[Drew] Winds of over
100 miles an hour.
It shook our house. It almost
tipped over our camper.
There's a new predator
added to
the homestead predator list.
[Ela]
It's called tumbleweeds.
They're big,
they're thorny,
they're extremely painful.
We have no food
on this property,
no livestock.
We don't have a garden.
Everything died.
[man] We're a family of four,
about to be a family of five.
It's dire. But I have an idea.
Not bad! Keep 'em coming.
[whooping]
Whoa!
Clint!
It's a miracle
what you guys have done here.
This is emotional.
[Marty] Colorado.
You look around
these mountains,
they're over 14,000 feet.
They're every color
you can imagine.
Winds sweep across
these plains,
picking up everything
that's not nailed down.
Predominantly sand. In fact,
straight ahead are
the largest sand dunes
in North America.
-What?
-[Marty] Yeah, yeah.
Winds have been clocked
at about 130-140 miles an hour
right here.
The point, these homesteaders
or anyone in this valley
lives with wind.
So, batten down the...
Hatches.
[Marty] No.
[laughing] Oh, my gosh.
-[laughing] Oh, my gosh.
-Your turn.
It's gonna stick to my hair.
You look really cool.
-[laughing]
-Thanks.
[narrator] Strong tailwinds
carry the Raneys
to a homestead in
the 8,000-feet high flatlands
of the Southern
Colorado desert.
Sandwiched between
14,000-foot peaks
and 30 square miles
of sand dunes,
this valley of extremes
generates a Venturi effect,
funneling winds
well over 100 miles per hour.
The absence of trees
leaves sparse coverage
from the relentless summer sun
and freezing winter winds.
This, coupled with
the pervasive invasion
of coyotes,
makes off-grid survival
a daily struggle.
It is here
that the Bankey family
watches their
homestead dream tumble away.
Hi, I'm Drew,
this is my wife Ela.
We share our A-frame cabin
with Alyssa, my stepdaughter,
our son Hock,
he's 15 months old,
and soon to be Ember,
coming in June.
[Ela] We live
on five acres here
in a homestead
of the Colorado,
and we've lived here
for about three years now.
When we bought the place,
we had no idea
how harsh
the elements were out here.
[Drew] The winds are extreme.
We had sustained winds
of over 100 miles an hour
for 24 hours.
It shook our house.
It knocked down our,
uh, smokestack off our house.
It almost tipped over
our camper.
[Ela] With the wind coming in,
it blows these tumbleweeds.
They're big, they're thorny.
Any time you try to touch one,
they're extremely painful.
[Drew]
The coyotes here are real.
We've had dogs in the past,
and we've literally
seen our dogs,
uh, get ganged up by,
like, four, five coyotes.
Having our kids outside,
definitely prey-size
for coyotes.
[narrator] But it's
the financial strain
of going to town for groceries
that has put
the Bankeys' homestead life
in immediate jeopardy.
[Drew] We have no food
on this property,
we don't have a garden
to produce or anything.
We have no livestock.
We're constantly putting
our finances into groceries,
spending thousands of dollars
a month.
We have to get this homestead
to a place where we can
survive, or I'm afraid
we're gonna have to leave.
Raneys, we need your help.
Please help us.
Oh, look at that A-frame, Dad.
Oh, yeah.
-[Matt] Here we go.
-[Drew] Here they are.
-[Marty] Hello!
-[Ela] Hi.
-[Marty] It's a little windy.
-[Ela] It's a little windy?
How are you doing?
Marty Raney.
Hey. Drew Bankey.
Nice to meet you.
-[Marty] Nice to
meet you, Drew.
-Ela. Welcome.
Ela. Nice to meet you.
-Alyssa.
-[Marty] Alyssa.
Nice to meet you.
We've never been
in a homestead that had,
oh, conservatively,
one billion tumbleweeds.
It's almost like a predator.
They're everywhere.
[Ela] It's been
very challenging.
When we came
to look at the place, it was
a beautiful, calm, sunny day.
-[Marty] It was real calm?
-[Ela] No one
mentioned wind at all.
We had no idea
about these winds.
[Ela] It's been
a learning curve.
This place is
pretty wild up here.
You see a lot of wild animals?
Yeah, we've seen
packs of coyotes
and a few snakes, definitely.
Packs of snakes?
We do have snakes around here,
-and I got
a present for Marty.
-[Misty] Oh, no.
Oh, no.
[Matt] Dad, you gotta...
I k*lled it
right by the gateway.
-Look how happy he is.
-Perfect.
-Are there a lot
of rattlesnakes around here?
-[Drew] Not right now.
-[Marty] In the summer?
-Yeah.
Is it an easy place to live?
Um, I don't know how to do any
homesteading stuff, really.
[Misty] You go
to school for what?
[Alyssa] I'm an art major.
You want to stay out here?
Do you want to be
a part of this?
I want to stay out here
and be a part of it.
-You do?
-[Alyssa] Mm-hmm.
[Marty] But I can see
there's some challenges here.
Did the day ever come
in the last three years
that you guys thought that
maybe you pull the pin
and not live here?
-Yeah.
-[Drew] More than once.
[Ela] One of the things
that attracted us
to this land
and this property here
is the seclusion.
Drew had done
two tours in Iraq.
Being out here
has really helped
with his
day-to-day function in life.
In 2018,
I went through a program
for the VA.
And part of that program,
uh, was equine therapy.
That helped me out a lot.
The mountains, the horses
has given me a lot
of sovereignty in my life
and a lot of freedom
that I never thought I'd have.
A big part of having
the homestead for us is also
giving that experience
to our children.
Being able to share and teach
our kids how to
live off the land.
[Drew] If we can't
make this homestead safe
to where
my family can be outside,
we might as well
be living in an apartment.
[Marty] Holy moly.
This place is crazy, buddy.
[Drew] This is vegetation
that grew last growing season.
At the end of the year,
they die,
and the wind breaks them off
and they become tumbleweeds.
[Marty] Okay. I guess we
make our way this way.
[Drew] Then you got
to stop and get all the burrs
out of your feet.
[horse neighing]
[Marty] Where are
these horses living?
[Drew] A small spot over here.
Old chicken coop I converted.
[Marty] This wind's
blowing harder
since I've been here.
-So...
-Absolutely. It's gonna keep
getting that way too
-for the rest of this
whole week. Yeah, yeah.
-Really?
I'm thinking that the winds
in the winter time are brutal.
I've seen 35 below.
If the wind's blowing at all,
it'll give you frostbite
in minutes.
[Marty] This barn is small.
I can't imagine standing here
in the winter if I was a horse
and not looking for
a place, immediately,
to get out of the wind.
This homestead
has got more wind
than probably every homestead
that I've visited
-in the last year, combined.
-Mm-hmm.
[Misty] So, have you attempted
to grow anything
as far as a garden?
[Ela] I have.
This is the remnants of our
apple tree over here.
You want to guess
how many apples we got?
-[Misty] Oh, man.
I see road apples.
-[Ela laughs]
Oh, wow.
So not did one tree make it?
Not did one tree make it.
Wind just zaps the moisture
out of plants completely.
It's one of the easiest things
to overlook
because people don't realize
how damaging it is.
-You have a greenhouse?
-[Ela] I do.
-[Misty] Can you show me?
-[Ela] I would love to.
[Misty] Okay.
So this is the greenhouse.
-Welcome.
-Oh. It's cute.
[Ela] Thank you.
It was actually a porch
-when we moved here.
-[Misty] You have
stuff growing.
-[Ela] Yeah, we got some...
-[Misty] That's amazing.
-...some microgreens here.
-[Misty] Yeah.
[Ela] And this
is a lemon tree.
Probably one of the only few
lemon trees in the desert.
Are you a little reluctant
to put it outside?
I am very reluctant
to put it outside.
There's no way
it could live out here.
[Misty] The greenhouse
isn't big enough
to feed a family of five.
Just trying to
pull it all together
to where we really can get
this family to a place
where they are growing food
is gonna be
really, really hard.
We tried to grow
and start seeds
and move 'em outside,
and the wind and the sun just
kills it immediately.
-It's just too intense.
-[Ela] It's too intense.
And you can't use
shade for the sun
because the wind
blows it away.
Anything you build,
anything you set up
-will just blow away...
-Mm-hmm.
