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Homestead Rescue Season 13 Episode 2
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Short filmTranscript
00:00:00Dude, it's been raining all night.
00:00:11The road looks a little bit worse.
00:00:14It seems a little bit bumpier today.
00:00:17Is that the homesteaders?
00:00:25What's going on?
00:00:27Jane's got the truck stuck.
00:00:30Two trucks are down there stuck.
00:00:31Two trucks?
00:00:32Yeah.
00:00:33Oh, wow, you guys.
00:00:34Oh, no.
00:00:38Okay.
00:00:39We've got a problem.
00:00:41We've blocked the main interest.
00:00:43Look at this.
00:00:45If we can't get to the homestead,
00:00:47this rescue is dead in the water.
00:00:51Alaska isn't for everyone.
00:00:57We have young couples that are all in with the romance of Alaska.
00:01:03This is the cabin?
00:01:04Yes.
00:01:05That's crazy.
00:01:06Do you have water?
00:01:07No.
00:01:08Frankly, I don't think they fully appreciate how bad this winter's going to be.
00:01:13Go, go, go!
00:01:14We're 150 miles from the Arctic Circle, and they're not prepared.
00:01:19This is everything for me.
00:01:20I love it here.
00:01:21I don't want to leave.
00:01:22We need to get this homestead shelter and food.
00:01:25Let's go!
00:01:26Three, two, one!
00:01:28On this extreme homestead, whatever you want to throw at us, bring it.
00:01:33Go, go, go!
00:01:52Interior, Alaska.
00:01:55The land of extremes.
00:01:57It's nice now, but last winter right here,
00:02:01I'm sure it was 50 below zero.
00:02:04It's wilderness as far as the eye can see,
00:02:07and it's barren out here.
00:02:10It's wild.
00:02:11It's rugged.
00:02:13Oh!
00:02:14Oh, my gosh.
00:02:16Dad!
00:02:17Dad!
00:02:18There's a huge hole here, Matt.
00:02:20Got it!
00:02:22Whoo!
00:02:23Yeah!
00:02:26That was frozen ground,
00:02:28and it's melting right now today with this sun.
00:02:31Oh, my.
00:02:33Oh.
00:02:34My feet are on the door.
00:02:38Hang on.
00:02:39Hang on.
00:02:40That was a good one.
00:02:41Hang on now.
00:02:42We're not there.
00:02:43We've got another mile to go.
00:02:45I've lived in Alaska for 40 years,
00:02:47and I've never seen anything that looks like that.
00:02:49This place is so brutal.
00:02:54The Rainies make their way into one of the most remote locations in the United States,
00:03:00en route to a distressed homestead far from civilization.
00:03:04In 1902, gold prospectors braved this rugged 450,000 square miles of glacier-carved mountains and tundra in search of the motherlode.
00:03:16Now, more than a century later, adventurous off-gridders face isolation, sub-zero temperatures, and threats from wildlife in search of the riches that only true freedom provides.
00:03:31It's in this extreme and unforgiving environment that a young family of new homesteaders fights a losing battle against off-grid survival.
00:03:44I'm Olivia.
00:03:45And I'm James.
00:03:46And this is our beautiful five-acre homestead in the interior of Alaska.
00:03:52We moved to Alaska from Georgia with our daughter last year.
00:03:56Last year, our dream had been to live here and be self-sustaining.
00:04:01We had looked at so many properties the year before we got up here.
00:04:04Olivia's only request was make sure it had a cabin.
00:04:08And finally, I found this place.
00:04:11It said it had a cabin on it.
00:04:12I didn't talk to her about it.
00:04:14Hadn't seen the property.
00:04:15I just pulled the trigger.
00:04:17I think it was nine days that we drove, and it felt like an adventure.
00:04:22But we got here, and things really took a turn.
00:04:27When I showed up and saw the cabin, I knew I was in trouble.
00:04:32And we are here.
00:04:34This is the cabin they said was on the property.
00:04:36The cabin was completely dilapidated.
00:04:43I was devastated.
00:04:45I was in tears because now we had to figure out where we were going to stay
00:04:49and what we were going to do in a place that I was completely unfamiliar with.
00:04:54All I could think was we only have a short window to get things done before winter.
00:04:59At first, we set up a military tent to stay in, but I didn't want to stay there with my child.
00:05:08So we found an apartment that we stayed in for a few months, but that really wasn't our goal in coming here.
00:05:15So this spring, we got back to work, and we sent Yanni to family while we get everything ready here.
00:05:23Now the goal is to build our home and get the homestead ready for winter.
00:05:30But right now, our situation here at the property is actually pretty grim.
00:05:35The road coming into our property is really muddy and sticky.
00:05:40It has a lot of ruts.
00:05:43During rainy days, it actually can look river-esque.
00:05:47We have attempted to put in gravel and road underlayment.
00:05:51And nothing works. It is impassable for pretty much any vehicle.
00:05:57We've spent so much time getting materials out here and getting our cabin built that everything's behind.
00:06:06We haven't had time to get any livestock or build any gardens or greenhouses,
00:06:12which is really the goal here, so that we can be off-grid.
00:06:15We don't have any food source. We have water tanks that we haul water in.
00:06:21We've got a couple of solar panels hooked up to run power, but nothing else.
00:06:25On top of that, our cabin is not finished.
00:06:28With Arctic winter a month away, the Stam homestead needs immediate intervention,
00:06:35where their family's dream of a fulfilling off-grid life faces certain death.
00:06:40This is our family, this is our home, and this is everything to us.
00:06:45Rainies, we're desperate.
00:06:47We need your help.
00:06:53Whoa!
00:06:55Oh, I see people! I see people!
00:06:59Hello!
00:07:01Hi!
00:07:02I'm glad we found this spot. What a driveway!
00:07:04That's the worst driveway I've ever been on in my life.
00:07:08Olivia.
00:07:09Olivia, nice to meet you.
00:07:10I'm Carissa.
00:07:11Carissa, nice to meet you.
00:07:12I'm supposed to be meeting a guy named James.
00:07:13James?
00:07:14Yes, sir.
00:07:15Who are you?
00:07:16My younger brother.
00:07:17Yes, sir.
00:07:18James?
00:07:19Nice to meet you.
00:07:20James, there you are.
00:07:21You're not driving that every day. There's no way.
00:07:23When we're able to drive it, we drive it, but we've actually been walking in and out with all of our supplies.
00:07:29How many miles is it to walk it?
00:07:31About two and a half.
00:07:32Two and a half miles?
00:07:33One way?
00:07:34One way.
00:07:35Yeah.
00:07:36That's brutal.
00:07:37Hauling thing.
00:07:38Like laundry, water, gas.
00:07:39So, I have a question.
00:07:40Wow.
00:07:41Your husband is...
00:07:42Yeah.
00:07:43I'm so sorry.
00:07:44No, maybe me and him.
00:07:45No, this is mine.
00:07:46Are you guys brothers?
00:07:47Yes.
00:07:48And we're sisters.
00:07:49No way.
00:07:50You came to Alaska how long ago?
00:07:52What, a month ago?
00:07:53Yeah.
00:07:54So you've been here one month?
00:07:55One month, yeah.
00:07:56Does everybody live here?
00:07:57Yes.
00:07:58Yes.
00:07:59And we all get along really well, so...
00:08:00Gonna die here.
00:08:01Two and four years old, maybe.
00:08:03Yeah.
00:08:04James and Jacob are brothers.
00:08:06Olivia and Carissa are sisters.
00:08:09They all moved to Alaska in the middle of nowhere.
00:08:12One big happy family, but that family will be tested by the soon to come winter season.
00:08:21You have a kid?
00:08:22I do.
00:08:23She's how old?
00:08:24Nine.
00:08:25She's nine years old.
00:08:26She's with family right now.
00:08:27Okay.
00:08:28So you've called us here for a reason.
00:08:29What is it?
00:08:30We don't know exactly what we're doing.
00:08:33We don't know if we're making, you know, strides in the right direction.
00:08:37It's been constant chaos.
00:08:41Olivia and I grew up in Georgia.
00:08:43I grew up out in the country.
00:08:45We had chickens and ducks and geese and sheep and horses.
