Ben Fogle Return to the Wild Season 1 Episode 2 takes Ben to the dramatic landscapes of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, where he reconnects with Bill and Bob — cave-dwelling twin brothers living deep within one of the wildest and most isolated regions in the world.
Known for their doomsday-prepping lifestyle and extreme self-sufficiency, the brothers have created an extraordinary home carved into the rugged terrain. Ben discovers how their unconventional way of life has evolved and the challenges they continue to face living far from modern society.
This fascinating episode of Ben Fogle Return to the Wild explores survival, isolation, and the unique bond between two brothers determined to live life entirely on their own terms.
#BenFogle #ReturnToTheWild #Utah #Canyonlands #OffGridLiving
Known for their doomsday-prepping lifestyle and extreme self-sufficiency, the brothers have created an extraordinary home carved into the rugged terrain. Ben discovers how their unconventional way of life has evolved and the challenges they continue to face living far from modern society.
This fascinating episode of Ben Fogle Return to the Wild explores survival, isolation, and the unique bond between two brothers determined to live life entirely on their own terms.
#BenFogle #ReturnToTheWild #Utah #Canyonlands #OffGridLiving
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00:01I'm Ben Fogel, and for the past five years, I've travelled the world meeting people from all walks of life.
00:08It's a lie!
00:09Who've given up the rat race for a new life in the wild.
00:14I mean, I'm unsuitable. I can't live in an organised society.
00:18Living off the grid, big brother doesn't stick his nose into your business.
00:22But what's happened to these brave individuals since I left?
00:25Let me give you a hug.
00:26Oh, come on.
00:27Over the next few weeks, I'll be heading back to the wilds of Australia, the USA, Europe and India to
00:35find out what challenges they faced.
00:37If they want me to move, they've got to move my house.
00:39I'm not living your life to make money.
00:41There's no money, so you just get on with it.
00:45Ages catching up with me.
00:46And discover if living this dream is everything they'd hoped for.
00:50The battle continues.
00:52It's really the only way to live.
00:53You city people just don't know what you're doing.
01:05Today, I'm heading back to the USA and the wilds of Utah.
01:10Quite nostalgic. The cave I slept in.
01:13Yeah.
01:13To revisit elderly twin brothers Bill and Bob Stone, who, over 20 years ago, retreated to a secret hideout deep
01:21in the heart of Canyon Country.
01:24He was advised to either go under a witness protection program or disappear.
01:33I'll find out whether age is now catching up with the former adrenaline junkies.
01:38Keep going till Grim Rafer comes and gets you, you know.
01:42I love it.
01:43And discover if they're still preparing for the end of the world.
01:47I've got deep background information from friends of mine that are telling me the shit could hit the fan any
01:54time.
01:56I am retracing my steps and travelling 8,000 kilometres to Durango, Colorado.
02:06From there, I drive two hours across the state border into Utah and the country's wild west.
02:15The twins cannot reveal their exact location, but I travel 19 kilometres down a dirt track deep into a canyon.
02:29It's been about three years since I last came to the canyon lands of Utah.
02:32And I have to say, I haven't forgotten about these two.
02:35They were some of the most memorable people I've met.
02:37Bill and Bob Stone.
02:42When I was last here, I drove off the map to find their remote hideout.
02:48As I pull in, I'm starting to think I've arrived at a compound.
02:58Security.
03:08I don't think they like visitors.
03:18You see, Bob.
03:20Bill.
03:25Looks like they are in the army.
03:28Wow.
03:30Hey there.
03:31Hey.
03:32I come in peace.
03:34Sorry about the gate.
03:36We had to keep the wild animals out, the deer in hell.
03:39I'm not a wild animal, hopefully.
03:41Okay.
03:41Hopefully I'm not classifier.
03:42We'll let you in.
03:43Hey there.
03:44Are you Bill?
03:46Yeah, I'm Bill.
03:47I'm Bill.
03:48I'm Bob.
03:48I can't shake hands through here, so I'll...
03:50We'll remedy that right here.
03:53They call me...
03:54My friends call me Wild Bill.
03:56Wild Bill.
03:57I like that.
04:00Hey, Wild Bill.
04:01Very nice to meet you.
04:02How are you?
04:03And Bob?
04:04Very nice to meet you, Bob.
04:06You could have picked a more remote location.
04:09Well, it's not far enough for me, really.
04:11Really?
04:12Watch this.
04:13Oh, yeah.
04:14Watch the razor wire.
04:15I don't need a shave.
04:16Yeah, you don't need that.
04:1972-year-old brothers Bill and Bob grew up on a farm in Oklahoma.
04:24Adventure was always in their blood.
04:27They went mountain climbing, scuba diving, learned how to fly planes,
04:32and both taught skydiving.
04:35In 1972, they started a construction business in Colorado.
04:39They built over 250 homes, earned $5,000 a month each,
04:45and saved enough money to enjoy their passion for the outdoors.
04:49In 1990, on a camping trek, Bob found a little-known canyon,
04:54and for $121,000, the brothers bought 10 acres of land for a future adventure.