-...unless it's b*mber.
-Yeah.
Like it's gotta be b*mb-proof.
-It's like you're
completely exposed.
-Yes.
It's practically
like we've been
living in an apartment,
'cause we can't
go outside and do anything.
It's been so intense.
-No.
-You don't want
to move out here
with all this land and then
-be stuck inside.
-[Misty] Yeah.
Everything's intensified.
This is absolutely
a place where we can fail,
because dealing
with mother nature,
trying to control
mother nature...
I mean, look at this wind,
there's a reason why
when you look around,
nothing is here
but a bunch of tumbleweed.
Nothing is growing,
nothing is surviving.
It won't be able
to survive the sun,
it won't be able
to survive these temperatures,
and it's definitely not going
to survive the wind.
[Matt] What's going on here?
[Alyssa] Kinda looks
like a deer.
[Matt]
Guaranteed this got chewed on
and gnawed on by a coyote.
-[Alyssa] Mm.
-[Matt] Is that a thing that
you guys worry about
when it comes to
raising your livestock?
Um, we haven't really
had any livestock
besides just like,
our two horses.
I feel like we just kinda know
we wouldn't be able to, like,
keep an animal safe here.
So, two horses,
but you don't see yourself
getting any more livestock
because of
potential predation,
predator problems?
Yeah.
The homestead has livestock.
But they don't
have any livestock
that actually puts food
on the table.
They're gonna have
to be able to live
and be able to deal
with these predators.
After hearing all this,
we'll all
put our heads together
and see how we can
help the homestead
and make this place
as successful as possible.
-All right.
-All right?
-Mm-hmm.
-Let's go.
I've been here five minutes,
-I don't ever want to see
another tumbleweed again.
-[Alyssa] Yeah.
So, more than one homesteader
that we've rolled across
has had horses
or mules or donkeys,
but not every homesteader
has had a horse
that they use for therapy.
Even in Alaska.
You don't need a heated barn,
but you do need
cover from the elements
and you need an enclosure
where the animal
can get out of the wind.
And these guys are
exposed to the wind.
Living quarters are tight
with the new baby on the way.
They're all cooped up
inside that little A-frame
and she said that
right now
it's like apartment living
with this wind.
[Marty] This is a homestead
that has a wind problem.
And the fastest,
quickest, smartest,
most practical solution
would be a solid building,
to get horses, life, property,
anything out of the wind.
As far as food,
it's pretty dire.
There's some fruit trees
they planted.
The orchard's dead.
You go inside this little deck
that they've enclosed
and turned into
a makeshift greenhouse,
it's got a few herbs,
but basically that's it.
[Matt] The family wants
to get livestock,
like chickens or goats,
something else that
contributes to the food
for the family.
-Yeah.
-But it's not
a wise decision because of
all the predators out here.
So, what I need to do is
condition Alyssa
and teach her how to ward off
the coyotes and the predators
so they could get
livestock on the homestead
that actually gives back
not just in therapeutic ways,
but puts food on the table.
Good point, well-stated.
-Yeah.
-[Marty] Speaking of
the family,
let's go have
a little chat with them.
-Sounds good.
-All right.
[narrator] Marty will design
a barn large enough
to keep the family's horses
better-protected
from the harsh environment.
But it will also serve
an important second function,
as a strategically-placed
windbreak.
Misty will take advantage
of the wind protection
with an outdoor garden area
while also expanding
the homestead's
original greenhouse
to provide
enough growing space
to feed the Bankeys'
expanding family.
Finally, Matt will probe
and predator-proof
the homestead perimeter,
in preparation for
the addition of new livestock
The goal: To provide
self-sustainable protein
and eliminate
the family's dependence
on costly groceries.
-[Marty] Check this out.
-[harmonica playing]
-[Ela] Oh, my God.
-[all laughing]
-[Marty] Isn't that wild?
-[Drew] That's cool.
[harmonica continues playing]
Your homestead
makes music too.
That said,
everything that
you build out here
better be nailed down,
it better be anchored,
or you might have
to rebuild it.
And I will
tell you straight up
that we three
cannot do it alone.
Are we gonna have help?
-[Ela] I'm ready.
-[Misty] Okay.
So You're limited, right?
How far along are you?
Yeah. Almost 33 weeks.
-Yeah. So let's just
take it easy.
-Yeah.
And you just need to speak up
and do whatever
you need to do.
Would you hold on
to this for me?
I want to earn this.
Okay.
[Marty] If you think
I deserve that
a week from now,
I'll gladly accept it.
-You get it?
-Yeah. Sounds great.
I totally get it.
-Let's go.
-Yeah, get some rest.
[Marty] Okay, so,
-we're believers.
-[Drew chuckles]
You live in a windy place.
We had to make some calls
to personal friends
that we've met along the way
across North America.
And once we shared with them
the little bit that we
found out about you guys,
you'd be happy to know that
there are people that are
wanting to help us help you.
One of those friends of ours
and now a friend of yours,
is a man named Kirk.
He owns a company
called Dry Box.
And there's two of those
headed down the highway.
-Look right there.
-Wow.
What we wanna do is
not just have one,
but two 40-footers,
and we wanna incorporate them
as a new barn
that you just said you needed.
And also,
provide some windbreak
for other projects perhaps.
-Yeah.
-So that's what that means.
[Drew] Out here
with this wind,
it's hard to
piece things together,
I've done it.
You have to do pieces
and pieces and pieces
basically because of the wind,
you know.
And this, uh, I mean,
the storage containers
are perfect for out here.
Come on back.
I have so many possibilities
just running through
my head right now.
My mind's racing too
with so many ideas, you know.
It's amazing.
Guys, come over here
just for a minute.
Stand right here.
[Drew and Ela laughing]
It's already doing its job.
It's not even...
it's not even...
it's not even...
it's not even unloaded.
[sighs] So many possibilities.
-[Marty] Yeah.
-So many possibilities.
Not one, but two.
-[Ela] Yeah?
-It's insane.
We're in this together
right now, right? We're all
against the wind.
-[all laughing]
-Let's go.
[Misty] So, obviously,
when it comes
to anything on this homestead,
the wind is the challenge.
All I see that's alive is
a couple of plants
inside this structure.
-Yeah.
-And for me,
that's good, right?
There's potential, um,
and you see it firsthand.
-There's hope.
-There's hope.
So, while I try
and formulate a plan
for an outdoor garden space,
-I'd love to start
with this structure first.
-Okay.
[Misty] Right now,
I'm looking at
this makeshift greenhouse.
There's a few things
I like about it and there's
a few things I don't.
Plants need a little more sun,
and it's not big enough.
So, for me,
just creating more space
and more transparency,
more windows,
get rid of the wood lid,
and just
really give 'em the potential
to grow whatever
for a family of five
is the goal.
I would love to pop off
all the windows.
I'd love to extend it
that way, for sure.
Maybe even this way.
-We salvage all the material
that we can.
-Okay.
-And we just go for it.
-Yeah.
That's the plan
and that's the idea.
-Sounds great.
-You like it?
I like it. We also have these
windows over here too
-that are not being used.
-What! [laughs]
[Ela] So we can probably
use those as well.
[Misty] Oh, my gosh.
Ela, I love it.
Yeah, that's gonna be plenty.
[narrator]
To extend the greenhouse,
Misty will dismantle
the current 8x8 structure
and build out a new
12x16-foot foundation,
more than tripling
the growing space
and allowing
for larger windows
to let in additional sun.
[Ela] This structure
has served us well.
Here we go.
[Ela] And I feel like
if we extend it,
in the greenhouse
we can grow a lot more food
for our family and be able
to use it year round.
[Matt] Look at this fence,
and look at
how many tumbleweeds
-it's actually catching.
-[Alyssa] Yeah.
This homestead has
so many tumbleweeds
built up along the fence line,
it's actually
a predator problem.
Watch what happens.
-[Alyssa chuckles]
-[Matt] Can you see me?
[laughing] No.
-[Matt] You get
what I'm saying here?
-[Alyssa] Yeah.
I mean,
I'm a pretty big guy.
You could fit
packs of coyotes in here
and you'd never see 'em. Okay?
These tumbleweeds
have got to go.
[narrator]
Originating in Eurasia,
tumbleweeds are
a type of plant
known as a diaspore.
