ADRIAN_BROWN AUTUMN_BROWN BELLAMY_SARVELA CHEVELLE_ROACH CHEVIE_ROACH GILBERT_ROWLAND INARA_SARVELA KALEB_ROWLAND KATIE_SARVELA KYLE_SARVELA NATHAN_BROWN SAMANTHA_BROWN SONTA_ROACH KYLE SARVELA I think gun it. Just go fast. KATIE SARVELA Until you pop a wheelie. KYLE SARVELA Right. KYLE SARVELA Yeah. KATIE SARVELA And then we'll have another ATV rollover. KATIE SARVELA Are we at two each or am I one up on you? KYLE SARVELA Well, you're good at crashing. KATIE SARVELA I am good at crashing. KYLE SARVELA Our house is on top of a bluff, so the beach is how we get all of our supplies, water, anything that we need to survive out here. But this spring during the thaw it basically washed out our entire access. Hopefully I can make it up. KATIE SARVELA In the summertime, the beach is our only means of travel to get home. Come up straight at it. Get some speed. We need to be able to get our truck or our ATV up off the beach so that we can get in and out as tides allow. KYLE SARVELA All right, here goes. KATIE SARVELA Hung up in the same spot again. KYLE SARVELA Same spot! I'm on three wheels. KATIE SARVELA You are on three wheels, yeah. KYLE SARVELA It didn't like that. All right, uh, yeah that did not work out so well. KATIE SARVELA No, that did not work at all. KYLE SARVELA Yeah. We gotta get this access fixed so we can start driving water up it. You just carry him to the bottom of the hill and I'll carry him up it, okay? Oh, this is like just so much extra effort. I have to do all this. KATIE SARVELA There's so much clay, it's so slick. KYLE SARVELA There's so much melt this year that it just, it just washed it all away. This is just ridiculous. Just, just too much of a hassle, like, this has to be done. KATIE SARVELA I want to be able to drive right to my house. KYLE SARVELA Yeah. Want to be normal people. KATIE SARVELA That's the long and short of it. KYLE SARVELA Yes. We'll get a whole bunch of tires, get a whole bunch of bolts, and then we'll just pull gravel from the property and fill it all in. KATIE SARVELA Yup. KYLE SARVELA Hopefully we'll have a nice, good access. KATIE SARVELA Sounds like a plan. KYLE SARVELA All right. CHEVIE ROACH It's springtime in Alaska. CHEVIE ROACH The sun's getting high in the sky, and when the sun's high, everything's got something to do, including us. I don't think Winnie's real excited to get in the water quite yet. Not too far now, Thor. You got your goose? This is our first little duck hunt of the spring. And this is Chevelle's first spring hunt, too. Hopefully we get a good look at some birds here and see if we can get one knocked down. Thor, are you ready to get a bird? What about Lani? SONTA ROACH She's just a puppy, she don't know why it's so fun. Chevelle doesn't either, so we're training the young ones. CHEVIE ROACH The young one, young one training. Should we just go over here just a little bit? SONTA ROACH Yeah. This is a pretty good spot. CHEVIE ROACH Good enough, huh? Should we put your goose out? Or do you want to keep it? SONTA ROACH This darn duck. She's going to go to sleep with it tonight. CHEVIE ROACH I hear geese. SONTA ROACH You do? CHEVIE ROACH Yup. Coming up the river. Little far. Chevelle, your first time in the woods. Your sister, Sydney, came and sat here with us too. Sydney, Ryder, Emry. This is entry level hunting, bird hunting over here, Chevelle. Just so you know. For you and Lani. SONTA ROACH Oh, right here, right here. Flared right off those dogs. CHEVIE ROACH Those damn dogs. SONTA ROACH You know, Thor's got the wiggles. He hasn't gotten a bird all spring. CHEVIE ROACH I know, poor guy. SONTA ROACH So he's anxious. And Lani, I mean, this is kind of a test for her to be out here. CHEVIE ROACH We've never been die hard, train your dog, sit, fetch, whistles. It's like, they just learn out here doing it, you know? Come on! SONTA ROACH You can do it! CHEVIE ROACH Come on! Come on! It's okay! SONTA ROACH You can do it! CHEVIE ROACH We got a dog stuck on an iceberg. A baby that wants to nurse. And my pet goose that's supposed to be my decoy. But, what the hell. At least we're out here. SONTA ROACH Nee! Come! Nee! CHEVIE ROACH Come on! SONTA ROACH Yes, finally. CHEVIE ROACH Come on! SONTA ROACH You're rescuing her. Oh, wow! CHEVIE ROACH Yay! Oh, you