05:02They took this to the extreme.
05:04After a personal tragedy, Bob became a police informant,
05:09and soon the criminals came looking for him.
05:12His canyon home offered him a basic but vital hideout,
05:16and he's been here ever since.
05:20Bill joined his brother soon after,
05:23retiring to the canyon for a simple subsistence life away from society.
05:28I don't know what I was expecting, but...
05:31..not a militia.
05:35Look where they park their car!
05:38No way! In a cave!
05:42That's too cool.
05:44That is properly cool.
05:47The twins have a series of caves on their property.
05:50I'm about to find out where I'll be sleeping while I'm staying with them.
05:54Oh, wow! This is it!
05:57Look at this!
05:59I'm lost for words.
06:01I feel like I've stepped into another world.
06:03It's like a film set.
06:05The rock was blasted with dynamite
06:07to create a 2,500-square-foot space.
06:12I love it.
06:13One of the good things about living off the grid
06:16and down here in a remote area,
06:18you do your own thing
06:20and big brother doesn't stick his nose into your business.
06:23Bill and Bob used to live in this cave,
06:26but now they're getting older.
06:28It's too cold.
06:29They've moved into a cabin.
06:31At night, the temperature drops below freezing,
06:34but they seem to think I'll be just fine.
06:36I have gotten you out an extreme cold-weather sleeping bag.
06:42It's never been used.
06:44No crusty butts has been in it.
06:46No sex has ever been in it.
06:50But that one over there is one of my old bags,
06:53and I cannot say the same thing about that.
06:56So I think you'd prefer this one.
06:57Can I go for the one that has no crusty old butts in it?
07:01Yeah, I think you'd rather have that.
07:05Life for the brothers is a quiet but tough subsistence one.
07:10They grow four acres of their own food,
07:13crops, fruit and vegetables.
07:16Five chickens supply their eggs.
07:20They manage all this land on their own,
07:22but their last savings of $6,000 when they moved here
07:26bought some machinery to help.
07:28The land is watered from pipes running along the field.
07:33These connect to a pump pulling water from a natural deep well in the rock.
07:38They also fill bottles for their drinking water this way.
07:43Some people may describe your life as having been hard.
07:46Maybe it's hard now.
07:48It makes me a better person.
07:49The harder it gets, really, I feel that way.
07:59So far, I've noticed that of the two brothers,
08:02it's Bill who's done most of the talking.
08:05Five months ago, Bob suffered a stroke,
08:08and he's still recuperating.
08:10I'm thinking it must be quite hard living in a place like this.
08:14It gets harder with the cold.
08:16You know, I feel the cold now, and I've got some meat on me.
08:20The, uh, uh, different, uh, get confused.
08:28Is this the stroke?
08:30Yeah.
08:31Is it frustrating?
08:32Yeah.
08:34Yeah.
08:35Yeah.
08:37Do you think it's one of the elements that you lose your confidence?
08:40Yeah.
08:41Because you can't get your words out quickly enough?
08:43Yeah.
08:43They, they all gang up on you.
08:50Bill is helping Bob through his recovery.
08:53They're both divorcees and have lived here together for 20 years.
08:59Now, three years after that first visit,
09:02I'm intrigued to see how life has changed for the twins.
09:06I suppose it was a mixture of their previous lives,
09:09their current lifestyle.
09:11But, you know, they were getting on in years when I visited them.
09:13They're now nearly 75,
09:15so I only hope they're still both going strong in their cave lair.
09:22Oh, wow, look.
09:25All the barbed wire is still here.
09:27I'm hoping that's a good sign.
09:29Look at that.
09:33They haven't compromised on security.
09:36I'm actually a bit nervous about this one.
09:37Bob wasn't in the best of health.
09:40Bob?
09:41Bill?
09:44That echo's so weird.
09:49Hey!
09:56Hey, is that who I think it is?
09:57It's a bit...
09:59That's a bit worrying.
10:02I'm back in Utah, in America's Midwest,
10:06revisiting the remote canyon hideaway
10:08of identical twin brothers Bill and Bob Stone.
10:12Over three years ago, they were inseparable.
10:15But now I'm back, I fear the worst,
10:18when Bill appears alone.
10:20Hey, is that who I think it is?
10:22It is, Ben.
10:23Don't worry.
10:23I come in peace, Bill.
10:25A lot in the world is going on.
10:27Hey, I want to know that from you.
10:30It's been quite a life down here since you've been here.
10:34Where's Bob?
10:35Bob, he hasn't been here for a year since he got remarried.
10:39I have not seen...
10:41He got married?
10:42Yeah.
10:43That's so cool.
10:44That's so cool.
10:45Oh, my gosh.
10:46Talk about going from, like, complete fear
10:47to complete happiness.
10:49That's amazing.
10:50So, that's his story.
10:52Shall I help with the gate?
10:53Oh.
10:54Hey.
10:55Good to see you.
10:56Are you well, yeah?
10:57Yeah, I'm doing good.
10:58Have a look at that, yeah?