Their unique life cycle
involves breaking off
from their roots
and tumbling
across the landscape,
dispersing their seeds
as they go,
before eventually dying
and decomposing.
They're often associated
with the American West
in film and television,
to insinuate a desolate
and lonely frontier.
[Matt] The only way
we're gonna prepare
this homestead
for potential new livestock
is by eliminating this cover
that is along
the line of the fence
that runs all the way
around the property
and the animal pens.
-Don't hate me yet.
-[Alyssa chuckles]
[Matt] It's crazy.
I definitely feel like I
learned something today.
I didn't really think
that tumbleweeds could
hide coyotes,
but it definitely makes sense
now that he
explained it to me.
[Matt]
This isn't going terrible.
This is not going bad.
[Marty] Pick your truck.
[narrator] With Alyssa
tending to tumbleweeds,
Matt joins Marty and Drew
on the homestead's
most vital new structure.
A livestock barn
that will do double duty
as a much-needed windbreak.
You can see!
Where does it go? Show us!
Stand on the line!
Go like this
where the line is!
[Matt] It's right here.
[Marty] Copy that. Here we go.
Hang on!
[Matt whooping]
[Marty] If it was
life and death,
if it was an emergency,
what would be the quickest way
to get out of this wind?
Right this second!
[Matt whooping]
[Marty] Build a building?
Pour some concrete?
Or drag in
an all-steel,
engineered-to-protect-you
from-the-elements
shipping container?
[narrator] To provide
year-round protection
against the wind
for homesteader
and horse alike,
Marty will place
the two shipping containers
in parallel formation,
enclosing the center channel
to create a three-room barn
and storage building.
The structure will be angled
to block the brutal wind
for the home
and potential garden spaces.
[Marty] Okay. Coming down.
Do they look even?
Do they look level?
Do they look cool?
[Drew] They look sweet!
[Matt] You can throw
a shipping container
on the ground
and use it for storage,
but getting them both level
and square with each other
is gonna make it really easy
for us to frame up
walls on both ends and fencing
and put a nice square roof
on the top.
We're gonna
build this structure,
try to protect horses.
And how we do it,
-hopefully, will be
influenced by you guys.
-Great.
On that note, guys,
I think we better
close the doors.
Otherwise, this might
fill up with tumbleweeds.
[Matt] Yeah.
-[Marty] Tell me
if it's a good idea or bad.
-[Drew] All right.
[Marty] Did it come out?
[Drew] The top. You got about
[Marty] When you
roll on to a homestead
and you got about a week
to solve problems...
[Drew] That's good!
...you find the quickest,
fastest solution.
As far as structures go,
this is the largest structure
that we've ever built
on any homestead.
How do you do that?
You pull out all the stops,
apply all the tricks
of the trade
and get to work.
What I want you to do is get
about five of these...
-[Drew] Flushed up?
-[Marty] Yup.
And you could use
your speed square
to do it with, right?
[Drew] Got it.
-[Marty] Make sure they're all
perfectly even.
-Lovely.
[Drew] I've been a caretaker
for so long with the family.
Ela being pregnant
over the past two, three years
makes it very hard for her
to provide any help at all.
I'm always the person
filling up
the toilet paper roll
in the bathroom, you know,
and cooking dinner a lot.
-My way a little bit?
-[Marty] Sure.
So, shifting from
the caretaker position
and being taken care of
is an adjustment for me,
but it's a good adjustment.
That cut was perfect.
Now get rid of that piece.
Now, throw this over here.
Is the next piece
already marked?
-Correct.
-Perfect. Cut it.
Okay. There's a bunch
of rafters.
That's a start.
[tools whirring]
[Misty] This one is huge.
Man, it's over 8 feet.
One thing I love
about Drew and Ela is
they've kinda pieced
this homestead together
with all of these
structures that are here.
And I'm looking at
a ton of windows
and a ton of lumber,
and it's all just sitting here
waiting to be used.
So, for me, it's exciting,
'cause I'm looking at
their new greenhouse.
This isn't your
average homestead.
The wind never stops blowing.
What I've done
here with this 4x4
is I've used it
as the foundation
but extended it for the wall.
So the ground is
acting as an anchor.
This thing is secure
and it's buff. It's sturdy.
It's not a regular 2x4 frame,
it's a 4x4.
I'm confident that
these 4x4 poles
are gonna be able
to withstand this wind.
The building is going
to be strong and sturdy
and everything we need
it to be out here.
-Look at all this sun.
I mean, this is on...
-It's beautiful.
the south side of the A-frame.
And then, thanks to you,
we have all of these windows
that we're just gonna slap in.
-[Ela] Yeah.
-[Misty] But we're
to the place
where we're gonna
start framing,
which goes fast.
Put the roof on
and call it good.
And then move
to the outdoor space.
Yeah. Then we can plant
some seeds and some soil.
We're getting so close,
are you getting excited?
I'm getting really excited.
-[Matt] Semi fast-ish.
-[Alyssa] Mm-hmm.
[narrator] At the far corner
of the homestead,
Matt and Alyssa are
clearing the fence line
of coyote-camouflaging
tumbleweeds.
Okay, I gotta ask this.
Was this, like, a chore that
you've just been putting off?
I'd worked on it
for a few hours
and then overnight, it'd be,
like, all my work was just
replaced with new tumbleweeds.
Alyssa's wanted to help out
on the homestead
and I think I put her
to the test today.
We've been clearing out
tons and tons of tumbleweeds,
wrapping them up
with giant tarps,
loading them in the truck.
And I definitely can see that
Alyssa's an asset.
She's strong, she's tough,
she's not a complainer.
And she's definitely
what this homestead needs
to make everything
a lot easier.
-All right. Alyssa!
-[Alyssa] Yeah?
-[Matt] Let's move this tarp.
-[Alyssa] All right.
I've been trying to think of
a use for these tumbleweeds.
They seem
like a material that just
shows up on the homestead.
I don't know what it is yet.
But instead of
burning these tumbleweeds
or just
throwing 'em up in the air
and have 'em blow on
to somebody else's property...
Let's go all the way
to the back.
...I'm gonna gather
all the tumbleweeds I can
and cram 'em inside
that shipping container.
Pull!
I'm lost in the sauce!
-[Alyssa laughing]
-[Matt] Okay.
Three, two, one.
Awesome. Okay.
One down, 99 to go.
-Yup.
-[both laughing]
-[Marty] This looks like a...
Is it a mustang?
-[Drew] Atlas. Yeah.
[Marty] Atlas.
-Friendly?
-Totally.
So why is Atlas here?
Atlas was a donation
from equine therapy.
It's where you
walk with the horse,
spend time
with the horse one-on-one.
I got it through a program
I was going to at the VA.
A seven-week inpatient program
for combat veterans with PTSD.
-Is that you?
-That's me.
I did two tours, Iraq,
in '05 and '07, heavy combat.
-Especially the second
deployment.
-[Marty] Wow.
[Drew] I'm a suicide survivor.
This whole thing
saved my life.
Time in the mountains help,
being down here
with the horses.
Veterans come out,
they spend time out here.
We go on hikes,
we do equine therapy
with the horses.
That same type of program.
There's a mental connection
that's hard to understand
that happens.
But it was the only thing
out of the seven-week program
that really worked for me.
[Marty] Drew has brought
some of his friends here
and helped them with
some of their, uh, PTSD.
It's inspiring,
it's encouraging.
It motivates us.
It's good to be aware
of this past experience
and what they're going
to do in the future
to help other people.
That's... that's... I like it.
[Misty] I wanted to
talk to you a little bit,
because for me to help you
in the best possible way
that I can,
I need to fully understand
what you and Drew are about.
Yeah. So we have people come
from all over United States.
They come here and they stay
sometimes days,
sometimes weeks,
and they connect with nature.
After we do
all of our healing,
we're able
to share that medicine
with other people.
And that's exactly
what Drew does,
especially for veterans
with PTSD.
My history being in nursing,
you know,
for over a dozen years,
I'm able to,
uh, incorporate
the nursing aspect.
So this isn't just
The Drew Mission,
this is The Ela Mission too.
Oh, yeah. Um...
I lost a brother and a sister
over the last two years,
um, to addiction,
or to drug overdose,
and to suicide.
So, that's been, you know...