made it! I know, you're okay now. Do you think Lani will be able to retrieve something? SONTA ROACH That's the question. We need to see. Not on the ice, obviously. She's too scared to go over there. CHEVIE ROACH That's not going to happen, or out of the water. What a learning experience. SONTA ROACH Well, should we hit up another spot? CHEVIE ROACH I think so. NATHAN BROWN When people think about Alaska, they think it is not farmable up here. And that's true. NATHAN BROWN It's really difficult. NATHAN BROWN It presents a lot of challenges. So, we've got to take advantage of every good minute of weather that we have. SAMANTHA BROWN Spring means that it is shearing time because it's starting to get pretty hot. And they're starting to get kind of uncomfortable. And hopefully I can get some wool spun and cleaned and do some stuff that I love doing. What do you say, Lamb Lamb? Shall we? I know you don't like this part, but neither do I. So, let's get it done. Today, I'm not going to be shearing Bathsheepa. Lambing season's about over. You know, these guys were born a couple months ago, and then Bathsheepa, she should be, you know, giving birth any time. Make it easy. Hey, come on. Make it easy. Look at that. Look how easy that was. There. That wasn't so bad, huh? I'm gonna turn it on. It's gonna make a loud sound. You ready? This is my third-year shearing sheep. I'm not very good at it. I don't really have the muscle memory down yet, but I'm getting a lot more confident in my ability to do it. Damn. That's a little bit of a cut. I'm gonna take care of that real quick. You, my dear, are just gonna have to settle for, for just a moment because, yeah, I kind of like ripped my arm open. NATHAN BROWN Samantha's working on the sheep today. And so I'm going to try to get this, uh, at least the lower bed of this greenhouse filled in. We're hoping to plant some strawberries this year. When I was really little, I didn't really have a whole lot of interest in farming. You know, I like animals and, and such, but, uh, where I came from, back in Oregon, all the farms were basically wheat farms, and I have celiac disease, so I have to be gluten free, so I can't be working with wheat, rye, barley. We put together a pretty nice garden there, and, uh, it was a little bittersweet leaving that behind. When we found this place, the doors kind of swung wide open. I kicked us in the butt and said, this is where you're going. At this point, I've got the hardware cloth on the bottom, I've got the cardboard on the bottom, and I've got the garden fabric. So now it's time to start using my woodchipper here and chipping up these branches, and I'll make a nice layer on bottom, and we'll add some carbon to the soil. SAMANTHA BROWN Okay, I might not use the electric shears. Hang on there, Lamb Lamb. You're doing good. You're a champion at this. Don't even think about it. Don't even think. Just be still. Shearing sheep is really hard on me because that's a very manual task for somebody who has not built up the muscle tone to be able to just bust through them in three minutes. Nope, nope. Is that really necessary? It takes me a long time, sometimes, you know, up to an hour to shear one sheep, and by the time I'm done I can't hardly move my arms. That's a lot of freaking work. I would have thought that she would have been my, my easiest one, but I don't know what I'm in for, for the next. KALEB ROWLAND Our climate is extreme. KALEB ROWLAND And the tasks are difficult, but with the proper education and the proper mindset, anything is possible. GILBERT ROWLAND No! KALEB ROWLAND All right Gilbert, let's go and trap for some beavers. How's that sound? GILBERT ROWLAND Great, but these puppies are on me. KALEB ROWLAND Puppies don't get to go trapping. GILBERT ROWLAND I know. They'll probably get hurt. KALEB ROWLAND Let's go. GILBERT ROWLAND Hi, Dad. KALEB ROWLAND Today Gilbert and I are heading out to a couple beaver ponds that we've tried trapping in the past, but my snares got fouled. Do you want me to go through the water? GILBERT ROWLAND Let's go! KALEB ROWLAND What I want to do today is try a different kind of gear and see if changing up the formula a little bit enhances my chances of success. All right, Gilbert, there's the trail right there. It's