10:59You've had a beard trim.
10:59You're looking skinny, though.
11:00Let me give you a hug.
11:01Oh, come on.
11:03It's really good to see you.
11:04I don't get to see too many people down here.
11:05Do you not?
11:06So, Bob's moved away?
11:07Yeah.
11:07He's abandoned you for a woman?
11:09Yeah.
11:09Ferrell, yeah.
11:10Wow.
11:11Found his old high school girl.
11:13Sweetheart.
11:14Ooh, look at this.
11:15You're packing a piece.
11:17What's that for?
11:18Had a mountain lion this morning, right under the window.
11:21Wow.
11:22I mean, they weigh 200, 300 pounds, and they'd take me down like that.
11:26There's nothing of you.
11:27We need to feed you up a little bit.
11:28Yeah.
11:29Can I come home?
11:30Oh, yeah.
11:30Let's come in and have a look.
11:33There we go.
11:34When I was last here, the twins were growing their own food,
11:38so I'm delighted to see the veggies are flourishing.
11:41But look at your crops and things.
11:43You've done really well.
11:44So, what are you growing in here now?
11:46A lot of stuff.
11:49Tomatoes, corn, pumpkins, carrots, okra.
11:55So, 75, and you're doing all this on your own now,
11:58so you don't even have Bob around.
11:59My daughter comes down and helped me a couple of weeks ago,
12:04and she brought two or three of her friends from Durango,
12:07and they pulled a lot of weeds.
12:08They helped a lot.
12:09I mean, I'm thankful for that.
12:11It's probably what's keeping you in such good health, though.
12:14Well, I'm not that good of health.
12:15I wear out pretty easy.
12:17I have to hit the cave when it gets up to 107 degrees here.
12:21I have to go in there and lay down.
12:23I just can't.
12:24Age is catching up with me.
12:27I've got about two acres planted in it.
12:30Which is more crops and vegetables than, presumably, you need yourself.
12:34So, what do you do with the excess?
12:35I load them up, take them to the farmer's market.
12:38Are you making some good money?
12:40Well, I made enough to pay down on a new vehicle.
12:44No way?
12:45Yeah.
12:45Seriously?
12:46Yeah, I'll show it to you up here.
12:47I'm surprised.
12:48I never thought I would own a nice vehicle again.
12:52When my brother packed up and left there, when he got married,
12:55he left me with an old, wore out 85 Chevy.
12:58Mm-hmm.
13:00And I was stuck down here.
13:02I had to do something.
13:03So, you do what you got to do.
13:06Can you, can I see the truck?
13:08Yeah.
13:08Yeah, we'll walk up there.
13:09Yep.
13:10This is okra.
13:12Yeah.
13:13These are carrots.
13:14Yep.
13:15In this unforgiving vast wilderness, a vehicle is a vital lifeline for Bill's new solitary existence.
13:22Sold lots of cantaloupes and watermelons and tomatoes to get that.
13:25And it's got heated seats in the winter.
13:27Heated seats.
13:28I can't believe I have anything that nice anymore.
13:31As bony as I am, my ass gets cold a minute.
13:34I sit down in one of them leather seats.
13:36That is really impressive.
13:38Wow, well done, Bill.
13:40Good job.
13:41Talk about a lot of changes in a relatively short amount of time.
13:45It's incredible.
13:45To be honest, I'm still kind of in relief that Bob is still with us, happily married.
13:51Who'd have thought?
13:51I thought it might have been the other way around.
13:53I thought Bill might have been the one to get married and go off.
13:56But it's Bob.
13:58It's got to be hard here.
13:59Bill on his own.
14:03When I was last here, Bill was already shouldering the burden of most of the chores,
14:08as Bob was recuperating from his stroke.
14:12Reminders of his previously active life covered the cabin.
14:16Back then, I was keen to find out why Bob moved to this canyon.
14:21In 1992, while living in the city, a close friend died from a drug overdose.
14:27Bob became a police informer and helped uncover a large drugs ring.
14:32So I would take my tape recorder and record the drug deals going down at lunch time.
14:43And I would turn the information over to the sheriff and where most of them was caught that way.
14:55Were you ever threatened?
14:57Oh, yeah.
14:59Dangerous to be involved in what he was in.
15:02He was advised to either go under a witness protection program or disappear.
15:11I think he made the right choice.
15:14It wasn't just Bill and Bob that came here to hide out.
15:17Criminals used these remote canyons to escape detection.
15:21Bob missed adventure.
15:23So, using his old connections, he became a bounty hunter, chasing criminals in these canyon lands.
15:30I've got my tracker dog with me.
15:34Let's go find the fugitive.
15:36Psst.
15:36Chaco.
15:38Let's go find the fugitive.
15:39There's a big cave back in behind this big rock.
15:45I'm going to have to go up in here and check it out.
15:47This is what makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.
15:54For Bill, daily life in the canyon is relentless.
15:58And though he also now has the added pressure of helping his brother, he would never leave.
16:04It's just the freedom of being here, being off the grid, knowing that I'm still capable at my age to
16:11take care of myself.