Some of our biggest traumas
is, um, losing,
and not being able
to help some of the ones
that you're closest to.
-Yeah, so...
-Sorry.
[voice shaking] It has
definitely been a rough
couple of years for me.
I had to take
a long time off, you know,
from being of service
to other people
because you can't be
of service to other people
if you're no good yourself.
But, you know,
it's taken a while
and I finally am
to the part now to where
I can really
be there for people.
I feel like
that's our goal in life,
that's our job in life,
that's our passion in life.
Woman to woman,
I'm in absolute awe...
-Thank you.
-...of you
because of where you come from
and what you stand for
and what you want
to do in life.
I'm impressed with just
how strong of a person she is.
It's people like this
that really deserve a rescue.
I think, for the Raneys,
we need to just
step in and really
take this homestead to
a place where it's not just
helping a family of five,
but as potentially just
helping a ton of other people
that truly need it.
-Thank you.
-[Ela] Of course.
-[Misty] I don't want to go
back to the wind, do you?
-[both laughing]
[Misty] I talked to Ela and...
it's not just Drew
that's had a lot of tragedy.
Ela's younger brother
and her younger sister,
in the last couple of years,
have passed away,
-from addiction and suicide.
-Oh, my gosh.
They are both
on a path of healing,
they both have a lot
to bring to the table
for other people.
[Marty] We got to help them
be homesteaders,
help themselves first,
and then we'll...
try to switch gears
and help this homestead
help other people
that come here.
-I get it.
-[Misty] You know, for me,
I'm not just feeding
a family of almost five.
I have to figure out how
to support the mission
and potentially feed
other people that are
coming here.
Obviously, that greenhouse
wasn't big enough
that Drew put in.
So I'm gonna take
at least three,
if not more
different techniques
and create a garden space
and insulate it.
I'm still struggling
with this wind
and just ultimately, how to
keep plants alive
in this climate.
I think we're ready
to bring in new livestock.
Something like goats
where they could
have their own milk.
And I think it'd be
a really good idea
if the homesteaders
had a donkey.
Copy that.
[narrator]
Donkeys are well-known
for their territorial
and early warning
defensive nature.
They have keen eyesight,
allowing them to
spot predators in the night,
and are instinctively
wary of coyotes
and other canine species.
When under threat,
donkeys utilize
their loud bray
and will attack
with their feet
and hooves for protection.
making them a force
to be reckoned with
on the homestead.
And something like chicken
so they'd have their own eggs.
So, if you guys
are introducing
chickens and goats,
which is coyote food,
I mean, that does
make me rethink
some of the things
involved with that barn build.
I had no idea
that these homesteaders...
provide a sanctuary
for other people with PTSD.
But they haven't got
this homestead up to speed
where they want
to raise their family
in this safe
homestead environment.
If we're truly going to help
these homesteaders,
the number one priority
has to be them.
This is good intel.
[Misty] This is
a homestead hack that I love.
Obviously, plants need sun,
but too much sun
is a bad thing.
So, we're putting in
plastic roofing,
but we're also putting in
metal roofing.
That way, we get that
stripe sunshade effect,
and the plants have
the perfect temperature
year round.
[narrator]
With the greenhouse exterior
and roof completed,
Misty shifts her focus
to providing
the expanding family
with another vital means
to grow food.
We've moved out
to the exposed,
wide-open plain
of high desert.
We're getting away
from the greenhouse
and we're trying to put in
this outdoor garden space.
It's gonna be a challenge
to grow anything.
For the outdoor garden space,
we needed a windblock.
I got really excited when I
saw those shipping containers,
but come to find out
the plan, actually,
is all for the animals.
So, I'm on my own
when it comes to figuring out
some type of windblock.
So, I do want
to do this underground,
like a sunken,
raise beds/try and create
a windbreak
to create an insulated space
that helps with
heating and cooling.
[Ela] Mm-hmm.
[narrator] To create
an outdoor garden space
large enough to supplement
the extended greenhouse,
Misty will dig
two separate pits 6-feet deep,
then insulate the walls
to provide
a built-in windbreak
for the garden beds
at the base.
After backfilling a mixture of
compost and planting soil,
she will build a hinged lid
designed to open
for daytime sun
and close to protect
against increasing winds
or falling temperatures.
What I like about
this space is, obviously,
your solar panels are here,
so you get plenty of sun,
and it's close
to the greenhouse,
it's close to your front door.
I've never built
one of these. It is
a bunch of different
gardening techniques
that have worked,
and they're tried,
they're true.
And I think it's just about
combining a bunch of
different things together.
But that's where
we're gonna start.
See what works out here.
-All right, let's do it.
-Sound good?
-Yeah.
-[whoops]
When you combine
these temperatures
with the wind
that never stops blowing,
it is so hard
to move plants outside.
So we have this amazing,
beautiful greenhouse,
but it's not
a big enough space
to really do
what Ela and Drew want to do.
So, I have this idea for this
outdoor garden space
which is combining at least
three different techniques
to move underground,
to create swills,
to create a windblock.
I just need to figure out
how to insulate them,
so that hopefully,
we can combat these extremes.
I'm gonna
get there eventually.
I'm gonna do it.
Okay. Somehow we gotta get
a 12x40-foot roof on there.
How do you do it?
Yeah, we could've
built it in place in the wind.
But I figured that
Drew and I could just
build it on the ground
in pieces,
airmail it up there
and then nail it together
once it's up there.
Bad news is,
we've only got about
two inches or less
on each side to set these on.
Clint! [whooping]
Right here!
[whistles]
That's okay!
See if you can pick it up
and thread that needle!
Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Hey! You got...
you got enough room?
Are you gonna hit the...
See what you can do, please.
Bring it down!
Yes. It's okay. Slow!
-Hold that door right there.
-[Drew] Got it.
Make sure it doesn't
hit the Dry Box, please.
Keep coming!
Okay, be careful.
[Marty] Even!
Let her go!
Oh! You're on
an inch and a half!
Clint!
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Let's not quit.
Let's try it again!
Go slow!
[Drew] We were
putting the roof on.
You can see the wind out here
whipping 'em around,
and Marty's up there
trying to hold it in place
and I'm just praying that
nobody gets hurt.
[Marty] Hey! [whistles]
Back up some more!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Back up!
Get it down, please!
Hold! Hold! Hold!
We got a bar down there?
Anything to pry with?
[Drew] How about a 2x4?
[Marty] I'll take anything!
Don't do anything drastic!
Careful.
[Marty] Hand me
the 2x4, please.
Yup!
Push it my way, please!
Go, go! Go! Go!
Perfect! Perfect!
I'm right hard on the nose!
Money!
Head back there
we'll grab another one,
please!
[coyote barking and howling]
[Ela] How's it going?
-[Misty] Good. How are you?
-[Ela] Good.
[Misty] I have an idea.
And it might help me
k*ll two birds with one stone.
An outdoor garden space
is gonna require
a ton of insulation.
Are you
familiar with straw-bale
-construction at all?
-Oh, yeah.
People use straw bales
in buildings
-because it's
an insulated wall.
-Okay.
People say, up to three times
the amount of a regular
-home-construction
insulated wall.
-Right.
So my idea, if it works,
is to create
this tumbleweed bale...
-Okay.
-...and use it as insulation.
-All right.
-Do you want to give it a try?
-I want to try it.
-Okay, let's try it.
One of my favorite things
on a homestead
is when you take
a problem and you turn it
into the solution.
Move this kind of close
to all this
tumbleweed action...
Don't know if it's gonna work.
But you don't know
until you try.
-...the idea is
to grab tumbleweeds...
-Okay.
...put 'em in this box...
-Uh-huh.
-...smash 'em down,
hopefully, be able to tie
some string around 'em
-and create tumbleweed bales.
-All right.
-You want to give it a whirl?
-I love it.
[Ela laughs]
It's these.
The tumbleweed grabbers.
And then I'm thinking...
to put the string
on the bottom, right?
Like line. Can you hold that?
And that way,
when we do our layers,
we can cinch the bale.
-Okay.
-And then
create, like, a three-string
tumbleweed bale.
-[Ela] Perfect.
-So I'll run this string
on the bottom.
-Like this.
-[Ela] Oh, got those
notches there for it.
-[Misty] Yeah.
-[Ela] Oh, nice.
[Misty] Do you think
it's gonna work?