00:08:50It was like homesteading.
00:08:52I first encountered Alaska back in 2014 in the Army.
00:08:56I got stationed up here at Fort Wainwright.
00:08:59Fell in love with the place then.
00:09:01And I got discharged in 2016 and went back to Georgia.
00:09:05And all I could talk about was Alaska.
00:09:07I have stress and anxiety issues.
00:09:10And the beauty of the place is just very free feeling and very calming.
00:09:16Jacob and I met through James and Olivia.
00:09:19And we've been together for about four years.
00:09:21Growing up, me and Olivia were always close.
00:09:24And we had this dream that we want to go be homesteaders together.
00:09:28Having Jacob on the homestead, being my younger brother and all,
00:09:31I mean, we don't have family up here or anything.
00:09:33So when he came up, it was a big deal for us to feel more like home.
00:09:38Even with the additional manpower,
00:09:41the Stamm homestead lacks essential shelter and food sources
00:09:45as a brutal interior Alaskan winter approaches.
00:09:50Right now, Carissa and Jacob, they're sleeping in the Army tent.
00:09:54That we put up.
00:09:55They have actually sidelined their living needs to help us with the cabin.
00:10:00But that clock is ticking.
00:10:02And I just can't see being able to accomplish all these things before winter comes.
00:10:07This is everything for me.
00:10:09I don't have a dime to invest further.
00:10:11This is my retirement, my peace.
00:10:13Olivia, she's been a backbone.
00:10:15And I can't imagine dragging her through this for nothing.
00:10:19And if I fail, that's like, that's hard to take.
00:10:22That'd be hard to take in.
00:10:28So this is the old cabin?
00:10:29Yes.
00:10:30Or the cabin?
00:10:31The cabin.
00:10:32That was supposed to be the cabin.
00:10:33That's crazy.
00:10:34It's not much of a cabin anymore.
00:10:36Your brother and his wife were under the impression that this was going to be livable.
00:10:40Yeah, when they initially got here.
00:10:41Right.
00:10:42This was said cabin.
00:10:43That's crazy.
00:10:44This homestead is incredibly remote.
00:10:49And so, before I do anything, what I need is to salvage and find what's here.
00:10:55Because materials are incredibly hard to get to this homestead.
00:11:00This trailer right here.
00:11:01Like, what's the story with that?
00:11:03I think, I don't know if the guy lived in it or not, or if he just stored trash in there.
00:11:10So here's the deal.
00:11:12This thing right here, I mean, it might look like an old trash trailer, but this could be a chicken coop.
00:11:18A chicken coop.
00:11:19There's not a lot that is here.
00:11:21Right?
00:11:22So we have to take whatever is existing on the property and try to turn it into something that will help you stay here.
00:11:30Right.
00:11:31Today and through the winter and on into the future.
00:11:34Yeah.
00:11:35This is usable.
00:11:37We have young couples that are totally all in with the allure and the romance of Alaska.
00:11:46But they have no idea just how crazy it's going to get.
00:11:50They have so much work to do.
00:11:53And without our help, they don't have a snowball's chance in hell of making it through the winter.
00:12:01Behind these windows, there's a concrete structure.
00:12:05Okay.
00:12:06And this was here when we bought the property as well.
00:12:09I think that they were either trying to create a foundation for a root cellar or greenhouse.
00:12:15When it comes to a garden, is this it?
00:12:17Yep.
00:12:18We had plans to fix it, but we haven't had time.
00:12:21So I have a million dollar question for you.
00:12:24Do you have water?
00:12:26No.
00:12:27We had plans to haul in water for the water tanks, but we can't even get water out here right now.
00:12:33Access.
00:12:34Exactly.
00:12:35Access is a big huge restriction.
00:12:37For sure.
00:12:38Yes.
00:12:39Okay.
00:12:40So this hasn't been this easy fun ride.
00:12:43No.
00:12:44And you're happy we're here, but I'm like surprised you're here.
00:12:48Like, I got to tell you, I'm surprised this is the place that you're home setting.
00:12:52That we decided to stay.
00:12:53Yeah.
00:12:54From Georgia.
00:12:55It is much, much harder than I thought it was going to be.
00:12:58But I feel like, sacrifice-wise, we have done so much to get to where we are now.
00:13:05I need this to work.
00:13:07I really need this to work.
00:13:09This is my family and the love of my life we're talking about here.
00:13:13I need this for us.
00:13:16I can relate to Olivia.
00:13:18She is a mom of a beautiful nine-year-old girl.
00:13:22Olivia and James moved out here because they wanted a very specific lifestyle.
00:13:26They want to be self-sufficient, self-reliant.
00:13:29They have a dream.
00:13:31And now there are so many boxes to check.
00:13:34But the box everyone's overlooked is the reality check.
00:13:38Show me around this place.
00:13:47This cabin, who did the work?
00:13:49Me and my brother and my wife, mostly.
00:13:51I'm impressed.
00:13:56So I'm looking at a 16 by 32 cabin?
00:13:58Yes, sir.
00:13:59This is a way bigger cabin than most people would build out here.
00:14:02Why such a big cabin?
00:14:03Well, if you ask my wife, it's not a big cabin.
00:14:07Oh, I see.
00:14:08Is there going to be two stories?
00:14:10Yes, sir.
00:14:11Let's go look at the upstairs.
00:14:12Sounds good.
00:14:13How are we getting there?
00:14:14We're taking a ladder.
00:14:15I'll follow you.
00:14:16All right.
00:14:18There's two kinds of homesteaders.
00:14:20One that tells you they know how to do everything.
00:14:23And you find out that they can't.
00:14:25And then you've got guys like James who say, man, we really don't know what we're doing.
00:14:29And you discover that they're smarter than they're letting on.
00:14:34But the reality is this.
00:14:36Winter's coming.
00:14:37We don't have time to build a two-story mansion in the wilderness.
00:14:42This is supposed to be a five-by-eight bathroom.
00:14:46And then from there, we're hoping to have our staircase in the middle.
00:14:49Two doors here going into the bedrooms.
00:14:52I'll be honest with you.
00:14:54I mean, am I looking at the extent of the materials that's left, that pile?
00:14:57For the most part, yeah, what you see is here.
00:15:00You don't have enough material to finish this that I can see.
00:15:04To try to get this completed as per the dimensions and things you've just told me.
00:15:10I might use a word I avoid.
00:15:14And that word's impossible.
00:15:16This building is well-built.
00:15:19But a window of opportunity to finish this before winter is closing.
00:15:25And frankly, for being this far away from the road system.
00:15:30I don't think they fully appreciate how bad this winter is going to be.
00:15:35And they're not prepared.
00:15:46With summer mostly gone, I don't think we can go with the plan, which was two stories and a roof.
00:15:53And I don't think we can do it.
00:15:56As the Rainies face off against the wilds of remote interior Alaska, they have less than one week to build crucial infrastructure on a young family's homestead before the extreme winter freeze destroys their off-grid dreams forever.
00:16:12Cutting down size, that's totally fine.
00:16:16Especially if it means being able to work on more important things.
00:16:19Anything that you guys do is so, so, so appreciated.
00:16:23Well, that's good to hear.
00:16:25Because getting here was, like, pretty impossible.
00:16:27Yeah.
00:16:28So, access alone is, like, really limiting what we can do for you.
00:16:33Because there are a lot of needs here.
00:16:36And right now is the only time to do it.
00:16:39So, this is it.
00:16:41It's, like, go time.
00:16:43Are you ready?
00:16:44I'm ready.
00:16:45Oh, we're ready.
00:16:46So ready.
00:16:47We'll see you in the morning.
00:16:48Sounds good.
00:16:49All right.
00:16:50See you in the morning.
00:16:51Get some rest.
00:16:52All right.
00:17:09Let's talk a little bit.
00:17:10Follow me.
00:17:11These homesteaders are from Georgia.
00:17:13In Alaska, it's a little different.
00:17:17It's a little extreme.
00:17:19And better learn how to adapt, not just to survive, but thrive in these mountains.
00:17:27Hold that board right there.
00:17:31So, what I'm proposing is putting a roof right here.
00:17:34You could use this space.