16:13You can see, by living this kind of lifestyle, you're going to be healthier.
16:18I'm convinced of that.
16:20This is your house, is it, here?
16:21Uh-huh, yeah.
16:22Can I have a little look around?
16:23A little cabin, sure.
16:24A little cabin?
16:25Yeah.
16:26Home is a cabin they built themselves around an abandoned trailer.
16:29Thank you very much.
16:30The double sleeper's pretty basic with Bill's bed, a tiny kitchen, and an even tinier bathroom with a loo on
16:37one side.
16:40That's me sitting on it. I think I need a leg outside.
16:43And a living room with Bob's bed on the other. It has a wood burning stove for heating and cooking
16:49is done either on a small gas hob or outside.
16:54Their wardrobe is as basic as the rest of their home. A rack of clothes with a distinct military theme.
17:00Well, it's cheap. A pair of camo pants is $4 at the surplus store.
17:06I can't help but notice down there a very large German flag as well. Where's the German connection?
17:12We're part German and Cherokee Indian. You know, Rambo was also part German and Cherokee, so we get a laugh
17:21out of that in these movies.
17:22Rambo?
17:23Yeah.
17:26Bill and Bob have no savings. Now pensioners, income is from monthly social security checks of $900 each.
17:36A solar panel provides electricity. And the twins have one luxury, a television they were given.
17:43They don't watch it, but rather listen to the radio through it, spending much of their time tuning in to
17:49survivalist shows that prepare the listener on what to do after a global catastrophe.
17:55As one DJ describes his broadcast, it's the news the government doesn't want you to know.
18:01There are several things that have been taking place that the average American isn't aware of.
18:05And this is where you get all your information?
18:06Starting in June of last year.
18:07Yes.
18:08We get up early in the morning, sometimes at 5 o'clock, and listen to Colonel John Moore.
18:13You know, my wife and I, we're responsible for about 43, 44 people should our country face a society Indian
18:21event.
18:22Especially in the wintertime when it's too cold to get out.
18:25You know, sit here with that wood stove going and listen to...
18:28The end of the world.
18:30Well, not all of it's like that.
18:32Those people would need food, water, fire, shelter, first aid, hygiene, toilet paper, toothbrush, everything you could think of.
18:39Right.
18:39For a minimum of three years.
18:42Bill and Bob have more than just a passing interest in what they hear on the radio.
18:46Inside my cave, Bill reveals they have their own doomsday store.
18:51Oh, wow.
18:52Is this all food?
18:54What's in the big black bins?
18:57Wheat, beans, rice, that I've raised them in my garden, shelled them, put them in plastic bags, brought them in.
19:05Have you estimated how long you could survive on this?
19:08Possibly five years.
19:09Five years.
19:10Listen, I'm just trying to work out in what kind of event or scenario you might need to sustain yourselves
19:16for five years.
19:17That's a big snow blizzard.
19:20Well, the world's not as stable as it used to be, and it's always good to have a little extra
19:27stuck back for yourself, your kinfolks, or your friends.
19:32You know, some people talk about Yellowstone volcano exploding, some people talk about the oil peat running out, the fuel,
19:45and all of that would cause chaos.
19:48So, I'm down here, I intend to stay out of the chaos, I'm a peaceful person.
19:55It's taken ten years for the brothers to stockpile their homegrown produce and other tinned goods.
20:01But there's one intriguing door that remains locked and clearly off limits.
20:06What about that one other door? Can I have a look at it?
20:08No, we can talk about it.
20:09We can talk about it, come on.
20:12That's just looking solid.
20:14I keep my brand new chainsaw in there, it's never been started, it's quite expensive.
20:23Bill, your nose is growing.
20:29You know, actually I've lost the key for this door and I cannot open it.
20:34I'll smash it down with my foot.
20:36I don't think you could.
20:37It's reinforced with steel on the backside where you can't cut through it with a chainsaw.
20:43You're not joking either, are you?
20:44No.
20:46Look.
20:47I'm quite nostalgic.
20:49The cave I slept in.
20:52Yeah, this is it.
20:53I never did get behind that secret door.
20:56But now I'm back, I have a second chance.
20:59And this time Bill appears to be more willing to open up.
21:03Yeah, I'm quite excited about this.
21:06There you go.
21:08Oh yeah, this is nice and cool.
21:10Look, there's my bed, I remember that.
21:11Yeah.
21:11More stuff I seem to think.
21:13Yeah.
21:13I think there was so much stuff in here.
21:15More beds.
21:16Yeah.
21:17This is the door.
21:18Yeah, there's the door.
21:19This is the door.
21:21Okay, make a ride over here and look under that lamp.
21:25That's where I had the key in.
21:26Over here?
21:27Under here?
21:27I hope that's where I left it.
21:30I hide it.
21:31While he was there all along?
21:32Yeah.
21:33Are you seriously going to show me behind this door now?
21:35Yeah.
21:35Yeah.
21:35Why are you going to show me now?
21:39Oh, hard to say.