I am excited
if it's gonna work.
-[laughs]
-'Cause this is
two problems in one.
I'm really excited
to see if it's gonna work.
I have no idea.
I don't know
if anything like this
has been done before.
-[Misty] I got an itch
on my back. Can you get me?
-[Ela] Uh-oh.
-[laughs]
-[Misty] Ah, yeah.
One by one,
stacking 'em, crunching 'em,
compressing 'em
into a tumbleweed bale
just like a straw bale.
[Ela laughs]
This is actually funner
than those quads.
If this works,
Misty should have her face
in the hall of fame at
the local permaculture center.
[Misty] Okay,
let's pull it out
and see how we did.
Just gently, on the string.
Gently on the string.
-Not bad!
-I say!
-Look at this straw bale.
-Look at that.
[Misty] Oh, my gosh.
[Ela] I think you're a genius.
-[Misty laughs]
-Look at that.
Okay. Little homestead hack
coming your way.
We're gonna use,
for an outdoor garden space,
-tumbleweed bales.
-Okay.
So we have to make,
probably a hundred of 'em.
-No pressure.
-Yeah.
-Let's get going.
You put your claws back on...
-Let's do it.
...and I'll put my gloves
back on and let's go.
The fact that Misty said
we did this fast
really made me feel good.
'Cause I feel like we've been
moving, uh, moderately fast.
Me and Alyssa
have been clearing a lot
of these tumbleweeds,
and we could
see through the fence.
An animal's not gonna be able
to come up here.
A predator like a coyote's
not gonna use this as cover.
And this is gonna
act like a fence
and keep the animals out.
And the fact that
we're, like, upcycling
all of this material is,
I think something
that's really cool.
Hey, Misty!
[Misty] What are you doing?
[Matt] Check this out!
[Misty] What the...
You've come bearing
the gift of tumbleweeds.
-[Matt] I have.
-[Misty] That's so nice.
Thank you!
All right. Alyssa!
-[Alyssa] Yeah?
-[Matt] Um, I'm gonna hop out.
-Let's move this tarp.
-[Alyssa] Okay.
It's cool that they're able
to reuse these
as building materials and hay,
because we have so much here.
It's nice to put it
into another resource.
We got about 1,500 cubic feet
of tumbleweed gold.
Let's shut it up.
Misty will be able to use it.
Out of the wind.
And I don't know if I want
to see another tumbleweed
for the rest of my life.
[Marty] Wind's picking up!
[narrator] Over at the barn,
Marty and Drew move
the final roof panel
into place.
-[Marty] Is it gonna stay?
-[Drew] Yeah.
-Sure?
-[Drew] Yeah.
[Marty] Yup!
[whooping]
Don't be shy!
You're on!
-Exactly! Right here,
you get this guy.
-[Drew] Got it.
[Marty] Exactly where it goes.
[Drew] It's on.
[Marty] Hold!
[Drew] There's days
we can't go outside
and be able to see
the surroundings that
we paid to live here, to see.
Because of the wind,
the weather, so,
it's a really nice blessing
to have the expansion of
space outside
that we can go to
and finally
get out of the wind
and enjoy our property.
Man, is it just me, or do you
have one of
the best views in Colorado?
[Drew] They don't get
any better than this.
We've been here a few days
and after hearing you
and your family
talk about this mission
you guys have to help people,
but there's no place
for 'em to stay,
I got to thinkin'
about this therapeutic,
scenic, panoramic
healing view
that I'm looking at.
And wouldn't it be cool...
to get some
living quarters right here?
Maybe build
a cabin if you will.
Something right on top of here
where people could
spend their nights.
It'd be a place to stay
while they are in their
process of healing.
Wow.
-Would that help you?
-I might move out here
if you build
living quarters up here.
I mean, look,
could you imagine going to bed
every night at a sunset,
or waking up in the morning
to a sunrise right here?
Look at this.
It's stunning.
Are those wild horses
out there? Come here.
What's out there
in the distance?
Right out through there.
-[Drew] Yeah. Yeah.
-[Marty] For real?
[Drew] They travel
in huge bands, man.
-Wild mustangs?
-Yeah.
-For real?
-All of 'em. Yeah.
Oh.
Colorado consistently
just keeps blowing my mind.
These vistas,
these panoramics,
these scenics
are breathtaking.
I wish I had the vocabulary
to describe them.
Just look.
[Drew] It's amazing.
You know, a spot up here
is just a game-changer.
[Marty] That's it. Done.
Wild mustangs
is all I needed to see.
I'm gonna go down,
I'll come with a plan.
I'll leave you to your view.
[Marty] Do me
a favor and pin those
all the way across.
And those studs
on the end, please.
[narrator]
Less than two days remain
on the Bankey family's rescue.
[Marty] Thank you very much.
[narrator]
And as wind speeds intensify,
Marty and Drew work on
closing the center compartment
to the new horse barn.
This guy is amazing. If you
give him the actual, correct
traditional building material,
get out of his way.
So he's building the end-wall.
We're gonna set it
on the end of our barn.
We're gonna incorporate
a couple of barn doors.
Dutch style. So the horse
can be inside the barn
but still look out
and see what's going on.
Hey, a horse is a horse
unless, of course,
it doesn't have a Dutch door.
[Drew] So on both ends
of the structure,
there's a door on each side
and they're split,
so we're gonna be able
to open up the top.
It'll open up wind flow,
it'll let the horses look out.
[Marty] Hey.
There's Pony Express.
There's UPS.
And then there's airmail!
Bring it in
and look out for the wind!
[Drew] Horses don't like
to be boxed in
and not being able
to see anything.
It gives them more anxiety
when that happens.
So when the weather is good,
they can look outside
and still have a door there.
What if I wasn't here?
Could you set it in there
by yourself?
Yeah. I'll try.
Looking good, Clint.
You might make it.
-Wow!
-[Drew] Is it gonna fit?
It's all Clint.
We're not touching that thing.
And you got to
screw it in from there.
[laughs]
[Marty] You did it!
[Marty grunting]
All right.
You gonna fit?
Me and Marty's been working
very closely on things.
And having just
to help out here alone, like,
and having
the expertise of Marty
and all the Raneys out here,
it's just amazing.
[Marty] Yeah,
that's where it goes. Seal it
right on that crack. Good job.
Okay.
-Is this is the first time
you've ever went through here?
-Yeah.
-After you.
-Wow.
-What do you think?
-Wow.
-Cool?
-It's amazing.
I can almost picture,
as we're walking
through there, what it's gonna
look like, you know.
[Marty] The bigger the stall,
the happier that horse
is gonna be.
So, pull down there,
How many hands
are those horses out there?
[Drew] Uh, Thor's 15,
and Atlas is about 14 and one.
[Marty] Okay, so,
this is the Taj Mahal.
[Matt] Okay. Let's start
scratching around,
kicking tires,
and getting a feel for
what we could actually
put in this container.
Yeah.
This homestead
is ready for livestock,
but there's
no place to put 'em.
So this shipping container
has a lot of extra space.
I think that we can bang out
a nice little area for goats.
Maybe a little spot
for a chicken coop.
You ready?
Hold on to that guy.
You're gonna be using
all the tools.
I know how to use 'em.
But you don't.
So I'll teach you
right from the tape measure
and we'll work our way up.
Alyssa's learning new skills,
and this is
really where it starts.
She's doing all the measuring,
she's doing all the markings,
she's snapping lines.
And she's literally walking
through this open space
and starting to visualize it
as a barn.
[whooping]
All right.
The wind's picking up.
We need to measure this door
and get a door on here fast,
'cause this is acting
like a wind tunnel right now.
-Yeah.
-All right? See my beard?
It's like a windsock.
It tells me when the wind
is blowing through.
And right now,
-we got too much wind.
-[Alyssa] Yeah. [chuckles]
Okay. Measure this.
Go top to bottom.
Okay. Now measure the width.
-[Alyssa] Twenty-nine?
-[Matt] Okay.
Working with Matt,
I learned how to use
a lot of different tools,
like the skilsaw,
the grinder.
Stuff I've really never
used before.
It was
a little scary at first,
but I got
the hang of it pretty fast.
[Matt] Perfect.
[Alyssa] I feel like
after the Raneys leave,
they've taught me enough
so that I'm able
to build my own stuff
and help out Drew
on the homestead.