been a while since I've been on that trail, so I think from here I'm going to leave you behind and break trail. GILBERT ROWLAND I want to go with you. KALEB ROWLAND I know, but it's going to be a rodeo. We can do it if you want. GILBERT ROWLAND What does a rodeo mean? KALEB ROWLAND It means it's going to be wild. GILBERT ROWLAND Ah. KALEB ROWLAND I'll take you if you want. GILBERT ROWLAND I'll just stay. KALEB ROWLAND Okay. You'll stay behind, I'll break trail, I'll get down to the pond, and then come back and get you, okay? GILBERT ROWLAND Okay. KALEB ROWLAND All right, I'll see ya in ten minutes. GILBERT ROWLAND Okay. Be here in ten minutes. KALEB ROWLAND Aw jeez. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] KALEB ROWLAND I gotta clean it out a little bit. As soon as I stopped, the wet snow just turned to concrete. There we go. GILBERT ROWLAND Uh, too far. What took you so long? KALEB ROWLAND I got stuck. But I made it down to the pond. And, uh, it's going to be sketchy, but we'll be able to set it up just fine. It ain't fun if it ain't sketchy, right? Ready to go do this? GILBERT ROWLAND Yeah. KALEB ROWLAND All right, let's go catch some beavers. GILBERT ROWLAND Maybe. KALEB ROWLAND Oh, they're hungry. I can feel it. NATHAN BROWN It's critically important that we get out and we start tackling projects as soon as the weather allows. We have such a short growing season. It's crunch time right now. NATHAN BROWN Now we got the wood chips in, next step is put a nice layer of manure there. NATHAN BROWN This is a method we've used for a really long time. It, uh, produces really strong plants. We would have made it a lot easier on ourselves if we had stayed down in Oregon and just farmed there. But, you know, there's a trade off. There's things you get up here, you know, the freedom and just the vast wilderness. So, we've got some bare root strawberries here. I didn't get full plants. You can do it either way. So, they just come in these little bundles. And I gotta separate them. So, when people think of Alaska, I think usually they think of, you know, hunting, fishing, and trapping. And those are all stuff that we still need to work on, you know. It's a lot to learn, a lot to, you know, try to wrap your mind around, especially when you're, you know, trying to focus on a farm and also do those things. So, we got a lot to work on. I don't know. There's so many possibilities and so many opportunities up here. I just feel blessed to be able to live this life and do it. All right. Strawberry bed is planted. This greenhouse is set. SAMANTHA BROWN This is my spinning wheel. SAMANTHA BROWN And, uh, this has been how people have made their, their yarn to create their fabric for thousands of years. Before Bathsheepa gives birth. Now that I've sheared my sheep, I'm going to be taking the wool and processing it into yarn. I sheared my sheep myself. I washed it myself. I've done this whole process. This is what joy is made of. Like, it really is. My mom was a seamstress, my grandma was a quilter, my other grandma was a crocheter and a knitter. I want to carry on their tradition, making something beautiful for generations to love. It's really nice to provide clothes for my family. It might take a longer time to make and it's more labor intensive, but I believe very deeply that we should be trying to switch over to more natural fibers and like, really, you know, doing something that's a lot better for the environment. Yeah, I have a spool of yarn. SONTA ROACH In our culture, we teach our kids exactly how we're taught. You're living off the land, and that's just the cycle of life. CHEVIE ROACH No! CHEVIE ROACH Warm up the barrel anyway. A little far. SONTA ROACH A little far, a little fast. But you never know what else is coming. CHEVIE ROACH Wake up the countryside. Golden eye. SONTA ROACH Golden eye. Big old ones. Nice and fat ducks. CHEVIE ROACH No, Thor! SONTA ROACH Come on, Thor! CHEVIE ROACH No! No! No! SONTA ROACH Thor, it didn't go down. CHEVIE ROACH Come on, you gotta hold! Come! Come on now! Thor's kind of a, he's an addict. He's a bird dog and sometimes he's so gung ho, he's shaking. Good girl, Lani. CHEVIE ROACH Lani is new to the game. We don't know how strong her retrieving instinct is. SONTA ROACH