00:17:36I mean, a kid could have a bedroom in here.
00:17:38Oh, yeah.
00:17:39And then this section over here, this would be a loft with some headroom.
00:17:44A big bedroom.
00:17:45Okay.
00:17:46Okay.
00:17:47The upstairs is primarily sleeping quarters.
00:17:51But do you really need eight-foot walls?
00:17:54Not really.
00:17:55We can modify their plan if we just scale down, shrink down this second story.
00:18:02But we'll save on a lot of time and money.
00:18:04If we can pull that off, we just might, might leave this family in a week's time with a safe, insulated structure to face an oncoming Alaskan winter.
00:18:20You see what it saves us.
00:18:22A lot of time and materials.
00:18:23I like it.
00:18:24I love it.
00:18:25It sounds like a great idea.
00:18:27This is not what we had planned at all.
00:18:29But being out here, it's vital being able to adapt and overcome situations.
00:18:33And I want to be able to develop that ability.
00:18:36And working with Marty, I think it's going to be amazing.
00:18:39This is my end game.
00:18:40This is my forever.
00:18:41So, everything I have in this, I don't want to go back to something else.
00:18:44I don't want to go try to start over a new life.
00:18:47This is where I want to be.
00:18:49A man tells me that.
00:18:50What can I say?
00:18:52I take no delight in telling anyone that they're on the wrong path.
00:18:57The question is, can we make things right?
00:19:00Right now, I'm ready to build.
00:19:03I can't.
00:19:04Because we're going to need more materials than what are laying around this homestead.
00:19:09Let's get that taken care of soon.
00:19:11Okay.
00:19:14Olivia, so for me, I look at this foundation and I see a lot of time, a lot of money, a big effort for something that's still really solid.
00:19:32Right.
00:19:33Is it okay if we turn it into a greenhouse?
00:19:35Yeah.
00:19:36Okay.
00:19:37You know, I think this way south, look at how many trees are here, like some trees got to go down. Is that okay?
00:19:42Yeah.
00:19:44There's not a lot on this homestead.
00:19:45And for me, it's all about food.
00:19:47How do we get these homesteaders food?
00:19:49And I think it starts with that old foundation.
00:19:51And at any point, if we can save ourselves time and materials and getting things here, I'm going to do it.
00:19:57So let's get to work and get these homesteaders a food source.
00:20:03Misty and Olivia will convert the existing 12 by 25 foot foundation into a greenhouse structure with a root cellar that will grow and store vital crops, providing the family with a year round food supply.
00:20:18Take that.
00:20:19Okay.
00:20:20Hit that.
00:20:21We're going to try and pop this guy off.
00:20:23All right.
00:20:24Might need a few whacks.
00:20:27Misty's idea for the greenhouse is really super cool.
00:20:30I want to have that homesteading life that we're dreaming of, but we've been set back so many times that we're really starting from square one.
00:20:39So I think it's going to be awesome.
00:20:42And it's a great utilization of the space that we already have and we don't have to build anything else.
00:20:47So I'm excited.
00:20:51Here we go.
00:20:52Okay, one more.
00:20:53You're doing so good.
00:21:04All right.
00:21:05I want to talk about this structure here because look at it.
00:21:09At first glance, it's a dilapidated pile of junk.
00:21:13Right.
00:21:16But if you really look in here, I got a little bit of glimmer of hope that this might be able to be saved and salvaged.
00:21:23Get rid of all this stuff that's, you know, moldy and fallen down so we can actually turn this into a shop.
00:21:32A homestead that's this remote needs infrastructure in place.
00:21:36They need a good road, shelter, and it needs a shop.
00:21:40It needs a place where you can work year round, indoors, out of the wind and the cold.
00:21:44They can get projects done, fix things, build things.
00:21:47And I think we might be able to turn this old dilapidated cabin into the perfect shop.
00:21:52What do you think?
00:21:53I agree with you.
00:21:54Let's do it.
00:21:55Matt and Jacob will transform the bones of the rundown cabin into a 7 by 20 foot fully insulated workshop, providing the homestead with a weatherproof space to house important tools and work on all season projects.
00:22:12It's nasty in here.
00:22:15It's going to be a dirty job.
00:22:17There's a lot of mold in there and it's going to just start releasing all the dust and the dander and the spores.
00:22:24And I don't want it all over myself and I don't think you do either.
00:22:27Nah.
00:22:28All right.
00:22:29Ready?
00:22:30I'm ready.
00:22:31All right.
00:22:32Let's go in.
00:22:33Ooh, that doesn't look so good.
00:22:37It's going to be real nice having a shop that we can use year round.
00:22:40Being out here so far away from town, being able to work on our equipment, anything else we might need, I really like that idea.
00:22:47And I'm really excited to see how this thing turns out.
00:22:50I've seen enough.
00:22:51Everything from about here over is getting demolished.
00:22:57And I think we should save the back two walls here and the floor.
00:23:01More.
00:23:02That wall and this wall.
00:23:03You ready?
00:23:11All right.
00:23:12Look, we're letting the sun in.
00:23:14It's drying out already.
00:23:16We're going to turn this into something that's real good.
00:23:19I can already see it.
00:23:20Yeah.
00:23:21This is awesome.
00:23:22I think so too.
00:23:32We cleared out a lifetime of trash.
00:23:37Watch out.
00:23:39I don't think that Jacob ever really looked at this structure, but now he's starting to see that we actually have potential for something that can really help the homestead.
00:23:49So the week to come should be very hectic, I think.
00:24:04But Jacob and I, our ultimate goal is to live a happy long life at the homestead and to provide for ourselves.
00:24:11I'm also so happy that I get to share this experience and this dream with my sister.
00:24:16I feel like growing up, she was kind of like a mom to me, and I look up to her still to this day, and I've learned a lot through her.
00:24:24With all the work that's gone on on the property, I feel super confident that we've got this as a family.
00:24:30We are going to stick together and stay for each other and help each other out with whatever we need.
00:24:46Dude, it's been raining all night.
00:24:48Yesterday was sunny and now look at this.
00:24:51As day breaks in interior Alaska.
00:24:54It seems a little bit bumpier today.
00:24:56The rainies are en route to the Stamm homestead, but an overnight rainstorm causes further deterioration to the property's treacherous access road.
00:25:11Is that the homesteaders?
00:25:16That's the girls.
00:25:17That is?
00:25:18Yeah, that's the homesteaders.
00:25:22What's going on?
00:25:24Jane's got the truck stuck.
00:25:25What's that?
00:25:26Truck is in the middle of the road.
00:25:27Two trucks around there stuck.
00:25:28Two trucks?
00:25:29Two trucks stuck.
00:25:30Jump in here.
00:25:33How's it going, girl?
00:25:34And by the way, good morning.
00:25:37Another beautiful day in Alaska, huh?
00:25:39There is this mud and it's a problem that is so extreme.
00:25:48The access here is no joke.
00:25:50And the reality is this homestead might be the impossible homestead.
00:25:56Oh, wow, you guys.
00:25:57Oh, no.
00:25:58You're sideways.
00:26:02There's rivers running down this road.
00:26:04It's insanity, dude.
00:26:08We decided to get brave and take my truck through the mud pit.
00:26:2537-inch tires all the way down.
00:26:31Then we decided we're going to get the truck out of the mud pit.
00:26:34We can use the dually.
00:26:36Then it gets stuck.
00:26:38I mean, this is a battle we've been fighting for a while now.
00:26:43We have so much still left to do.
00:26:47I don't know.
00:26:48I don't know how we're going to do it.
00:26:55Look at that.
00:27:01We can get this out.
00:27:09First of all, good morning.
00:27:12Good morning.
00:27:13Good morning.
00:27:14I knew it was only a matter of time before the road to this homestead
00:27:18became a full-on off-road mud bog.
00:27:23We're going to try and do everything we can to get these trucks out of here
00:27:26so we can make to the homestead and actually start helping these people.
00:27:30I don't want to be messing around in here for six hours.
00:27:33Hook it on. Let's go.
00:27:34All right. Sounds good to me.
00:27:35You want to double up on your straps?
00:27:38No, it should go.
00:27:39Yeah, I think we're good here.
00:27:42What do we need to do, please?