[Matt] Did it cut clean?
Yeah, it did.
-It's straight as an arrow.
-[Alyssa chuckles]
[Matt]
Alyssa's a fast learner.
You know,
by the end of the day,
she's already learning
how to make a door.
And these tiny little projects
are just little
building blocks
for her future, contributing
on this homestead.
Let's see if it opens.
-Nice.
-[Alyssa] Nice.
That's awesome.
-Okay. That is perfect.
-Yeah.
Now it just sits right on top,
not inside.
Did it work? Yeah. Amazing.
Good. Now let's get
a little top soil.
[exclaiming] And horse manure.
[exclaims]
In addition to
the sunken garden beds,
we're putting in a raised bed,
or are we?
We are not gonna
fill this with dirt.
It's actually gonna be
a waffle garden,
so we can get out of the wind.
And this raised bed
would act as a windblock.
[narrator]
The waffle garden technique
dates back to roughly
1,000 years ago
when the Zuni tribe was trying
to navigate growing crops
in the dry, arid conditions
of the American Southwest.
Their answer was
to design garden beds
with interlocking
planting areas
encased with
berms of soil tall enough
to contain any water run-off
and allow it to filter down
to the plant roots.
In addition
to helping maintain moisture,
the berms also provide
shielding from the wind,
making the waffle garden
a perfect solution
for growing crops
in desert conditions.
[Misty] All right.
Thanks to Drew and his
amazing collection
of all this horse manure,
it's nice and aged,
it's gonna
break down over time,
and it's the fertilizer
for the garden.
So we're gonna
move it into the beds,
line the bottom, and throw
the top soil right on top.
I mean, at this point,
I don't know what more
I could do for Ela.
I've pulled every single
gardening technique
out of my hat.
I think she's gonna be set.
Wind can be so hard on plants.
So, with the greenhouse,
it gives the plants
time to reach maturity,
and then they can
be moved outside,
and really set yourself up
for success.
All right.
First time for everything.
But I'm calling this good.
So we have that
waffle garden underneath
with the horse manure,
and then a foot
of that nice top soil,
and then the raised bed
is acting as a windbreak
for the garden.
Done.
Hey, Marty.
[Marty] What's up?
[Alyssa]
I heard you wanted to look
at one of my paintings,
so I brought one
out here for you.
-What?
-[chuckles]
And what happened down here?
Did you enter it?
Um, three of my paintings won
the valley competition here.
-First place? What!
-Yeah, I got first overall.
-First place?
-Yeah.
Well, that's got
to be inspiring.
-And where do you paint?
-In my room.
-[Marty] Up in the loft?
-[Alyssa] Mm-hmm.
[Marty] It's getting crowded.
-[Alyssa] Yeah, definitely.
-[Marty] Right?
You're an award-winning
artist, frankly, right?
You love it.
But doesn't an artist
need, you know,
peace and quiet
and no distractions?
Yeah, sometimes.
How old is that
little baby in there?
-[Alyssa] 15 months.
-[Marty] 15 months.
And then there's
one on the way.
[Alyssa] Yup. [chuckles]
[Marty] I'm so happy you
shared this with me.
I truly am.
-I love it.
-I'm happy
you wanted to see it.
I love artists.
I love creative people.
And you, little darling,
are creative.
-[Alyssa] Thank you.
-[Marty] Thank you so much.
[Marty] These winds are
getting worse every day.
Let's go!
In this wind, trying
to build a wall standing up,
it's gonna be difficult.
[Marty] Hold on to it!
Hold on!
Whoa!
[Marty] Okay, bud.
We're talking about building
something on top of there
that's really cool, right?
We got to get up there.
These ladders have got to go.
-Got it.
-So, we're gonna make
a state-of-the-art staircase.
Drew and Ela both
are helping
other people with PTSD.
That said, I wanted
to get the horse
in front of the homesteaders.
Let's get our
homesteading life sorted,
and we're getting there.
So I think
it's time the Raneys
can help them and the dream.
Do you want a set of stairs
that starts at the top
and goes a mile like this
to the top? Kind of dangerous
if you trip and fall.
Or do you want
to go halfway...
[panting]
...catch your breath
and go the rest of the way?
-What do you want to do?
-I like the landing idea
'cause it might give people
time to catch their breath
that's coming
from lower elevations.
That's funny.
But it's safer too.
The wind blows
incessantly, persistently.
In fact,
they're blowing so hard,
I'm not gonna take a risk
and hurt somebody
and begin building
our barn door on top of our
shipping containers.
So let's spend this time
in lesser winds
and make a set of stairs.
All right. What have we got?
To be thirty-six.
And that's cool.
Often when you're building
an outside set of stairs,
those stairs
are just free-standing.
-Way up. You strong enough?
-Yeah.
We have the option
to attach them
to a steel container.
And that will make
all the difference
in the world.
They go from
a really good set of stairs
to the best stairs
in Colorado.
Okay.
We're gonna have stairs
so strong
they could ride
a horse up 'em.
Any time you make
a set of stairs,
they can't exceed 8-inch rise
for exterior.
But these are
seven-and-a-half,
so these are
the same height stairs
you would have inside a house.
So this should be just right.
Should be nice and safe.
Also, some people just put
one stringer here
and one stringer over there,
but it really calls for
one every 16 or 18 inches.
So, we have a 3-foot tread,
That's code.
No matter where you live,
Alaska or Colorado.
Three-foot wide.
And now three stringers.
And if you can pin that there,
we'll try to line it up
and we'll start building
the staircase.
Very cool.
[Matt] All right.
We're gonna pound
some fence posts in here.
We're building
multi-leveled fence
for different animals
inside of one big animal pen.
To be able to build
a barn that can fit
all of the livestock needs,
we need to build a fence
within a fence within a fence
within a homestead.
This is gonna
keep the animals separate
and it's gonna keep 'em safe.
So, we need a fence post here.
And...
we need one right here.
And Alyssa is going
to build it herself.
A lot of people don't realize
that these T-posts
need to be put different ways
depending on
what kind of animal
you're trying to keep
inside the fence.
If you're gonna try
to put goats
inside a fence with T-posts,
then you need to put
the actual fencing
on the inside.
-Okay.
-Okay? Because they're gonna
push on this fence
a little bit.
And if it was on the outside,
it's actually more likely
that they could push it
away from the posts.
But if you put
the fencing on the inside,
then they can't
push the fencing
beyond that post.
It stops the goats.
But there's really
no other way to do it
than just
grab on to it and just...
Okay?
Yeah. Hit it hard.
Hard.
Okay. Good.
That's perfect.
It'll be high enough.
See how rigid that is?
-Yeah.
-That's good.
Alyssa has learned
a lot of skills
that are gonna
help this homestead.
And I am really excited,
not just for Alyssa,
but also for Drew,
because he's gonna have
a right-hand worker
that really knows
how to get stuff done.
All right.
You feeling the burn?
-Yeah, already.
-[both laugh]
-It's hard work.
-[Alyssa] Yeah.
[Matt] We got about
ten more to go.
[door creaking]
[Misty] Oh. Oh, hi.
Oh, hi.
I would've never believed it
until I saw it.
Tumbleweed bales.
-Pretty good.
-It's amazing.
So Matt gave me
one of the nicest gifts
I've ever received
in my life, which--
Tumbleweeds is the nicest gift
you've ever received
-in your entire life?
-Yeah.
-Man...
-You know...
[door creaking]
Yeah. You want to know why?
Look how many there are
and I'm out of the wind, Dad,
for the first time.
I'm like, "Hey, how's it
going out there, you guys?"
I'm out of the wind
and I get to make my bales.
[Marty] We rolled on
to a homestead
that had a predator.
It didn't have four legs
and it was shaped like this.
It was a tumbleweed.
And trust me,
they're everywhere,
and they are a nuisance.
That said, Misty says,
"I'm gonna figure out a use
for these tumbleweeds."
In fact, she did.
Bottom line:
One man's pain in the neck
is another man's,
or a woman's,
brick in the wall.
You better get some help.
We need that space.
Better get back to work.
Amazing.
Wow.
[Misty laughing]
[Marty] I swear,
she's adopted.
[bales crunching]
I felt bad, 'cause we blow
and we go and we work.
And I've been doing it for you
and the horses and the family.