21:41Go ahead.
21:44I'm quite nervous about seeing in here.
21:48Oh, there it is.
21:49You're really going to let me see in here?
21:50Yeah.
21:51Help yourself.
21:52I wish we had better light.
21:55Are you sure nothing's going to explode?
21:57We're going to need some more light.
21:59This flashlight doesn't work too well.
22:02Go ahead.
22:03Yeah, there you go.
22:05You got it out.
22:06You remember I told you that this door had steel backing on it?
22:11Yep.
22:14I'll show you here.
22:16Look at this.
22:16It does.
22:17More padlocked boxes, though.
22:19Yeah, I don't want nobody getting into that box.
22:22Oh, so you're teasing me again.
22:24There's still more.
22:25Whoa, look at this.
22:26There's warning.
22:27Explosives inside.
22:28Do not attempt to drill or torch this safe.
22:31That's good advice.
22:32I'd go by it.
22:33Yeah.
22:33Step away from the safe.
22:34This pan around here, so not a year's worth of food.
22:37Yeah.
22:38That I've got it here.
22:41And...
22:42Those boxes?
22:42You could guess what's in that.
22:45Ammunition, perhaps?
22:46Ammunition.
22:47Nothing illegal, though.
22:48All strictly legal.
22:50Of course.
22:51You're not going to tell me what's in this box, so...
22:54We'll talk about it.
22:55We'll talk...
22:56Really?
22:57Yeah.
22:58After lunch.
22:59After lunch.
23:00Ah, Bill.
23:01Evasive as ever.
23:02So, Bill, what do you think about the state of the world
23:04since I was last here?
23:06I think it's getting a lot worse.
23:09I've got deep background information from friends of mine
23:13that are telling me the shit could hit the fan any time.
23:17And what do you think is going to happen?
23:19If they try to assassinate Trump, we'll go to the civil war here.
23:23That's what they're telling me.
23:25So, I finally got to see what was behind the door.
23:27I think it's fair to say there's probably lots of guns and ammunition.
23:30And I think that's symptomatic or symbolic
23:34of just how extreme he's become in those last three years.
23:38He's become even more of a self-confessed prepper.
23:42You know, he still sees anarchy and a doomsday scenario.
23:49And what's interesting is that,
23:51although he probably is a Trump supporter,
23:53he didn't say he was specifically,
23:55he sees that as the catalyst for all this unrest.
24:00At age 75, he's still preparing for the end of the world.
24:06As we head to the cabin that Bill shared with his twin brother
24:09for over 20 years,
24:10I can't help wondering what Bill does without company.
24:15Let's go in the house and get out of the sun for a while.
24:17It's hot out here, that's for sure.
24:20Thanks, Bill.
24:22Well, this place has stood up well, hasn't it?
24:24Yeah, it's about the same.
24:25Everything was set to the same place it was two or three years ago.
24:29I sit there and watch all my old war movies, you know.
24:32I watch a lot of movies during the winter when it's too cold to get out.
24:36I sit here and watch,
24:37I can probably recite most of them.
24:40You know, if I'm watching them so many times.
24:42But I never get tired of a good war movie.
24:44Any new toys?
24:46Uh, yeah.
24:47I picked this up at the flea market the other day.
24:50Whoa, look at that.
24:51$250.
24:52Can I have a look? Can I try?
24:53Yeah.
24:54Whoa, Bill.
24:55Do you wear this ever?
24:57Well, I'll wear it if I have to.
25:01That is quite a weight on there.
25:03That's for sure.
25:04There you go.
25:07Yeah.
25:07You're going to be pretty well protected with that.
25:10Yeah, that's a...
25:11He'll stop an AK-47 round.
25:14You know what this is, don't you?
25:15That's presumably to protect my family jewels.
25:18That's in case you step over the mine.
25:20Yeah.
25:21That's the most important flap.
25:22A ricochet comes up between your legs where you're protected.
25:25I mean, you may lay down and cry a little bit.
25:27Yeah.
25:28I don't know how many mines there are going to be laid around here, though.
25:30Well, I wouldn't be poking around too much.
25:35I'm an expert.
25:36Honestly, Bill.
25:38It's a sensory overload when you come here.
25:39He's such a...
25:40He has that little twinkle in his eye.
25:42He's so mischievous that you're never quite sure when he's underplaying something or exaggerating something.
25:50How's life here without Bob?
25:52Well, it's been slow.
25:54I've adjusted to it.
25:55But, you know, I pretty well had to wait on him hand and foot there for quite a while.
26:00And, uh, but now that he's married off and gone, I've kind of had a little freedom.
26:06I get to watch the movies I want to watch.
26:09Not John Wayne every night.
26:12Do you ever get lonely?
26:13I talk to myself sometimes, you know.
26:15I go on a rant when I see something on the news that I don't like.
26:20I'll have a little rant at the TV.
26:22That's about it.
26:23There's nobody else around here to talk to but the dog and the cat and they don't listen.
26:28I think there's an element of loneliness.