00:27:43Got it good.
00:27:44Go on back. Tighten her up.
00:27:47Here we go.
00:27:49Watch your eyes.
00:27:51Oh, man.
00:27:54It's not good.
00:27:55It's not.
00:27:56He's not moving at all.
00:27:58Oh.
00:27:59Oh.
00:28:00Oh.
00:28:01Oh.
00:28:02We have to talk a little bit.
00:28:04How far is it from here to your homestead?
00:28:05Two and a half miles.
00:28:06Yeah.
00:28:07Not good.
00:28:08We blocked the main interest.
00:28:09It is something we've got to take care of if we're going to build anything on that homestead.
00:28:11There's no way we're getting these things out with just our monster truck.
00:28:14I'm going to bring the X down.
00:28:15If she's bringing the X down, I'm getting the skid steer.
00:28:17I like it.
00:28:19You guys know what's happening, right?
00:28:20Yeah.
00:28:21Oh, the road is washing away.
00:28:22You see this area right here?
00:28:23Yeah.
00:28:24It's this thick.
00:28:25It's called tundra.
00:28:26It's melting.
00:28:27Underneath it is frozen ground.
00:28:29It's called permafrost.
00:28:30Permafrost, or ground that remains outside of the house.
00:28:33No way we're getting these things out with just our monster truck.
00:28:35I'm carrying the X down.
00:28:36If she's bringing the X down, I'm getting the skid steer.
00:28:39I like it.
00:28:40You guys know what's happening, right?
00:28:41Yeah.
00:28:42Oh, the road is washing away.
00:28:43You see this area right here?
00:28:44Yeah.
00:28:45It's this thick.
00:28:46It's called tundra.
00:28:47Mm-hmm.
00:28:48It's melting.
00:28:49Underneath it is frozen ground.
00:28:50or ground that remains at or below freezing for at least two consecutive years is a common
00:28:56structural component of Alaska's soil found beneath 85 percent of its land area. Road damage
00:29:04due to faulty construction over permafrost has caused millions of dollars in damage and often
00:29:10results in disruption of access in off-grid areas. It's been frozen for some people say
00:29:18700,000 years until somebody out here took off the insulation off that ice it allowed the sunlight
00:29:28to melt the top of the ice yeah and you combine that with rain this water is running over here
00:29:34and it turns into this primordial ooze
00:29:48looks like Matt we're gonna try skid steers less traumatic Matt come on in with the skid steer
00:29:54we don't have any time to waste and now we're gonna waste the whole day just trying to get
00:30:02trucks pulled out of the mud and materials to the job site I'm a little nervous because we
00:30:09don't have much time to build a homestead from scratch
00:30:12oh gosh everybody stand back please
00:30:18try to just pull it okay
00:30:23go be shy next I'm not I don't want to scare anybody away from Alaska but this is Alaska listen real
00:30:49carefully I want you two to hook that chain up if you're not dealing with this at least once or
00:30:54twice a week in remote Alaska then you don't live in remote Alaska okay here comes the excavator
00:31:02this is what we're about to drive a 20,000 pound excavator onto
00:31:10stop misty's in the excavator but the real danger is try not to destroy the truck in the process
00:31:19okay
00:31:21please give it a little lift lift up yo up nice and slow nice and slow
00:31:31walk backwards a little bit you are sinking i know into your blade here
00:31:37so try to back up just try to pull him with the boom
00:31:44okay stop right there stop now you're gonna you're gonna back the machine up
00:31:49punch it
00:31:56just keep going
00:32:04i mean now what is he out
00:32:07think he can make it we'll try it he says he can make it let's get loose
00:32:13i thought marty was gonna get it out i had pretty good faith i don't think this would have
00:32:17happened the same way with it without the big equipment it probably would have took me weeks or
00:32:21months maybe to get it out
00:32:24once again
00:32:30to go
00:32:33yeah
00:32:34fun fogging that was crazy that road's completely destroyed and that's not going to work for the long
00:32:43So we've got to get clever and figure out how to fix it
00:32:56Six hours to get here and under three miles of road, but every second counts
00:33:02We've got all the tools and all the lumber to get cracking
00:33:08It's ridiculous. Oh with the road. Yeah, you're annoyed with the road
00:33:12Yeah, it's it shouldn't be this hard
00:33:16Doesn't matter what you do
00:33:36I'm out of there kids
00:33:39There's no time for patting each other on the back. We've got to hit it
00:33:44How can you look troubled?
00:33:49We've been struggling with this road for so long now and it sucks
00:33:56We would not have been able to get the truck out of the mud if the rainies wouldn't have been here to help
00:34:02We've struggled so hard for so long with it that it was
00:34:07Irritating and heartbreaking because it's like how many more times are we gonna have to do this?
00:34:11I'm trying so hard to just stay glued together and be strong, but
00:34:17sometimes it's just really gets to you and I just and
00:34:20I'm just having a weak moment. That's it
00:34:25We get it. We're here. The materials are here. We're in it with you
00:34:30Only a really cool family could go through this day after day and still be together united not fighting
00:34:37Because it's stressful. So that's a testament to this family
00:34:40I'm seeing Olivia at a low because everything is going wrong and it's like not an easy day
00:34:47But when it comes to this extreme homestead, we have to salvage this time
00:34:52We have because we're unstuck we're at the homestead. This is a good thing. Now. Let's get to work
00:34:58I want to know right now. What if tomorrow we have the same seven eight-hour problem trying to get to the homestead
00:35:04What if it's two days in a row? I'll do it while crying
00:35:06What? Okay, that's all I need to do. On that note, let's unload some lumber. Come on everyone. Everyone follow me
00:35:15On a homestead if you have a problem
00:35:19Figure it out and when you do one little load at a time you will build a homestead
00:35:36As the fourth day begins the rainies race to make up for lost time
00:35:59There's a great sense of urgency on this homestead for us because not only is the summer coming to an end
00:36:11But we already blew a whole day with the trucks getting stuck in the mud. Okay, right there
00:36:17Cubby some boards, but right now restoring this old cabin and turning it into something useful is the goal and we're well along our way
00:36:25While Matt and Jacob revitalize the remnants of the old cabin into a vital workshop. Look at this. Yeah, that's where it's gonna be
00:36:37Marty raises the second story walls at the new cabin site a little bit more
00:36:43Okay, stop right there
00:36:45Are you excited to work? Yes extremely happy to work and at the future greenhouse
00:36:51So I have a plan with the foundation misty and Olivia solidify the existing infrastructure to ensure its long-term
00:37:01viability
00:37:02So here's what I'm thinking for the sake of time and energy
00:37:05I think we just pour concrete in the four corners and I think pour a bond beam
00:37:12Okay, so we're gonna deal with the rebar and we're gonna shove
00:37:16Trash into the cells and that way there's a barrier that stops the concrete from filling up this entire wall makes sense
00:37:24It's still gonna be really solid. This is misty rainy approved
00:37:30We're committed to the size of this foundation and it's big 12 by 20
00:37:34So for me, I'm thinking about every shortcut we can take so we don't have to fill these
00:37:39Walls up because there's no way on God's green earth are we getting a cement truck here
00:37:45Doesn't have to be fancy, but it's got to be functional
00:37:49Every day is gonna be really challenging on this homestead
00:37:51But the one thing we have going for us is we're Alaskans. We're ready. Whatever you want to throw at us bring it
00:37:59So there's still no water in this homestead and for me and you that's a pretty big
00:38:04setback because we needed to mix concrete and to finish this foundation so that we can start our structure
00:38:10So I think what we do is we grab five gallon buckets. We jump in my dad's side-by-side
00:38:15There's water running down that road and I that's the only water I know of
00:38:19So I feel like we'll just fill up five gallon buckets and see if we can get them here full
00:38:24Okay, there's water here you ready to get homesteading yeah
00:38:34Desperate times called for desperate measures missy's idea for the extra water was pretty awesome. Okay, so this isn't bad
00:38:41We put a pipe on the ground and put a bucket underneath it and we've used it to shovel more buckets full of water
00:38:48I'm excited. We can use the idea if we need the extra water, which is actually really cool
00:38:55This is a pretty good start. I'll take it
00:38:57It'll settle and we'll have clean water in this part of Alaska. Every single person is hauling water
00:39:03It's common what if I have to go to town to haul water
00:39:07I will waste hours of the day the fact that there's water even if we're capturing it just a little bit at a time
00:39:14I consider that a huge win
00:39:19You ready? Yeah, I don't know if you know this about my dad
00:39:23But he drinks a lot of coffee and every time like he any job he's ever been on I've seen a little of this
00:39:32A little of that I think that's
00:39:36It's
00:39:38It's actually pretty cool. We're saving ourselves a ton of time. We're not filling this entire wallet
00:39:46We're just filling this top course, and it's going really fast
00:39:49Doesn't take a ton of material which doesn't require a ton of energy
00:39:53You
00:39:55I
00:40:00Gotta keep it together something has to change drastically if they're going to survive here
00:40:07I
00:40:16While James and the build crew make strides on the cabin
00:40:21Marty enacts a plan to fix a treacherous 100 foot long stretch of road
00:40:27That's made access to the homestead nearly impossible
00:40:31After a couple of days traveling that crazy road it became apparent that something has to change drastically
00:40:38If they're going to survive here
00:40:41Can I help you get this unloaded or you got a plan what are we doing?
