misty's final task
is to spread the ash fertilizer.

We're beginning to see
the fruits of everyone's labor.

Misty: done -- how amazing
this is and how big it is.

-Wow.
-It's amazing, right?

Yeah, it is.

Narrator: before,
the rains family had produced

Just one green pepper
in seven years

From a field
poisoned by coal production.

You know, here we thought
we was gonna have

This big, beautiful garden.

It turned out to be
just a desolate graveyard.

Narrator: now, they have
a 300-square-foot garden,

Which will produce
crops all year round,

All for $700 in materials
and starter seeds.

We're getting more this fall
than one green pepper.

I mean, for real.

-That's awesome.
-Right?

-Yes. Yes. Yes.
-It's, like, really exciting.

Jeremy: look how rich
and pretty the dirt looks.

And then you've got the sun
coming around.

Now we have everything we need.

[ Exhales deeply ]
smells good.

[ Sniffs ]

Smells so good, I'm gonna
take a bite right out of it.

You ready?

♪♪

Is this the stuff
that had manure in it?

Yeah, it is. I taste it.

♪♪

Narrator:
the garden is ready for the
rains family to grow crops,

But one vital ingredient
is missing --

Water.

Time for
a progress report.

We went down,
and about 190 feet,

We hit a seam of coal.

Is that the black stuff
I see there?

-Yeah.
-Okay.

Did you think we'd hit water
before now?

I truly thought by 200 feet
we would have water.

It's not looking good.

We've got 420 of steel
on the drill.

That's all we've got with us.
We'll take it that far.

♪♪

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

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

Marty:
now I'm starting to worry.

The emotions are running high
on this homestead right now.

Water is life.

Without it...it's dire.

And this homestead,
quite frankly,

Might actually be terminal.

There's still
no guaranteed chance,

So we can't get our hopes up
too high just yet.

This is a big operation, and not
to get the good, real water --

I mean, it hurts.

Narrator:
one week ago, the raneys
arrived at a homestead

With land poisoned by coal...
[ r*fle c*ck, coyote howls ]

...a goat herd
slaughtered by coyotes,

A homesteader facing a future
in a wheelchair

Forced to make a tough,

Three-hour trip
for drinkable water,

And misty has provided
an unpolluted garden

So the rains
can now grow crops.

It's the final day, and marty's
big play to drill a water well

With easy access
to jeremy's house

Has so far only hit coal
and polluted water.

It's not looking very good.

We've got two rods left to go,
so we got 50 feet.

I mean, you never know.

Donna: they're doing
what they can do to, you know,

Get us clean drinking water.

And just the effort,
and it coming from the heart,

And them coming out to try --

I mean, that's priceless.

Marty: it seems like the odds
are stacked against us...

...and now
I'm starting to worry.

♪♪

Narrator: over at the goat cave,
it's all hands on deck

To finish the goat fortress
before a new herd is delivered.

Matt: we're gonna put
some gravel down,

Make sure the water
can't seep through,

So once and for all these goats
can be happy.

Happy goat,
a happy goat milker.

Marty:
who's gonna be there first?
Who's gonna be there first?

Who's gonna dump first?

Me!

Oh, did you --
hold on.

Who's gonna get back first?

[ Laughter ]

Save time, you know, in the
morning if you have a beard.

[ Laughs ]
hold on.

Sometimes I sleep on
the wrong side of my head

And I have to go...

Oh. [ Scoffs ]
of course.

[ Laughs ]

Good job.

Good job, girls.
-Hello!

-Get over here!
-Hey!

-I got a special delivery.
-Welcome to your new home.

Narrator: donna's invested $600
on a delivery of six goats

To restart her herd.

[ Bleats ]

-Oh...my goodness!
-You have to get your own.

[ Laughter ]

I didn't know
there was babies!

Look what's happening
on goat mountain.

Oh...my...lord.

Look what's happening
on goat mountain.

Welcome to the goat-el.

Misty:
this is your new home.

What do you think?
Are they safe?

Donna: I don't believe there'll
be no coyotes coming in.

[ Goat bleats ]

Narrator: a week ago,
donna had just one goat left

From a herd of 23 --

Massacred by
a pack of coyotes.

Now, her new livestock
are protected

By a 7-foot fence
on a goat fortress.

At a total cost of 1,000 bucks,

This breeding herd
will support the rains

In milk and meat for life.

Buddy, you've done a great job.
Absolutely.

This is the coolest goat pen
I've ever seen.

You used nature
and it's b*mber proof.

It's amazing.

As long as you guys keep them
locked up in here...

-Correct.
-...everything's gonna be fine.

[ Laughter ]

Narrator:
down at the rig, amos is past
the contaminated coal layer,

And into
the clean sandstone.

The well rig crew
are 370 feet down,

And they are running out
of time and drill pipes.

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

It looks like we have
a dry hole.

♪♪

Hey, we got water!
Look at that!

Narrator:
at 400 feet, the drill team
pushed through the coal seam

To reach a reservoir
of uncontaminated water.

-h*-h*!
-Hey!

Look!

-Water!
-There's water!

Yeah, baby!

Cha-ching, baby!

Yeah!
-[ Shouting ] kaylee!

Hey, matt,
check this out.

Yeah, baby.

[ Laughing ]

Yeah! [ Laughs ]

We hit it.

Whoo!

I'm overwhelmed at the moment.

That's liquid gold in kentucky.

Oh, my god!
I feel awesome! [ Laughs ]

Marty: the lesson here
is never give up.

No matter what you're doing.

Never throw in the towel.

♪♪

Narrator: for seven years,
jeremy has spent hours each day

Hauling clean water
from a busted pipe

In a spring three hours away.

Oh, look at that!

Now they have a well
and hand pump

Giving them water
to sustain the homestead

Just 20 feet from the house

Where jeremy can fetch it
even from a wheelchair.

-Oh, my goodness!
-[ Laughing ]

One thing the raney's
has given us is hope.

I really, truly in my heart
got hope.

I really do.

-These are the hard moments.
-Yeah.

So, I mean, I appreciate
your hard work -- I really do.

It's all right.

You know, I was brought up --
men don't shed tears.

From one kentucky heart
to alaska heart,

I appreciate it, man.

I mean it.
God bless you in your life.

-Thank you, thank you.
-You're quite welcome.

♪♪

I thank the raneys
for the well

Only two feet
off the front porch --

Just pure, good,
clean drinking water.

Here is the goat fortress.

They're secure when they're in
here, and I don't got to worry.

This is what you helped us
to do.

I got lettuce, and cabbage,
sweet peppers, and tomatoes.

Kaylee: I know that I can go
through college

And everything's
gonna be great.

So, thanks to the raneys,
things are looking ahead

And looking good.