26:30When I asked him, he kind of was momentarily lost for words, which isn't really Bill.
26:36That is a massive, drastic lifestyle change to go from full-time carer, which is far more intense a relationship
26:42than most of us ever have, when he was looking after his brother to suddenly being here on his own.
26:51Bill does have a daughter who lives in the neighbouring state.
26:55I met Theresa on my first visit here when she came to help her dad and uncle for a couple
27:00of days.
27:06Dad!
27:07Hey!
27:08Theresa, this is Ben.
27:10Theresa is a landscape gardener in Colorado.
27:13She visits once a month and makes the most of her time here.
27:17You realise you've been here about 30 minutes and already you have a task.
27:21Where are these going?
27:23Theresa's brought a bag of seed potatoes from the city so we can start cutting, then planting.
27:30Her parents split up when she was five, but she has fond memories of visiting her dad here.
27:37It sounds like it would have been colourful.
27:40It was awesome.
27:42I have this whole level of enchantment to my life because of coming down to this canyon.
27:49It was great.
27:50I just teared around and explored the canyon.
27:54And as I grew up, I realised how lucky I was to grow up like that.
28:06Theresa kept us all busy that day and it was my job to help them with the planting.
28:11Bill and Bob, you know, they're getting on.
28:1472 years old, nearly 73.
28:16Bob's had his recent health issues.
28:18Your dad had his as well.
28:20I mean, you've got to worry about them out here.
28:22I do.
28:24I pray more than I worry about them.
28:27And I come down as much as I can to help.
28:29But I have my own life that I live.
28:31And I will be a mess when my dad goes.
28:39And as Bob's transitioning now, I just ask that he's surrounded with love and that he's comforted.
28:46And I fear that when Bob goes, dad will go because they're like an old married couple.
28:55And, you know, they've always lived their life side by side.
29:02It was really emotional to hear her talking about her fears for when her father goes.
29:08And the fact that, would you want your father living like that when he's 72, nearly 73?
29:13No.
29:14You know, you just want to scoop them up, especially if there's been ill health.
29:16And you'd want to take them back and make them live forever.
29:24At the end of a long day, but still full of energy, Bill didn't miss the chance for another story.
29:32As a skydive instructor, he made 146 jumps in his career.
29:38He hasn't jumped for almost 40 years, but his appetite for it is not fading.
29:45There's a skydiving club here in Utah.
29:49Bob and I have been trying to get together the finances and the time and to go make a jump
29:59again just to catch some more air, you know.
30:03The two of you together?
30:03Yeah, but since he's had a stroke, well, I'm kind of grounded again, you know.
30:12Now, if you would like to volunteer to go, we could catch some air.
30:17I think they put them out at 14,000 feet here.
30:21Don't talk about height.
30:22I'll tell you, I'm actually quite scared of heights.
30:25I have done, I've done two jumps in my life.
30:27Really?
30:28One tandem, one of my own, and it terrifies me.
30:31But the fact that you've just, I can't say no.
30:34Shall we shake on it?
30:35Perfect.
30:35We'll give it a try if they'll let it.
30:37What have you talked me into, Bill?
30:54We travel 130 kilometers north to Moab and the skydive airfield.
31:00Bob has come along too, but his health means he'll stay on the ground.
31:05I only wish I could.
31:07Can I get these lug shots and do yourself a big favor and make sure all the furniture's
31:10in the middle of the room?
31:10Yep.
31:11Oh yeah, I've got it here.
31:12Do you hear that, Bill?
31:13Make sure the furniture's in the middle of the room.
31:14Yeah.
31:15Been there, done there.
31:18Jumping out of airplanes is not my thing.
31:20Heights.
31:21Jumping from heights.
31:23I can see how much Bill loves this.
31:26So I'm trying to steal a bit of his love.
31:29I'm trying to take a little bit of that vibe and put it in me.
31:33It's not really working.
31:35Safety briefing over.
31:36We're ready to go.
31:38Or, well, Bill is.
31:40Wish me luck.
31:42Nobody hates this.
31:44Perfect.
31:45Excellent.
31:47See y'all in a little bit.
31:58As we take off, I reconcile my fear with the fact I'm helping Bill fulfil one of his last ambitions.
32:09As a former skydive instructor who hasn't made a jump for 40 years, Bill's excitement is plain to see.
32:18We climb to 14,000 feet over Utah's famous Arches National Park.
32:24This area is known as the adrenaline capital of the US, and I'm beginning to feel why.
32:32I'm going to jump first.
32:34If Bill goes first, I might change my mind.
32:37It's the shuffling out of the door that I really hate.
32:50We're free-falling at almost 200 kilometres per hour, dropping 1,000 feet every six seconds.
33:19As our parachutes deploy, I can start to relax and enjoy the views.
33:31All the way up, keep them up.
33:33Oh, look at this.
33:35Wow.
33:36Nice job, buddy.
33:37Very good.
33:38Oh, thank you.
33:40Here comes Bill.
33:44Right on up.
33:45Stir it up.
33:46Give me a high five.
33:48You got it.