00:40:44So what we're gonna do untrain everything okay in a normal world you would address this problem with
00:40:52Dump trucks load them full of rock keep dumping dumping dumping and build the road all the way through the mosh pit
00:40:58What?
00:41:01And it would take a lot of money and more importantly would take a lot of time which we don't have
00:41:06One thing came to mind and that is what if we could get a trailer a long trailer that
00:41:14Long-haul truckers drive around alaska our family friend kai that travels and works with us
00:41:20Said I know a guy in fairbanks. He owns
00:41:25100 trucks
00:41:27Discover there's two
00:41:2948 foot long flat deck trailers they were going to decommission they gave them to us
00:41:3930 000 pounds pull it off
00:41:44I thought what if we could place it in there and bridge the bad swampy part
00:41:50I like it
00:41:53Homestead miracle right here in alaska fire it up
00:42:03Done
00:42:03Let's go get the other one and then there's going to be sections of this that we don't have any more trailers for let's flop it in there
00:42:11So we're going to resort to this
00:42:13Cutting spruce trees stacking them side by side
00:42:16Classic road building method
00:42:19logging roads railroads
00:42:21Many roads all over the world were built this way don't give me a little pound
00:42:29Hey
00:42:30Hi
00:42:31Where'd you guys come from snick up on you what do you have going on
00:42:36It's a hundred lineal feet across a bridge over troubled permafrost
00:42:41When's the last time you guys drove through here without getting stuck in your truck or whatever
00:42:46Never
00:42:47For real?
00:42:48Yeah, no, we've never been through without getting stuck
00:42:50You know i drive that thing i do would you like to try to get through today yeah
00:42:55Yeah, let's try jump in that rig right there let's do it what i told clint was we're not going home
00:43:02Until the homesteaders can get home want to try it yeah
00:43:06I can't wait let's go let's go come on darling may i put my arm back here
00:43:12Thank you yay
00:43:16Here we go
00:43:19Oh man
00:43:24Is that a flatbed oh my gosh
00:43:28This is a flatbed trailer too
00:43:31Oh my god you like it i love it yeah i love it it feels safe it does it feels so solid
00:43:38Blown away this is out of this world
00:43:41I mean we thought some dirt might be moved
00:43:44Never in in my wildest dreams would i have thought a bridge would come in here that's just unreal
00:43:50Life-changing you guys want to go home let's go home let's go
00:44:04Later that day okay
00:44:05Olivia here we go misty and olivia put their stamp on the future greenhouses pre-existing foundation
00:44:15Got some pretty good progress going on it's really exciting to see the foundation framed in
00:44:19Once this thing is she did we're ready to sand your first wall
00:44:23Everything that we're doing here lets us build on a future for our daughter
00:44:27Oh my gosh i'm so excited
00:44:30As far as my family goes me and my sister weren't left very much so we've had to figure out everything
00:44:37On our own so hopefully when i die one day we can leave this for my daughter and her children
00:44:47Oh oh what what are you doing
00:44:49Hi what are you doing can i bar well they're not weird these are never coming back can i have
00:44:59These two 12 footers i guess thanks i mean this is a pretty desperate hour will you help me bring more 12 footers here
00:45:08Yeah
00:45:11Let's just be honest right there is not a ton of material here and the fact that there was this
00:45:16Locked foundation already here gives me a jump start on my dad and matt
00:45:23Yes
00:45:24So we're trying to do like a 12 by 10 greenhouse with a little deck
00:45:29I like this and then we have this massive hole don't fall into it this little crawl space we'll use for cold storage
00:45:36Awesome so we're ready to start framing all right
00:45:42I'm stoked i'm really excited yes i am learning how to frame
00:45:48Olivia is smart and she's super hard working and she doesn't stop working thank goodness
00:45:55I've seen her at a low and now i'm seeing her at a high like it's amazing okay so this is the first of four
00:46:02Good i think that's good yeah the fact that she's all in is a really good sign because that's homesteading
00:46:09You got to take the good with the bad anytime you have a little victory rejoice
00:46:17It was really cool to do this with misty and it's going to be really awesome to be like we built this
00:46:22on our homestead
00:46:23I love it
00:46:28Here we go let me have it with the access road issues behind them marty and james
00:46:34Redouble their efforts to get the family's half-built cabin ready for the upcoming winter
00:46:41Over here bring it up right there
00:46:45Overboard
00:46:46Hold it hold it yes sir good man that help you're helping a lot the layout's right on the money
00:46:53wow
00:46:55Somebody cut me a block
00:46:57Working with marty is go go go it's it's intense buddy hey far down as you can reach on that yeah
00:47:05But he's shown me a lot of tricks and i've learned how to put up the rafters and how he adapts and uh
00:47:12Moves on to get things done and it's pretty cool
00:47:25This is the game changer right here
00:47:28We're making really good progress with this workshop especially because this is the most hardcore homestead
00:47:35We've ever been to the workshop is now totally dried in it's roofed. Let's get this last plank in there
00:47:43There you go
00:47:45And getting any building dried in in alaska during the summer time is your first goal
00:47:50But we're gonna go the extra mile so that this building never rots ever again
00:47:55It's not done yet. Okay, if we just leave it
00:47:58expose plywood
00:48:00Eventually, it's just gonna rot and I don't want this building to ever go back to the state that it was in before
00:48:07And so we need to wrap this with some waterproof
00:48:09Building wrap and then put some proper siding on it so that it can stand the test of time and be here for many decades to come
00:48:17it's kind of crazy but we could build an alaska chainsaw mill and
00:48:21Mill our own siding right from your homestead. We have a sawmill you have a sawmill yeah
00:48:28It's over there brand new let's go look at it
00:48:32We have a sawmill they have a mill
00:48:36Whoa, man, and it's a good one. You've had this here and nobody's done one thing. Not touched it. What do you know about sawmilling?
00:48:46Not a whole lot. I don't think jacob realizes just how much of a game changer the sawmill is that they have on this property
00:48:54He might not know much about it now, but i'll tell you what he's gonna learn a lot
00:48:59I've been looking at this tree since we got here. This is not firewood
00:49:04This is lumber you got like a 15 16 inch around
00:49:10Log that is something that you can make a lot of siding out of
00:49:13I mean you can make a beam out of that
00:49:16If you want to be a homesteader in alaska you got a mill materials from your property. All right
00:49:29Having an inexpensive mill on your property is the ultimate homesteading game changer
00:49:35Because if you're going to be a homesteader you need to be as self-sustaining as possible
00:49:40Okay, can you get it pushed over a little bit?