Misty's been blowing
and going and working
for you and the garden etc.,
and food.
And I felt like we've
left out Alyssa.
I said I could build you
a little platform
right over here somewhere,
then you could have
your own space.
We're gonna put that there.
-Wow.
-Oh, my God.
[Ela chuckles]
-There you go. Oh, yeah.
-[Marty laughs]
Thank you.
[Marty] It's whatever she
wants it to be. It's yours.
-[Alyssa] A little cabin.
-[all laughing]
-Thank you. I love it.
-You do?
Yeah. [chuckles]
Alyssa's committed to
this lifestyle and this land,
and so, she's
more than deserving
to have her own cabin
and a place to stay.
-[Marty] Let's go. Come on.
-[Matt] Yeah, let's do it.
-[Ela] It's amazing.
-[Drew] I'm so happy for her.
[Ela] She's been wanting
her own space for a long time.
So, I think it's a huge treat,
and now she can
have her own space
and we could
turn hers into a nursery
for the babies.
[Alyssa] Oh.
Wow.
There's a lot
of space in here.
[Ela] Oh, it's amazing.
Yeah, it looks so cool.
-It's perfect, huh?
-Mm-hmm.
[Ela] You can have all your
painting stuff right there
so you can paint
by the window.
-[Alyssa] Yeah.
-[Ela] You can
put your bed in here.
-I love it so much.
-[Drew chuckles]
Oh, I'm so happy for you.
You deserve it.
[Drew chuckles]
Might have to
do some work done here.
You have to help me out
getting it insulated
and everything.
[Ela] Now you got
your own project.
Yeah. I do.
-Hey, Marty.
-Yes, ma'am.
I just wanted to say thank you
for the little cabin.
-You like it?
-I really do.
It's exciting.
Yeah, I think I'm just gonna
move in there.
-For real?
-Yeah.
Oh, man, that makes
me really happy.
You've been
working hard with Matt.
You said you wanted to learn.
You're very appreciative.
And most of all,
you're deserving.
So, it makes us feel good
to help people
that deserve things,
and that's you.
-Thank you.
-Okay. Thank you.
See you later.
[Alyssa] See you.
[Marty] Okay. Hold on, men.
Who's got a tape?
-I've got a tape.
-We're gonna count
So we're
leaving here tomorrow.
We need to get
the horse stalls completed.
Get help. Take your time.
Get help. All the way.
Shut that door, please.
Come to Papa.
Okay. Whoa.
Get a claw hammer under it,
we're going up.
-I'm so sorry, Daniel.
-No worries.
Stop right there.
[grunts] Done?
Now you can
pry it up on this one.
Thank you.
Really close.
Put a screw in it, please.
Well, hey, I think we did it.
[Alyssa] I think we did.
[Matt] I just think it was
really cool that we used
the inside of the container
to actually make
a couple of different areas
-for other livestock.
-Me too.
I loved learning
everything you taught me.
I learned so much.
Yeah? Wow.
I think that there's only
one more thing
that needs to happen
to really turn this barn
-into a barn.
-Mm-hmm.
What is this barn missing?
Livestock. [chuckles]
[Matt] Exactly.
Alyssa and I worked tirelessly
to make a barn,
to make a pen within a pen.
And now is the time to fill in
that missing ingredient.
And so I got my friends
at West Elk Equine
to bring some livestock
to make this barn
a working barn.
[woman] There you go.
[man] Good job.
My first thought is just that
they're more adorable than I
thought they'd be. [chuckles]
They're so fluffy
and cute. [chuckles]
The donkeys are
definitely gonna
help out our homestead
and keep our livestock alive.
They're really
naturally aggressive
towards predators.
So they're
certainly gonna be great
in terms of driving coyotes
off your property.
[Matt] The horses are
meeting the donkeys.
[Alyssa laughing]
So, I did hear something
in the trailer.
[Katherine] Yes, let's go see
what's in the trailer.
So we've been building
a couple of goat stalls
in an area
inside the container,
and we found some goats.
Oh, they are so cute.
Matt surprised us
with getting goats
on our homestead.
I really wasn't expecting it,
but they're
so cute and adorable.
I feel like
they're definitely gonna
help us out a lot
by providing milk.
We can turn it into soap,
drink it, do a lot with it.
[Katherine]
She's eating it. Look.
-[Alyssa chuckling] Oh.
-It's eating the tumbleweed.
There's a never-ending supply
of tumbleweeds.
And the goats
actually eat them,
it could be used as goat feed,
is what I call a "wind-win."
-Follow me. Let's take a tour.
-Yay!
[Katherine] Come on, Maxwell,
get in there.
-[Alyssa] Oh, there he goes.
-[Katherine] Yes.
This is beautiful. You guys
did an amazing job.
This is gonna be
a great shelter for them.
It's so exciting.
I feel like these goats will
definitely make our property
more of a homestead.
-Thank you.
-You're so welcome.
[narrator] Seven days ago,
the Bankeys'
high-plains homestead
was infested by tumbleweeds,
under siege by heavy wind,
and missing pivotal livestock
necessary for the family
to be self-sufficient.
Now, with the addition
of several wind-proof
livestock pens,
the new donkeys and goats
will protect the homestead
and provide
valuable resources.
I think our work is done.
Let's just let the goats
get comfortable
with their new space.
Should we goat?
[Katherine] You've goat
to be kidding me.
Man, I've got a lot of sand
in my undies.
I'm so glad we're
down in this hole together.
It's not very surprising.
We're 5-feet down,
it's all sand.
Obviously, you're not
growing anything in the sand,
but I wanted to get
nice and deep
for our bale structure,
so we're below the frost line.
So we achieved
a 5-foot full trench
and now it's time
to put in the bales.
All right. So you're on bales.
I'll jump in the hole,
just pass them to me
one by one,
-we'll see how far we get.
-Let's do it.
[Misty] Thanks to Matt, I have
an abundance of tumbleweeds
Okay. Keep 'em coming.
These tumbleweed bales
act as this insulated wall
that will make this
underground garden
more functional.
It will make
all the difference.
And for the first time,
she'll be able to move
plants out of the greenhouse.
All right.
First row's in.
I feel like just
stagger the seams,
stack 'em one by one
and we're getting there.
-Pretty easy.
-Pretty easy.
-So far so good.
-Yeah.
[Misty whooping]
We're using what was once
a nuisance around the house
to literally
make food with now.
[Misty] All right.
You're looking at your new
sunken underground greenhouse,
insulated with
tumbleweed bales.
What do you think?
I think it's great. I think we
created our own blueprint.
[Misty] What I love is this.
Guess what?
-[Ela] No wind?
-There's no wind.
There's no wind.
I don't want
to leave this place.
-[Ela laughing]
-Um,
I'm completely out of the wind
for the first time
on this homestead.
You're gonna have
to pull me out, um,
'cause I don't want to leave.
But for the plants,
they're gonna love it
-because they get
all of this sun...
-Yes.
...no wind, right?
-It's perfect.
-It's perfect.
So let's move to the next one.
[Ela] Misty has put
so much thought
and intention
into everything out there,
and I think
it's gonna work perfect.
I'm really excited
to see what pointers
that she has for me
so I can learn
to grow and adapt
in this environment more.
[Misty] What's really cool...
We went to backfill 'em
and that sand
kind of found all those
crevices in those bales
and weighted them
and compressed with that sand
and they became, like,
super sturdy.
Like, every time
I turn around,
this thing gets
cooler and cooler.
[Misty grunting]
[whooping] All right,
that's good!
Thank you!
This is perfect! [whoops]
Okay. It's amazing.
We got our log posts in.
It gives us structural support
to add an insulated lid.
And Ela will grow
everything and anything.
[Drew] This wind is...
-biting right through
everything I've got on.
-All right, let's get moving.
-We got work now. All right.
-Yup. Let's do it.
[narrator] 12 feet up
on top of the new barn,
Marty and Drew
fight accelerating winds
to pull off one last build.
The barn dominion.
[Marty] We're gonna try
to sheet these walls
and stand this.
We're gonna have
to work real slow.
Which... I don't
like doing that,
'cause we're on limited time.
Let's go!
But the wind speed's up
to 44 miles an hour.
These winds are
not gonna die down.
In fact,
they're getting worse.
It's now or never.