33:49Nice job.
33:50Bill, Bill, Bill.
33:52Hey, how was it?
33:53Yeah.
33:54You got it.
33:55You got it.
33:55Bill alive again.
33:57Do you?
33:57How did that feel?
33:59You almost got tears in your eyes.
34:01Was that special?
34:02That was special.
34:03Listen, that was an amazing...
34:04Thank you for getting me back up there, for kind of persuading me to do that.
34:08That was amazing.
34:09Well, thank you for...
34:12This was great.
34:14Yeah?
34:14I'm speechless.
34:16Oh, listen.
34:16That's how good I feel about it.
34:19But back then, Wild Bill was keeping a secret that could have had deadly consequences.
34:30I'm back in Utah with my host, Wild Bill Stone, who I skydived with the last time I was here.
34:37All right, so you're going to get me to do some gardening?
34:40Yeah, we're going to do a little picket.
34:44As we get started in the garden, Bill makes a shocking confession.
34:50This is pretty physical for a 75-year-old to be harvesting, growing, cutting all of this veg year-round,
34:58whatever the weather.
34:59Yeah.
34:59It's kind of hard for me bending over doing it, because I'm just like Bob. I've got a damn pacemaker,
35:09too.
35:10You had a pacemaker in there.
35:12And I didn't tell you about this before we made the parachute jumps.
35:15You did that skydive with a pacemaker.
35:18Yeah, I've had it since 2009.
35:20I would have died with a smile on my face if it would have pulled the wires.
35:23But if I'd have told you all that it could have killed me to make that jump, you wouldn't have
35:27let me have made it.
35:29I can't believe you jumped out as we were playing with a pacemaker.
35:31Bending over like this is pretty hard on me, because these things are real sensitive.
35:40And, like, if you jump up real quick, it doesn't reset itself like that.
35:47And it's hell to live with, but I'm alive.
35:50I can't quite believe he jumped out of an aeroplane with a pacemaker.
35:54That just makes me feel a bit sick, to be honest.
35:56But that kind of sums Bill up. Nothing will hold him back.
36:00You know, he's had this extraordinary life, this extraordinary background.
36:04And wild horses won't keep him from doing what he wants to do.
36:08When I hear you talk like this, I mean, this is how you were three years ago.
36:11You're not going to be held back by anything.
36:13No.
36:14You want to live your life.
36:15Yeah.
36:15Right to the very end.
36:17Right, yeah.
36:17None of that's changed.
36:18Whatever.
36:19You want to go out guns blazing.
36:21Yeah.
36:22Good firefight.
36:24I get a kick out of that.
36:27Each to their own, Bill.
36:29His determination has even led him to become a bit of a farming magnate since Bob left.
36:34His crops now provide him with an extra income.
36:36I've got zucchini and yellow squash.
36:41You don't over cut, you just barely get it to come off there like that.
36:45Nice.
36:45If you let your knife slip, you knock the blooms off or cut the other part of the plant,
36:51then I can't make my car payment.
36:54Any idea how much you'll sell one of those for?
36:57That's more than a dollar right there.
37:01You're literally growing cash along here.
37:04Shall I cut one? Do you trust me?
37:06Pick your one and cut it off.
37:07Do you want to find what coat?
37:08There's a nice one in there.
37:10Just act like you're a surgeon.
37:12Just about there?
37:13The plant will be happy, yeah.
37:16There you go.
37:17How's that?
37:18Shall we get this back up to the house?
37:23Appreciate your help up here.
37:24My pleasure, anytime.
37:25Yeah.
37:32My time with Bill is nearly over.
37:34But in true wild Bill style, he has one more surprise for me.
37:39Yeah, that's him.
37:41That's him.
37:42Bob is coming to visit with his new wife.
37:44And it's the first time he's been here since he moved away a year ago.
37:49Is it really?
37:50Yeah, it's the first time he's been back to Kedja.
37:59Hello.
38:00Hello.
38:00You must be Carol.
38:02How did you get?
38:03How are you?
38:04And who's this?
38:05This is my baby pumpkin.
38:07Hello pumpkin.
38:07Very nice to meet you.
38:08How are you?
38:09Very nice to meet you.
38:10Very nice to meet you.
38:10Hello.
38:11How are you?
38:12Hey.
38:13Look at you.
38:15Good to see you.
38:16How are you?
38:17How are you getting on?
38:18How's all this here?
38:19New heart.
38:21New heart?
38:21Yeah.
38:22Bill had told me Bob had a second heart attack.
38:25Anne has had a new pacemaker fitted.
38:29I can't wait to hear how Bob was whisked away from life in the canyon.
38:34So how did you guys meet?
38:36He started, I was in high school and he came the 10th grade.
38:42Mm-hmm.
38:42And he was in study hall with me.
38:45Right in front of me he sat and I used to bug him.
38:49Did you?
38:51Yeah.
38:51Stick my feet up in his chair.
38:53That's so funny.
38:54I love that.
38:54And he reached back and grabbed me.
38:57Of course that's what I wanted him to do.