You got your duck? Do you have another little blower for Chevelle? CHEVIE ROACH You want a blower? SONTA ROACH I think she's just. CHEVIE ROACH You want a call? As a dad, you know, you're sitting there on the riverbank, you've got this baby, she's an individual. She's going to be different than all of my other kids. And it's just a great thing to be there, um, as a parent. SONTA ROACH Good job. CHEVIE ROACH Watching their personality form right in front of you. Right here, right here, there's a duck right in front of us. It just came out of the grass. Do you see it? SONTA ROACH No. CHEVIE ROACH Right here. SONTA ROACH Okay, I, I was just with the baby. Oh, yeah, right here. To the far right in the grass. Duck down. CHEVIE ROACH Stay. Stay. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] SONTA ROACH Go, Lani. CHEVIE ROACH Good boy, Thor. Good boy, Thor. Hunt. Hunt. Hunt. Get the bird. Get the bird. Hunt. Good boy. Good dog. Good dog. Come. Come. Come. I don't think Lani is excited to get in the water. SONTA ROACH Good job, Thor. Lets go see the birdie. CHEVIE ROACH It's a fish duck. SONTA ROACH Oh, good. What'd you get? CHEVIE ROACH Fish duck. I seen that little duck swimming around out there. I thought it was a teal, but it ended up being a fish duck. You know? SONTA ROACH Yeah. CHEVIE ROACH Well, that's not exactly the bird that we're looking for. We'll keep on looking and maybe we'll get some more good ducks, too. KALEB ROWLAND An animal is an expert at survival. They know when something's wrong in their area. So, no animal that's trapped is a guaranteed success. There. KALEB ROWLAND That is good. Okay, we need to cut that tree down over there for a cross pole. KALEB ROWLAND We're doing a different set method, Gilbert, than before. We're going to use conibears. Now that we have that, we're going to make a little bundle of sticks to attach to the trigger. KALEB ROWLAND Oh, this is going to be some good eating, Beaver. Don't you worry none about the cage that it's in. Now see what we'll do, is we'll hang this off our pole like this. And the beaver will come along, this will be underwater. Chew, chew, chew. And then that'll go kablooey. GILBERT ROWLAND If a beaver actually sees it and starts chewing, there's no way we won't catch it. KALEB ROWLAND Beavers are the only other species of mammal that will change an entire ecosystem to suit their needs, besides humans. They're some of the best engineers in nature. It takes us months and months of computer analysis to figure out how to make a dam across the river. A beaver goes out there, grabs some mud and sticks from on site within a few feet of the pond, and will dam up a huge body of water. And that's really pretty impressive, if you ask me. This thing is locked and loaded. Let's go make the other set, Gilbert. GILBERT ROWLAND Dad, did Grandpa take you beaver trapping? KALEB ROWLAND Oh yeah, we trapped all the time when I was a kid. We were doing it to the point where it was a full-time job. GILBERT ROWLAND Does your dad just like beavers? KALEB ROWLAND He just likes beavers. All right, Gilbert. Because it's spring, the beavers are usually really active and your chances of catching them goes up. But, we have the problem of having to deal with questionable ice. So it's kind of a catch 22. GILBERT ROWLAND Can I try? KALEB ROWLAND Sure. GILBERT ROWLAND This is the hardest part pretty much, actually hooking it up. KALEB ROWLAND Now if you rest it like that, you'll probably be okay. There you go. GILBERT ROWLAND I did it! KALEB ROWLAND Good job. And we'll come back to check these. And hopefully, we'll still be able to get out on these ponds. GILBERT ROWLAND Ha! KYLE SARVELA Living off grid in Alaska, there's always projects to be done, but everything takes longer. You have to make sure you have everything to do a job, or something that would take a few days ends up taking a few weeks. The ocean doesn't go any higher than, like right here. KATIE SARVELA Not even on the super tides. Like, the biggest tide we've had. KYLE SARVELA And that's on like the, yeah, that's on like the highest of high tides with stormy and the wind's pushing them up. KYLE SARVELA So, I mean, if we build it up right here, a little ramp style, then the ocean, I don't think it would