00:49:43Being able to mill your own lumber is an extremely useful skill that jacob can learn to
00:49:50Succeed on the homestead long after i'm gone try the throttle
00:49:55Yeah
00:49:57Muscle
00:49:59Feel the horsepower
00:50:03Push it
00:50:04I've been learning a lot match showed me some techniques with sawmill and teach me a little bit about milling and what lumber we can use for milling
00:50:14Yeah
00:50:18Now that I have these milling skills i'm feeling more confident about homesteading in general
00:50:22I think it's going to be an essential tool for this homestead
00:50:27Okay
00:50:27This is the exciting part this is awesome what do you think man that's a nice give it a feel that's a board that's a good looking board
00:50:36That's pretty flat
00:50:38Looks amazing
00:50:40Everything's coming together and looks awesome
00:50:43I think with the rainy's help that they're going to get us set up to where we can actually stay out here for multiple multiple multiple
00:50:51Winters to come and be self-sustainable in all the ways that alaska lets us
00:50:56We're gonna have a high-class shop over there
00:51:06All right today's a big day
00:51:10Let's crank it up
00:51:14On the stam family homestead
00:51:16That's a keeper
00:51:18Matt and jacob utilize tried-and-true methods to protect the workshop from the harsh alaskan elements
00:51:24All right man i mean that's wood look at this look at this wood yeah oh that's beautiful
00:51:32We've got freshly milled siding on the outside of the shop and jacob he's been working with me side by
00:51:38Side learning a ton of new skills like how to use his homestead as a material source
00:51:44But there's still one more thing that i want to show him it's a little extra homesteading trick
00:51:50That we picked up along the way and that is
00:51:53Shoshugiban
00:51:57Shoshugiban is an 18th century japanese wood preservation and fire prevention technique
00:52:03That involves the charring of clean wood to create a weatherproof layer
00:52:09While traditionally used on exterior siding in rural areas the unique aesthetic it produces
00:52:15Makes it a popular choice for fencing furniture and flooring
00:52:19Okay so shoshugiban has many uses but what it really does is it knocks off anything that's like readily flammable
00:52:29And it actually makes it more fireproof than not burning it right shoshugiban
00:52:34We're almost done with this shop as far as everything you can do on the outside of the building to keep it from rotting just get in there burn close to here
00:52:45But sometimes there's forest fires and wildfires in alaska and you can do a lot of preventative measures
00:52:52To deter a future challenge like fireproofing your building with fire so we're talking lightly toasted here golden brown
00:53:03That's show me some techniques and teach me a little bit about burning this wood perfectly toasted
00:53:09I'm really shocked with how much we've gotten done so far
00:53:12And right now i'm feeling like we're going to be able to make it through our first winter here
00:53:16This place is really looking like a real successful homestead in the future so
00:53:21Can't wait to see the next step
00:53:28Launch me some metal please
00:53:30With only three days remaining in the rescue
00:53:34Marty and james attach metal roofing to the cabin
00:53:39The final step before they can turn their attention to winter proofing the interior your overhang is growing bring it up
00:53:47Yeah, that looks pretty good. I'm super excited about the progress
00:53:51Another sheet she's coming up
00:53:54This is happening. My dream is happening. You can see it and the vision is there even steven. Let's cut this is amazing feeling
00:54:03Who's working marty is
00:54:08I like it. I love it. Hey dad. Hello. Uh, you
00:54:14What's up? We brought a buddy?
00:54:17I recognize you good to see you again. It's good to see you
00:54:22Time's running out and we have very little time to do everything we need to do on this homestead before the winter hits
00:54:28So we called in a favor meet christy. It's great to meet you. Hi
00:54:33christy and her two kids are a homesteading family right here in alaska
00:54:39We've built this homestead by ourselves. I'm pretty proud of it
00:54:45Everybody come around please and look over that edge, please
00:54:49There's a lot of water in them. You had a dream to move out into the remote wilds of alaska. You've done it
00:54:58Christy's legit. Thank you. She's raised an amazing family. It's so good to see you again. Yeah
00:55:03So good to see you again. These kids are smart. They're very qualified and they love alaska
00:55:10Christy adams is homesteading 30 miles from here. She picked a very harsh place
00:55:16How cold of temperatures have you seen since you've been homesteading?
00:55:19Oh, my thermometer only goes to 60 below and it's bottomed out more times than I care to count
00:55:26What do you guys think? Are you here to work?
00:55:28Yeah. Yep. On that note, can you give us a hand? Absolutely. All right. Are you afraid of heights christy?
00:55:35Slide it down over the screen
00:55:38As christy helps out with the roof installation
00:55:41Olivia, did you score all of these windows? I did. This is amazing. Okay, so you're gonna measure this one charlie
00:55:48Misty charlie and olivia prepped the greenhouse windows
00:55:53They were actually donated
00:55:55From the apartment complex that we were staying in in town
00:55:58They renovated and we asked them if we could have them because I had plans to build a greenhouse out of windows
00:56:05And here we are. So what's our measurement charlie?
00:56:0952 by 39 52 by 39. Okay, we're gonna take our fish window over to the greenhouse. Yeah, girls
00:56:17dream team
00:56:20Okay, we're gonna do the rafters insulation purlins next right? Yeah
00:56:24Yeah, olivia it's looking good too
00:56:30The whole time i'm building this greenhouse. I look over at this wall tent that carissa and jacob are living in
00:56:37And I I I can't in good conscience just like keep moving keep building this greenhouse and not think to myself
00:56:44This is insane. Come on over. I
00:56:47Can't just leave these homesteaders with a greenhouse. That's not gonna cut it
00:56:50I think the size of the greenhouse is more than enough than
00:56:56We need and I would love to do a little surprise
00:57:00I would love if me and you could work together
00:57:03I think this other half should be a dry cabin, and I think we should gift it
00:57:07To chris and jacob. What do you think? I love it
00:57:11They're gonna be in shock
00:57:13This is definitely gonna be the game changer and everything because who wouldn't be happy to have a permanent home in alaska. Yeah
00:57:20I think we could turn this from a greenhouse to a greenhouse house. What is that?
00:57:25I don't know the problem is we have two days
00:57:29Be a little tight. It'll be a little tight. I think it's so ambitious. I think it's so crazy
00:57:34I don't even know if it can be done
00:57:37But what I do know is that jacob and carissa need their own space
00:57:41I don't know if we're gonna be able to pull it off. No, we have a lot going for us
00:57:46So we just keep working. Yeah, you ready? Yeah, okay, let's hit it
00:58:01Where you from Georgia you're gonna quit saying that where do you live? I live in Alaska you live in Alaska
00:58:09Let's hit it. Yes, sir
00:58:11With less than 72 hours before the rainies leave
00:58:15We have the entire roof on the metals on we're drying in this cabin we're putting house wrap on it
00:58:21But we need insulation
00:58:24Marty turns his attention to winter proofing james and olivia's cabin. They're already
00:58:31Cut so i'm just taking
00:58:34One piece at a time
00:58:36Going all the way to the end and stuffing it in and then going up another one
00:58:43The smartest money that you can throw at a house if you live in cold country it's
00:58:49insulation
00:58:50I asked james to put it in place by himself because he has to learn how's it going up there
00:58:57It's going pretty good good here. I come a little more insulation to go
00:59:03It's good, but it could be better now listen right here. We have a gap that's 16 inches wide
00:59:09Right about half inch deep and at least almost a half inch deep do the math there's eight inches
00:59:15Let's just say that you did 10 of those like that that's 80 inches
00:59:19Yeah, now watch a
00:59:21One foot square. It's just like you cut a one foot square hole right through the house to the outside
00:59:27Yeah, that didn't work
00:59:30Alaska is a whole different world. I don't want to make a mistake a simple mistake
00:59:33That's going to cost me a cabin, you know
00:59:36It cost me my family to have to leave so when it comes to attacking this job and getting it done a plus
00:59:44Now when there's wood exposed watch this just pull it out to the face
00:59:49Pull it out to the face and that bat looks pretty good. There's many steps left for the cabin to be finished
00:59:54But marty is teaching me he's showing me he's making sure I understand
00:59:59The the steps that were taken that we're not doing it for nothing and have that knowledge for later when I build something else
01:00:05When it comes december 21st the shortest day of the year
01:00:09When the sun may not even come up out there
01:00:12You're gonna really be happy that you went around this house one more time and dialed it in trust me
01:00:18Carry on my wayward son. Yes, sir
01:00:24Okey-dokey, so
01:00:27What do you guys think about this camper here with the workshop project nearly complete pretty old?