38:58Yeah.
38:59So we flirted one another.
39:01How did you guys re-meet?
39:03It's really odd.
39:05My sister and her husband, she called me one day and she said,
39:09I just wanted you to know that Bob died.
39:13And, you know, it hit me pretty hard.
39:16So I kind of had come to terms with that for like five years.
39:21It was like 2005, I guess.
39:25And one day there was a card in the mail with a return address from Bob Stone.
39:31And I got back in my car and I sat there, I was just shaking.
39:36Because I thought it was really not a nice thing to do to me.
39:41You thought someone had pranked you.
39:43Yeah.
39:44Finally I did open it and it was from Bob.
39:47I wasn't real sure that it was for real until I talked to him on the phone.
39:52That was it.
39:52That was it.
39:53You got married.
39:54And Bob, how's your health been?
39:55My pacemaker quit.
39:58And so I had a new one put in.
40:03A big one.
40:04It's like a computer.
40:08Is it really?
40:09Yeah.
40:11It'll stop and start your heart and keep you from dying.
40:18Wow.
40:19Well, you're not going to be jumping out of aeroplanes like your brother though.
40:23Did you know that he jumped out of that aeroplane with a pacemaker?
40:27Yeah.
40:28Oh, now you tell me.
40:30He only just revealed this to me by the way.
40:32Do you miss living here with your brother?
40:35Yeah.
40:36I think he misses me because he may have cut his own firewood this year.
40:42I cut it for him last year.
40:45The couple also live in the wilderness.
40:47But to my surprise, I discover that Carol is a city girl.
40:51Do you miss the city?
40:52Yes, I do.
40:53Yes, I do.
40:54It's been a real challenge, I have to really say.
40:56A real challenge.
40:59Wow, so this is a meeting of two worlds.
41:01The wilderness and the city.
41:03Yeah.
41:04What's the hardest thing about living in the wilderness?
41:06It's not being able to have a grocery store or a store readily available.
41:11It's 50 miles.
41:13You don't want to run out of anything.
41:15Mm-hmm.
41:15Well, you're with the right person.
41:17You're with a survivalist.
41:18She's got it.
41:18You've got five years of stores.
41:20Yeah.
41:22Right.
41:23Well, I came in and I had my own little room that has all the supplies that I could probably
41:29want.
41:30Mm-hmm.
41:31Yeah.
41:31Pretty much anyway.
41:32Mm-hmm.
41:33So...
41:34You look lasty for five years though.
41:35No.
41:38You know, I love the twists and turns of life.
41:41It's so good to see Bob again and married to his childhood sweetheart.
41:46Who'd have thought that could have happened?
41:48And I love the fact she thought he was dead, but he was alive.
41:51I mean, you couldn't really make it up.
41:52And that kind of...
41:53That is my memory of the Stone Brothers from my first visit.
41:58And I love the fact that on this revisit, it's exactly the same.
42:02Weird and odd and surreal and beautiful.
42:06All of those things.
42:07And, you know, bittersweet because Bill's here alone.
42:10And I do get a sense that there is a loneliness, but it's a self-imposed loneliness.
42:16But he loves this life.
42:18I can't really imagine him not living here preparing for the end of the world.
42:23Well, y'all are going to have to get started, too, because you don't want to drive with those deer
42:28on the road.
42:29Yeah.
42:29Bill and Bob continue to amaze me with their age-defying attitude to live life their own way.
42:36Bye, Carol.
42:37Look after yourself.
42:38Really nice to have met you.
42:39Very nice to have met you.
42:40You've got an amazing husband here.
42:42Yes, he tells me he is.
42:45Bob, look after yourself.
42:47Have you got plans?
42:48Plans for the future?
42:49I hope to live in a mountain somewhere.
42:52Oh, yeah.
42:53You climb a peak to take cattle with you.
42:55Yeah.
42:55I'm ready.
42:56You're ready.
42:57Bill, give me a hug.
42:59Yeah.
43:00Listen, look after yourself.
43:01It's tough out here.
43:03I'll stop by again.
43:04Yeah.
43:04Do that.
43:05Enjoy.
43:07Look after yourselves.
43:07Thank you so much.
43:08We'll do it.
43:09I'll see you in another three years.
43:11I hope so.
43:12I've really enjoyed coming back.
43:14It's actually rather reassuring to know that whilst I've been pretty busy over the last few years,
43:19as Bill is still here, kind of doing his thing.
43:23There's no booby traps along here, are there?
43:25No.
43:26Not on that trail.
43:27Okay.
43:28In a world that's constantly changing, some things remain the same.
43:34Next time, I'm back in Hungary.
43:38Revisiting Gareth and Julia and their ramshackle farmhouse.
43:41What a transformation.
43:42To discover if they've achieved their dream of self-sufficiency.
43:46I have this much money.
43:48To not be controlled by money is a big advantage.
43:51And find out what their family think.
43:53Now a year's gone by.
43:54It's extraordinary.
43:56Absolutely amazing.
44:13We have to see you next time.
44:15We'll see you then.
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