ever wash out. I don't think the ocean will ever hit it. KATIE SARVELA The beach is the only way we can get home for about half of the year because the trail we take with snow machine turns into a swamp and is just completely impassable. KYLE SARVELA I think we got to clear all this trash out. KATIE SARVELA There's another roll here. Did you see that? There's a whole nother roll. KYLE SARVELA Oh crap. Yeah. Oh man, we're going to have to dig a lot more than we thought. KATIE SARVELA I think this is all trash from when this place was built. Um, and I think that's old like telephone or telegraph wire from the military base that used to be out here. All right, let's go get shovels. KYLE SARVELA Cool. Yeah, that's a lot of freaking wire there, man. How old do you think this, this trash pile is? KATIE SARVELA We were told from people who grew up in the area that the cabin was built in 1930s about 1939 so I'm not entirely sure. I mean, I guess any time from the 1930s to now we could have trash in here. There we go. Now I can actually see what I'm working with. KYLE SARVELA I'm not gonna keep digging out this 'cause I don't think the water, I don't think it didn't really wash away too much over here. KATIE SARVELA No, it's mostly this big section over here. KYLE SARVELA Why don't we do like the same thing we did with the tires down there? Just bolt a whole bunch of tires together and just angle it? KATIE SARVELA Yeah, the mechanical concrete. KYLE SARVELA Just, just, yeah. KATIE SARVELA Mechanical concrete is the process where you take old tires and you bolt them together and fill them with dirt or gravel and they kind of create a foundation that keeps any of the gravel or the dirt from being washed away. People make road foundations out of tires now, so, I don't know why it wouldn't work out here. KYLE SARVELA Remember when we used to live in the city? I'd take like two or three showers a day. KATIE SARVELA I do know that you had shoes to match every single outfit you owned, so. KYLE SARVELA Hell yeah, I did. I do too now. It's just brown. KATIE SARVELA It's true. It's a different kind of matching. KYLE SARVELA It's just dirt, it's just dirt. There we go. Yeah, there we go. It ain't going nowhere. KATIE SARVELA We ready for the next step then? KYLE SARVELA I think we can, I think we're ready for the gravel. Hi Nar-Nars. KATIE SARVELA Wanna come see what we're doing? KYLE SARVELA You wanna help? INARA SARVELA Yes. KYLE SARVELA All right. INARA SARVELA I'll help by collecting the rocks. KYLE SARVELA All right. I'm gonna let you down. It's muddy though, okay? KATIE SARVELA You see those white buckets down there? INARA SARVELA Yes. KATIE SARVELA Will you put rocks in those white buckets? INARA SARVELA I can put them in my pockets. KATIE SARVELA Yes, you can put rocks in your pockets. INARA SARVELA 'Cause I got pockets. KATIE SARVELA Yeah. Thank you for your help. We're filling buckets so that we can put gravel back into everything that we dug out and fill in the mechanical concrete. I'm only carrying up one at a time because this is super slick. But this is definitely more labor intensive than we had expected doing it one bucket at a time. That did nothing! KYLE SARVELA We can try to get the ATV in the trailer. KATIE SARVELA That would be a lot easier than carrying five gallon buckets through that. The trailer is going to get bogged down in that, but. KYLE SARVELA We can try it. KATIE SARVELA We're gonna go see how much you get stuck. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] KATIE SARVELA All right, yup. That was almost a roll. We definitely need to fix the whole thing. KYLE SARVELA Yeah. Cause look at that big giant rut I just caused right there. KATIE SARVELA Right. Your front tire's not even touching again. KYLE SARVELA Is it not? KATIE SARVELA So I think if we don't just take out the whole thing, we're going to have the exact same problem where you're going to just like compress and get into this clay. KYLE SARVELA And get a big giant rut going. KATIE SARVELA And get a big rut on that side. KYLE SARVELA Yeah, I think if we just add all the tires all the way across, it'll be more of a permanent solution. That way it won't wash out on this side. KATIE SARVELA Right. I'd rather not have to fix it every