You're on the nail g*n!
-No, wait!
Don't lift that sheet up!
-no, no.
-Do not lift it up!
-Okay.
Here we go.
In this wind, trying to build
a wall standing up,
it's gonna be difficult.
Especially this one
that's gonna be on the edge.
[Marty] Stand it!
[Drew] Nobody really wants
to be on the edge
when it's 50-mile-an-hour
gusts out here.
[Marty] Another sheet!
Hey, Clint!
Put the bucket right here!
We're gonna stand it!
So Clint's got
the bucket right here to keep
this wall from blowing
all the way to Wyoming.
Just got to be careful.
We got to be smart.
You guys ready?
You want to do this?
[man] I'm ready. Let's go.
-[Marty] You ready?
-[Drew] Let's do it. Yeah.
Ready?
-Okay. Who's ready?
-[man] I'm ready. Let's go.
-You ready?
-Let's do it. Yeah.
[Marty] One, two, three!
Whoa.
Hold on to it! Hold on to it!
[Drew] It's pushing
out the middle here.
About to go loose.
[Misty] What you guys do
is pretty rad.
[Drew] No, it's just...
emotional, you know,
seeing this.
[Marty] What you do
for other people...
We're kind of all
in this together.
That's it.
-[Marty] Don't let go.
-[Drew] I got it.
-[Marty] You sure?
-[Drew] I got it.
[Marty]
Your... your foot! Hey!
Your foot's the main thing!
'Cause I don't want to
-undermine it, okay? Yeah.
-[Drew] I got it.
The wind's just
pushing this wall.
[Marty whooping]
-Move your foot. Okay.
-[Drew] The wall's good.
The most important thing
about working on that barn
during the wind
is this, no one got hurt.
And we're well on our way
to providing a place to stay
when you come to
this beautiful setting
and seek solace.
Ready? One, two, three.
Okay.
-[Misty] Yoo-hoo.
How's it going?
-[Ela] Hi.
-I've been
so excited for this.
-Isn't it cool?
-Come down.
-This is so cool.
This homestead
didn't have a garden.
It had a bunch of
dead fruit trees
when I first got here.
It's been a brutal week,
but I just threw it all
at the homestead,
wishing and hoping
for the best,
not just for Ela and Drew,
but for everyone
coming to their retreat.
First of all, I've never
done anything like this.
We put the tumbleweeds to use.
We created these
tumbleweed bales.
And this garden bed
isn't only out of the wind,
but it's warm.
And when the plants have had
too much cold temperatures,
or too much sun
and hot temperatures,
you can close the lids
and just call it a day.
So it works in both seasons.
[Ela] Feel like
it's such a blessing
having more outside.
So I'm really excited
for this season
so we can get out
and start planting.
And I think
it's a beautiful asset.
[Misty]
Let's get out of the wind.
Look at this space.
We tripled
your greenhouse space.
And I just love
the amount of growing room
that you have now.
I love it.
I couldn't have dreamed
of anything better.
It's amazing.
[Misty] It's amazing.
[narrator] Seven days ago,
the Bankeys' growing space
was almost non-existent,
with a closet-sized greenhouse
that lacked sun exposure,
and a failing garden.
Now, with the addition
of a much larger greenhouse,
two sunken gardens
and two waffle beds,
the Bankeys will have room
for plenty of growth
protected from the wind.
I just love
everything about you.
It's been such a joy
to get to know you.
You have so much
to give to people, not just
with your medical background,
but just your
emotional background.
You've been through a lot,
and you didn't
let it hold you down.
I'm so excited
to where you're gonna take it.
[Marty] All right.
How about one
last walk-through for me
and one of the first many
walk-throughs for you
on this barn.
I can't wait.
So this homestead's
been set up
with a very functional barn.
Steel.
[Drew] It's amazing.
This one has the feeder.
So you can store your hay
in that side.
Let's check
this one out, Drew.
Look at this guy.
This is another
So we're dealing
with a 12-foot wide,
Aha!
-Follow me, please.
-Wow.
There's room
for multiple stalls.
There's more storage
on this homestead
than they've ever had.
-I love it.
-Really?
This is so custom, man.
It's so usable.
I've never seen
a barn like this.
I'm glad you like it.
And guess what?
The party is not over,
because...
Feel free to open it.
-Do you like it?
-I love it.
I love it.
You know, Marty... [chuckles]
This homestead,
you took from surviving,
and now you've given us
a chance to thrive out here.
-And I really mean it, man.
-Huh.
[voice shaking] I really do.
[Marty] It's okay. I...
Listen, I believe you.
It's all right. Look at me.
After meeting you,
working alongside you,
watching you
interact with your family,
I mean, you're a good man.
Thank you.
The blessing are
just overwhelming.
And being here and seeing it
actually manifest
into physical is just...
It's awesome.
It's our privilege
to help you.
[voice shaking]
I appreciate it.
[narrator] A week ago,
the Bankeys were battered
by relentless wind,
keeping them trapped
inside their cramped home,
unable to tend
to their land or horses. Now,
with the advent of a new
40x28-foot barn,
also functioning
as a windbreak,
the horses have a new,
spacious and secure home.
And the Bankeys have
ample room outside of the wind
to expand the homestead
and grow as a family.
[Drew] Yeah, I'm just hoping
this time here, uh,
that you've been here,
opens up
a lot more questions of
alternate ways of healing,
and that there is hope.
That was well-stated,
and I feel humbled, frankly,
that we've played
a small role in
your mission,
your family's mission
to help other people.
I got one more thing for you.
[Marty] Oh, gosh.
That snake came
from this property, so,
you're always welcome here.
It means a lot to me.
A lot to me.
More than you know.
All right. We've been here
about a week
and the wind's still blowing.
It's a miracle
what you guys have done here,
and I really can't
thank you enough.
[Misty] Well,
you're so welcome.
I have something to add.
I just got you
a really small gift.
These are from a gentleman
in your community
named Marcos.
-[Ela] Oh.
-[Drew chuckles]
Look at that.
That's beautiful.
[Misty] Also, like,
what you guys do
is pretty rad.
-[laughing] Oh, my God.
I love this.
-[Misty] So I just made this
for you, like a little bonus.
[Drew sighs]
No, it's just...
emotional, you know,
just seeing this.
[Misty] Well, you deserve it.
And we love what you guys do.
And I'm so, like, proud
to be a part of it,
even if it's a small part.
Even if it was only a week.
Huge part, Misty.
I could never imagine it.
You know,
all this stuff is amazing.
[Marty] What you do
for other people,
encourage other people,
to think,
"Maybe there's hope."
One family at a time,
helping another family,
regardless of the issue,
PTSD or homesteading,
whatever it is,
we're kind of all
in this together.
That's it. That's it.
Call me if you need me.
Hey, be careful
what you ask for.
[all laughing]
[Marty] If I've learned
one thing
about this high desert
in Colorado, it's this...
I cannot change
the direction of the wind.
But I'm hoping
we've changed the direction
of the homesteaders,
from backwards
to forwards.
[Ela] Bye!
Since the Raneys left,
everything's been
going really good.
[Ela] We have
a new addition to our family.
Ember was born.
And we have been
extremely happy
and blessed and busy
around the homestead here.
[Drew] So some of
the finish work we've done
since the Raneys
have been gone
is finish off the cabin.
The one on top of the barn.
We've been getting it
all ready for retreaters.
We're taking bookings now.
[Drew] And, uh,
Alyssa's tiny shack.
Gardening has been
going very well.
Raised garden beds
have been doing really good.
The sunken garden beds
is able to grow
kale and cabbage.
Hock loves to come up here
and to play in the garden.
He has his own little
watering can and shovel.
We absolutely love it.
[Drew] The barn changed
the lives of the goats,
horses, donkeys.
The goats,
I couldn't see a homestead
without them, now.
I feel like we're able to use
the property a lot more.
We're not stuck inside
feeling like we're living
in an apartment.
We're able to go outside
a lot more.
And it's really making
us feel like we can
survive and thrive.
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11x01 - Where the Wild Wind Blows
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City slickers get schooled by awesome hosts on their last chance to succeed off grid & survive off the land... among wildlife predators & natural disasters
City slickers get schooled by awesome hosts on their last chance to succeed off grid & survive off the land... among wildlife predators & natural disasters