01:00:33I think it's full of trash. Yeah, yeah
01:00:36Matt has brought jacob and dax who raises livestock nearby to the abandoned camper to see if the young homesteader
01:00:43Has an idea to turn it into something useful
01:00:47We are trying to revitalize
01:00:49Or reuse or upcycle anything that we can to give this homestead
01:00:56Its best chance at having its own food. It'd be really cool if you had actual bird meat
01:01:03whether it's like a meat chicken
01:01:05Or
01:01:06Like a quail so that's where you come in. I mean i'm asking you. What do you think about quail?
01:01:13I think they do really good in here. They'd be really good meat birds. Their eggs are really rich. They taste a lot better
01:01:19But they're really small
01:01:21About three quail eggs is equivalent to one chicken egg are quail like chickens where they lay like one egg a day
01:01:28No, they lay uh each of them lay about three a day
01:01:31So you can get multiple out of just like five quail obviously you could tell he's pretty smart
01:01:37How old are you? 12. You're dealing with
01:01:41A 12 year old that really knows his stuff. So I don't know. What does that sound like to you? I like it
01:01:46We need to make it as easy as possible for this homestead to get protein
01:01:52I'm a big fan of raising chickens and i'm also a big fan of dax
01:01:57He loves the quail and they're very strong hardy creatures and we have the perfect place to have both
01:02:05maybe like uh
01:02:07Quailer
01:02:08Quailer the quailer that's the name
01:02:14Matt's plan is to convert the interior of the trailer into a space for roosting chickens
01:02:20Then he'll open the rear hatch and clear out the old kitchen equipment for use as a separate pen for the quail
01:02:27Check this out grab that board
01:02:34Prop this thing up just kind of right into this here
01:02:38So as cool as this is, I don't think any of this is gonna work ever again
01:02:44Basically, I just want to clear this out and this is more than enough space for quail
01:02:57It's just tore out the bed and I think I just found some shelves for the new shop
01:03:09The winters this far north in alaska are extremely cold
01:03:14And if you want to keep livestock
01:03:17Year-round laying eggs
01:03:19That's 30 that's 30 you are gonna have to have a indoor structure that's big enough not just for their coop area
01:03:26But also for them to run around and this quailer is the perfect size
01:03:32These nesting boxes are done now. Let's build some roosts for these chickens
01:03:40I'm feeling pretty uh overwhelmed excited
01:03:47Everything's happening really really fast. There's a lot of projects happening all at once
01:03:51And i'm really excited about the idea of building something new for my brother-in-law my sister when she got here. I cried like a baby, so
01:04:02She's always been a really big part of my life. So i'm happy
01:04:06That she gets to just really live it with us and be here and i'd say i'm pretty grateful
01:04:13Because this is more than I ever expected was going to happen out here
01:04:18Ah
01:04:25you
01:04:25Matt
01:04:27Jacob we need some help. Can you help us the next morning? We're trying to stand this 12-foot wall
01:04:35It's gonna be really heavy
01:04:37Misty and olivia work on their secret extension to the greenhouse
01:04:42Okay, let's do it together
01:04:44Three two one go
01:04:46I'm going through the hole
01:04:50It's so easy
01:04:54Okay, homesteader power
01:04:57The surprise is
01:04:59Jacob and carissa's cabin that is going to be built onto the greenhouse
01:05:05They don't know yet. All right, olivia. We gotta brace it off. I'm holding the wall. You're bracing. Okay
01:05:11We are time crunched so
01:05:13Hopefully we get it framed in so that they can have some extra space and they'll be nice and closed in
01:05:21Okay, this is the hard wall now. We just have two easy eight foot walls and that should be no problem, right? Right. Okay, here we go
01:05:33My chest is heavy
01:05:35This is a lot
01:05:42I gotta keep it together
01:05:45Today is actually
01:05:48Really really emotional for me because we haven't had I guess what you could call it's a really stable home
01:05:56um in a while
01:05:59Why are you what's going on?
01:06:01This is the first time we're gonna have a home in like four years
01:06:06Oh, man
01:06:10To see the homestead get thrown up and and thrown together so quickly and our daughter being able to have her own room
01:06:19Is a really big deal to me
01:06:21I'm so grateful for you guys because you're giving me something that i've tried so hard to give her
01:06:27And haven't been able to so it's
01:06:31It's always a lot. Yeah, it's a lot
01:06:35I guess as a parent you just want the most for your kid and I feel like for so long
01:06:41I failed
01:06:43So having having those come together and saying this means the world to me because that's
01:06:49This is our home and now my baby has somewhere safe
01:06:53It's just really great
01:06:56I hope you guys know how appreciated you really are
01:06:59Because holy cow, I think we do now
01:07:01I'm so happy for this family I could not have wanted anything better because
01:07:08Not only have you started that big bright future of that homesteading dream, but they get to do it together as a family
01:07:16here we go
01:07:18Whoo crush crush
01:07:21With only a day and a half left in the rescue
01:07:34the rush to complete crucial livestock and infrastructure projects
01:07:39Intensifies who's ready to build a wall
01:07:41Marty frames in what will become the cabin's bathroom now get to the wall, please
01:07:47done pound it up
01:07:50And surprises the stam family with a much-needed off-grid amenity
01:07:55I'm not saying you don't need an outhouse, but right you might need this inside the framed bathroom
01:08:02What is that?
01:08:03It's a composting toilet. Oh, that's so awesome. I've been talking about this for years. Oh my god. I know
01:08:11While 200 feet away
01:08:13Christy Dax and Charlie arrived to supply the quailer with some livestock from their own homestead
01:08:20So let's get these chickens in there
01:08:22All right
01:08:27I've never seen a chicken want to stay
01:08:30Two steps forward one step back
01:08:32The rooster is like hey, why are you taking all my ladies?
01:08:39Shut it
01:08:42Thank you. That was awesome. Now you can't have a quailer without some quail
01:08:47Cool, so what type of quail are these these are coternix quail nice
01:08:53This is what we raise. They're very hearty
01:08:56Seven chickens 12 quail. That's a lot of food. Thank you so much. You guys are just
01:09:03You're the coolest alaskans. I know
01:09:10Across the homestead
01:09:13Misty leads the charge to finish the greenhouse. What do you think of this building? It's huge
01:09:19That will now double is jacob and carissa's living space insulation party. Let's do it. Let's go
01:09:25This is interior alaska with winter right around the corner and if we don't finish these guys freeze to death
01:09:34So no pressure rainies like it's a big deal to be able to finish what we started
01:09:40The windows are in a little bit of insulation a little bit of sheeting a door or two
01:09:45And we're getting there when it comes to minus 40
01:09:48You want an airtight building i'm gonna work on sheeting you guys work on insulation sounds good. Okay
01:09:55When it comes to this greenhouse a little thin little sheet of plastic on the roof isn't gonna cut it
01:10:05I'm thinking metal insulation we're over building so that way springtime in interior alaska they don't have to wait for the ground to thaw
01:10:25Okay, let's wheel it in over at the new workshop
01:10:30Matt and jacob put the final touches on the interior the homesteaders have a little bit of work left to finish this thing
01:10:37But i'm really happy with the way the shop turned out
01:10:41This way
01:10:44They have a well insulated nice structure and is gonna be the most useful thing for this homestead
01:10:50I guarantee it this is looking like a shop. Yeah, it's impressive
01:10:54The thing I like about this shop the most is most everything was already here including this old cabin. Yeah
01:11:01And now look at it. It's amazing
01:11:05Having a ready-made structure that you know could use a little tlc
01:11:10Was exactly what we needed to give you a shop space that I didn't think was even
01:11:16Possible when I got here. Yeah, this place is legit. Oh
01:11:21I'm actually surprised with how much we got done. It's gonna be real nice having a shop a workable space
01:11:26I mean you cut every one of these boards. Yeah, that is insane
01:11:30This is gonna be where I'm at probably most of the time
01:11:32So ready to get in here and make use of it and sure everybody on homestead be able to use it
01:11:43Follow me
01:11:46Welcome to the quailer. Yeah, this is a lot of quail. I love it. I think it's awesome. Look at them
01:11:53These quail are gonna give you 12 eggs a day, which is about four
01:11:58chicken eggs
01:12:00But the quail portion is only one half of what lives inside
01:12:07Oh
01:12:10You got nesting boxes in there
01:12:12I love it and you have a place to roost all the shelves were in there already
01:12:16We just added a couple extra partitions and they pretty much had nesting boxes already built in there
01:12:22I'm really thrilled
01:12:23The quailer it's a really good start for a lot of quail and a few chickens right now
01:12:29But eventually the homestead is gonna want to get bigger
01:12:33They're probably gonna have to build a bigger barn or a bigger coop in the future to house a lot more chickens
01:12:41One week ago a collapsed old cabin and a dilapidated camper were unusable blights on the homestead
01:12:49Now the cabin's been transformed into a fully functional workshop and the remodeled camper houses crucial
01:12:57Off-grid livestock
01:12:59What does it mean to have livestock on the homestead for you everything?