year since this is our forever home. INARA SARVELA Mom, you come help. KATIE SARVELA And now I have to go deal with a child. KYLE SARVELA Okay. This is the right call. It's just to go ahead and do the whole thing. And hopefully we won't have to deal with this anymore. I'm gonna dump this right quick and then I'll start digging. SAMANTHA BROWN Life and death are a normal part of the life cycle and it's really good to witness all of it. To have that kind of connection to the world around us. We are in the barn and, uh, Bathsheepa, my Welsh, is currently in labor. SAMANTHA BROWN She's got birth goop coming out, and, uh, we're gonna hang out here and hopefully be delivering a baby very soon. Hey, it's okay, Sheepa. We want to be very calm and quiet and gentle with her. The first year Bathsheepa gave birth in the middle of a field, those babies didn't make it. So this time, I wanted to make sure that we were present for them. I knew you were gonna go any time now. Looks like we have. NATHAN BROWN A head? SAMANTHA BROWN Hooves. NATHAN BROWN Huh? SAMANTHA BROWN Hooves. NATHAN BROWN Feet first? SAMANTHA BROWN Yeah. AUTUMN BROWN Why won't she have her baby yet? SAMANTHA BROWN Takes a while, honey. Takes sometimes a long time. There. Oh, my wonder. What do you guys think? They're strong babies too, they're already trying to get up. They are healthy and thriving and it's beautiful for me to see the farm working the way that it should work. What do you guys think? Yeah. Was it worth staying out for, Autumn Bottom? AUTUMN BROWN Uh, yeah. SAMANTHA BROWN Oh, look at them get up! They're so strong! It is one o'clock in the morning. It's been a long night, so. We've done well. We've done well, I think. KALEB ROWLAND Whenever I can go out into the woods and catch something, I'm always thankful for the life that the animal has lived and the path that has brought us together to provide for me and my family. This kind of sketches me out. I want you to stay on shore because I don't want anything to happen to you. GILBERT ROWLAND Yeah. That stuff is ick! KALEB ROWLAND Because this is sketchy. GILBERT ROWLAND Yeah, it's also too slippery. KALEB ROWLAND If we don't catch anything in these ponds today, the ice is going to be gone in a few days. KALEB ROWLAND This is my last chance. What's your guess, Gilbert? You think we got a beaver? GILBERT ROWLAND Yes. KALEB ROWLAND Well, it doesn't feel like there's a beaver on this one. Oh, but it's been snapped. GILBERT ROWLAND Really? KALEB ROWLAND Darn beavers. GILBERT ROWLAND Those beavers are extremely smart. GILBERT ROWLAND Hopefully there's one in the other one. I think they're super smart because they built a ginormous house and they've outsmarted us so many times. KALEB ROWLAND No beavers! All right, Gilbert, let's pack up and head off to the next pond. Are you excited to check a set? GILBERT ROWLAND Yes! KALEB ROWLAND You coming? GILBERT ROWLAND Do you think we got a beaver? I do. KALEB ROWLAND I have no clue. GILBERT ROWLAND I don't see anything. KALEB ROWLAND Yeah, the trap is snapped. GILBERT ROWLAND Ooh! I'll see if it's really heavy. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] GILBERT ROWLAND And they got turned rusty. Whoo-hoo! KALEB ROWLAND We got one, Gilbert! GILBERT ROWLAND We got a beaver! If that's. KALEB ROWLAND The set works! GILBERT ROWLAND Whoo-hoo, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh! KALEB ROWLAND Awesome! That was a good catch. Right around the throat and behind the shoulder. That beaver probably died instantly. GILBERT ROWLAND Why do you think instant? KALEB ROWLAND Because it got caught around the throat. I'm excited. Finally, we caught a beaver. We've had a couple of unsuccessful attempts at catching beavers. And I finally got it to happen. So, I'm glad I tried the new gear. Sometimes you just have to be patient. And today patience definitely paid off. We got some fur, and it's spring fur too, which means it's nice and primed, grown out. It's a premium beaver hide. Now I need to go get the beaver out of the trap. You excited to do some skinning tonight? GILBERT ROWLAND Uh, I don't know. KALEB ROWLAND You don't know? GILBERT ROWLAND I'm not super into skinning them. KALEB ROWLAND Awesome. Let's hit the trail. GILBERT ROWLAND Yeehaw! KYLE SARVELA Being out here is definitely a challenge, so you have to go with the flow and think quick on your feet, because things just randomly happen and you've got to adapt to it and just figure it out. KATIE SARVELA Okay, so those are all attached now, so now we're ready to go get gravel. KYLE SARVELA Yes, we are all done. Um. KATIE SARVELA Okay. How are we doing that? KYLE SARVELA Maybe if we just, like, fill up the trailer halfway or something. Probably our best bet, honestly. KATIE SARVELA Okay. Coming down, B? KYLE SARVELA You guys are awesome. KATIE SARVELA You can do it. KYLE SARVELA We have all the gravel on the beach, so we're gonna take the ATV and we're going to fill it with gravel. And it just makes our lives so much easier. BELLAMY SARVELA I like living on the beach because we get infinite rocks. KYLE SARVELA Infinite rocks. KATIE SARVELA Infinite rocks. KYLE SARVELA Yes. Let's try it. KATIE SARVELA Okay. KYLE SARVELA Oh geez. I don't know. KATIE SARVELA Don't be nervous. You're going to make me more nervous. KYLE SARVELA Don't be nervous. All right. KATIE SARVELA Are you in Diff Lock? No. KYLE SARVELA Our goal is to live out here as long as we can. Honestly, I hope I can die out here. And I hope the kids will want to live out here for their adult life. So, getting this done right will ensure that. Oh, yeah. KATIE SARVELA All right. KYLE SARVELA I think, yeah, I think it's good. KATIE SARVELA How much work was that though? KYLE SARVELA A lot. I am so sore. KATIE SARVELA Well, it's more than we thought we were getting into, because I thought we would just do this side. KYLE SARVELA No, I think that was the right call to do the whole thing. KATIE SARVELA And now it's all done. KYLE SARVELA It's not going to wash away, I mean. KATIE SARVELA Yeah. Well, we're not done quite yet. We have to test it with a truck. Test it out. KYLE SARVELA Are you going to drive? KATIE SARVELA Oh, no. KYLE SARVELA Are you driving the truck? KATIE SARVELA No. You drive the truck. You drive it. KYLE SARVELA Are you driving the truck, Nar-Nars? INARA SARVELA I don't know how to drive! KYLE SARVELA Oh, okay. Well, I guess I'll drive, okay? INARA SARVELA But I wanna ride. KATIE SARVELA But, I'm gonna do this one. KYLE SARVELA Okay. You can ride with me though. KATIE SARVELA Let's go get the truck. KYLE SARVELA Okay, I'll go get the truck. SONTA ROACH The sooner we get our kids more comfortable in the woods, they'll always have this as a foundation. They'll always know how to navigate the land and eventually how to hunt and provide for themselves. We walked on ice. SONTA ROACH We walked in snow. CHEVIE ROACH Slippery, huh? SONTA ROACH It is. It's like she's on little ice skates. CHEVIE ROACH Hunt! Hunt, Lani! Hunt! Hunt, Lani! SONTA ROACH Come on, Lani! CHEVIE ROACH Hunt, Lani! SONTA ROACH Go get the bird. CHEVIE ROACH She won't walk it. She'll find it. SONTA ROACH Hunt, Thor in the woods. Well, Thor still has a better nose. Good boy. Good girl, Lani. CHEVIE ROACH Chevelle, you ready for a nap? She's over. SONTA ROACH She's like that's cool, Dad. CHEVIE ROACH Why didn't you get the other two, dad? Is what you should be saying. SONTA ROACH You're pretty low. I was surprised. Okay. CHEVIE ROACH Here's two ducks right here. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] CHEVIE ROACH Good boy. Good dog. Come on. Come on. Bring the bird here. Hunt, Lani. SONTA ROACH Come on, Lani. You see, what's Thor got? CHEVIE ROACH Come. SONTA ROACH Oh, good boy. Look, daddy got a bird. CHEVIE ROACH Good dog. Good dog. SONTA ROACH Look, Chevelle. CHEVIE ROACH You see? Come. SONTA ROACH Look, daddy got a bird. You see? Oh, Lani is trying to get it too. CHEVIE ROACH You gotta be nice. You gotta be nice. SONTA ROACH Lani, bring it here. CHEVIE ROACH You gotta be nice. You gotta be nice. You can't chew it up. SONTA ROACH Goose. Good girl. Good job. We're fetching. Oh, yeah. CHEVIE ROACH Hunting with dogs, kids. It's really about building these memories as a family. SONTA ROACH Look, Chevelle. Thor, no. Lani, no. CHEVIE ROACH And keeping that tradition alive of bringing your kids out, when they could barely walk and teaching 'em how to walk in the woods. SONTA ROACH Yeah. CHEVELLE ROACH Yeah. KYLE SARVELA We're rock and roll. Here we