01:13:03I really love the quailer it looks amazing. It's a great addition to the homestead
01:13:07I am very confident. I'll keep the chickens and the quail alive and healthy and keep them going and laying
01:13:13We are gonna survive this winter and I'm so grateful to the rainies everything that they have done for us and my family
01:13:20I'm glad we were able to squeeze this in while I'm still here
01:13:23But I think we have a lot of work left to do and I hope we can make it. Let's go
01:13:3220 years ago the homesteader moved out here this was whatever he had
01:13:41Yes, it's a little gross, but I don't think this is garbage
01:13:47Clearly he had himself a light bulb old homestead hack
01:13:54Hitchcock mysteries oh my god
01:13:57If you come this far out in the woods, this is a necessity
01:14:08Diary of a madman ozzy osborne
01:14:17Oh, yeah, so a lot about people but what kind of music they listen to
01:14:22I'm going in and I'm gonna keep looking in here
01:14:43Last day
01:14:46Only hours remain on the stam homestead
01:14:49I love the color and while misty olivia and carissa apply a coat of waterproof paint to the greenhouse
01:14:58Got a big house now
01:15:00How are you gonna heat your home little wood burn stove?
01:15:03Do you have a wood burning stove? No
01:15:05Marty has one final problem to solve in the homesteads newly dried-in cabin
01:15:12Help me move this insulation
01:15:14Oh
01:15:18Oh, that's pretty
01:15:20Open it up
01:15:21That's smooth
01:15:24Look how big the wood box is
01:15:26It's gonna last longer through the night
01:15:28You're gonna wake up in the morning the house is going to be warm
01:15:31You ever put this pipe together?
01:15:32I have never
01:15:33You haven't?
01:15:34No
01:15:34Take yours
01:15:35I'm very curious about that
01:15:36We've come a long ways in just a few days we built a functional well insulated structure a good roof that doesn't leak and now they
01:15:48Can finish everything else because we got them to a place where they're safe and they're warm
01:15:54Okie dokie across the homestead all right olivia you ready for this yeah misty and olivia bring in the finishing touches to make the greenhouse structure complete
01:16:12So beautiful so good that's warm yes
01:16:21The greenhouse is awesome we brought in a bunch of plants today and it smells so good because of the herbs
01:16:29spicy orange thyme should we taste it absolutely oh it's got some kick
01:16:34It's got like a kick i wasn't ready i took too much
01:16:39So we have to talk about water what you're looking at is this solar off-grid water pressurization system
01:16:48It's powered by solar panels and this is giving you the pressure you need to be able to move water to the garden to the plants that's awesome
01:16:56It's cool this is above and beyond but this isn't just a greenhouse right right
01:17:04Carissa jacob come over wow we want to show you guys something oh
01:17:14Yeah it's looking good in here we built this greenhouse but it was really hard for me to
01:17:21Build the greenhouse look out these windows and see you guys living in that wall tent so we had this crazy idea
01:17:28This is you guys's cabin really yes
01:17:35For real yep wow that's awesome
01:17:38It's not fancy but it's functional
01:17:40This is as far as we could get it and all i wanted to do was be able to give you a home a cabin that was dry and warm
01:17:47It's gonna be awesome we're gonna be milling and greenhouse and our butts off
01:17:53We love you so much i love you too i'm so excited this is our home mr
01:17:58Frodo will love it in here
01:18:00Won't he yeah it's gonna be a good spot you think it'd be cozy yeah yeah
01:18:05At my cabin in alaska i have this a solar generator no way
01:18:11This is the extreme homestead where we only had time to focus on the basics food shelter water and now
01:18:17When you stand back and you see the transformation in real time what happened in a week we all
01:18:24accomplished the impossible
01:18:27One week ago the stam homestead had remnants of an old foundation
01:18:32No source of food and an unsuitable plan for all four adults to survive the winter
01:18:39Now they have a greenhouse to take advantage of the summer growing season and jacob and carissa have a living space within it
01:18:47To call their own it's about time that you get to start living the dream and not the nightmare you deserve it
01:19:01All right buddy let's take a little walk through this project by the way this is the coolest railing ever it's amazing yeah that's awesome
01:19:08Building that cabin this week it's been go go go but it's still so much weight off the shoulders because
01:19:18There was there was a lot of check marks that i probably would have missed and marty
01:19:23Pointed out and we got done things that were pivotal in winter
01:19:27Seven days ago james and olivia had a partially built cabin with plans for a second story that would have been impossible to complete before winter
01:19:37Now they have a dried-in cabin with a modified second story that the stam family will be able to finish before temperatures fall
01:19:52Well everyone we've come to the end and it just seems like months ago
01:20:00We saw you guys stuck in the mud we've come a long ways from that day
01:20:04So how do you feel now about living out here i feel awesome about it
01:20:10You have a really good sister and you have a really good brother
01:20:14They care about you guys a lot and they love you a lot like to me like to see all four of you standing here together
01:20:21That's what home setting is all about so hold your family close because come this winter you're gonna need
01:20:27For warmth
01:20:31You chose to try to homestead in the most hardcore place in alaska but now
01:20:38You are hardcore alaskan homesteaders and it's a beautiful thing
01:20:44It's been a true blessing my family has been pretty broken this whole time like coming up to this point
01:20:51And I plan to stop that and do it right from now on so
01:20:55This was a big deal
01:20:57So much love and so much effort went into making this happen
01:21:02And it means everything for us to be together and to be able to build our home and our family together and have
01:21:11I mean this is beautiful
01:21:13You guys gave me my happiness and my wholeness back
01:21:17And you don't think you understand how much that means to me and when i say thank you i really mean it i do
01:21:23You're welcome
01:21:27Alaska isn't for everyone
01:21:31But some of us get it
01:21:34Never forget that
01:21:37Family comes first
01:21:41We're coming in
01:21:42Thank you
01:21:46On day one they all four stood there and told us we're gonna live here forever this is our forever home
01:21:53And i didn't believe them until i worked alongside all of them for about a week and
01:22:00Actions speak louder than words now because of them
01:22:04They have a fighting chance
01:22:09We'll see you later a lot of people go to alaska and have an adventure of a lifetime
01:22:15These guys don't know it but they're about to start a lifetime of adventure
01:22:23We've been enjoying our home and our homestead
01:22:27Since the rainies left we have been thoroughly enjoying our home and our homestead
01:22:31We've fully moved into our cabin
01:22:33And yanni came back she loves it on the homestead she's got her own space
01:22:39We have a working bathroom we have running water in a kitchen
01:22:42Get dishes done and this fridge
01:22:45Cooked everything for breakfast this morning on the wood burning stove
01:22:48And then we've got our solar panels set up out here we were working on getting them up on the house
01:22:53With the quailer we're getting eggs from the quail and the chickens
01:22:57The bridge has allowed us to be able to drive back and forth with my truck
01:23:00Yeah everything's been working out really really well
01:23:04What you working on babe?
01:23:06Just getting it all organized
01:23:08New workshop it's awesome
01:23:09I got multiple projects going on in there and it's nice having everything in one spot and get things done
01:23:14Jacob and Carissa they love their cabin
01:23:17They've got countertops set up in here for their plans on making a kitchen
01:23:23Cabinet space we're really grateful for what the rainies have done. We're ready to take on this winter
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