go. KATIE SARVELA You think we can crawl up it now instead of hitting it fast? KYLE SARVELA Oh yeah. I'm gonna go slow. KATIE SARVELA Okay. KYLE SARVELA I'm gonna go slow up it. KATIE SARVELA See how good it is. KYLE SARVELA Yeah, because I don't want, I don't want to have to like smash. KATIE SARVELA Right. Ooh, nice. You gonna make that? All right. KYLE SARVELA Yeah. KATIE SARVELA Sweet. KYLE SARVELA Yeah, that was super slow. That was about, yeah, that was pretty slow. KATIE SARVELA That was pretty slow. KYLE SARVELA And then, well, and it still has to compact down too. KATIE SARVELA Yeah, I know. I think that's the slowest you've ever been able to take the hill. KYLE SARVELA Yeah, that was nice. And look, it held up pretty well. KATIE SARVELA Did we tear anything up? Not really. KYLE SARVELA Like, this is going to save us so much time hauling stuff up. Not only can we get all of our supplies that we have to bring up, but it'll just make it a lot easier. Less chance of an injury out here. KATIE SARVELA I'm really glad this worked, so now we won't ever have to fix it again, hopefully. KYLE SARVELA Yeah, I know, right? KATIE SARVELA It'll probably outlive us, honestly. KYLE SARVELA Right? The girls will be using it. KATIE SARVELA Yup. KYLE SARVELA As their access, hopefully. KALEB ROWLAND All right, now I just make a nice slit right up the center, all the way up to his chin here. You know, we've, we've tried a lot this winter to catch beavers and it just has not gone well. Gear malfunctioning, gear getting fouled. And so, this is good to finally connect with the beaver. And know that we still got it. Even though it was kind of not looking very good there for a little bit. Whenever I catch something, whether it's for food or fur, it's not always a pleasant meeting. It usually involves a trap or a speeding lead projectile. But the animal provides for me, and for that I'm always appreciative. His life was not in vain, and his fur will be cherished. And this guy is done. SONTA ROACH We'll just take off all the feathers. Look at his little feet. Look at his toes. CHEVIE ROACH It's important for Chevelle to know that it goes from a flying bird to a bird that your dog's retrieved. Now you're plucking it. You take it home and you're going to eat it. SONTA ROACH It'll be pretty good eating. CHEVIE ROACH Soup? You figure? SONTA ROACH Soup, soup or a little roast. We'll see. I don't know. CHEVIE ROACH You're gonna roast that little thing? SONTA ROACH It's always good. CHEVIE ROACH It is good. SONTA ROACH Well, I'm really proud of Chevelle. She did good out here. She had a good time. A couple naps in the woods. Lani did good too, though. CHEVIE ROACH Yeah, she's getting the hang of it. SONTA ROACH Being out on the land is really about creating those memories together and sharing in the time and space together as well. Here you go. Nice one. CHEVIE ROACH Yeah, that's a feather. SONTA ROACH That's really key with teaching young ones is just, you're out here, you're surrounded by family and we're having a good time. Yup, I'd always ask my dad to get me one of these whenever he'd be out. Did you get a pocket duck? What are these called? CHEVIE ROACH Green winged teal. SONTA ROACH Green winged teal. Yeah, I only ever knew them as a pocket duck. CHEVIE ROACH Because they fit in your pocket. SONTA ROACH Because they fit in your pocket. CHEVIE ROACH You want to go eat soup? SONTA ROACH You want to go eat duck soup? All right, let's head out. NATHAN BROWN So we got some onions, cabbages, celery, peppers, some herbs. Strawberry plants. So we're gonna put them in here for a few hours. And each day we're gonna incrementally increase that. We gotta get these plants used to the temperatures. Otherwise you'll shock the plants and it'll kill them. Right now it's spring. Everything's starting to grow. The trees are starting to green up. The plants are starting to green up. Not only that, but we're growing too. SAMANTHA BROWN So last night was a super long night. Hi sheepa beepas. We delivered two very healthy ewe lambs. Can I see those babies? What do you think? Oh, they're just beautiful. I couldn't have asked for a better springtime, honestly. Everything is healthy and thriving, and I'm hoping that we can keep that going. I would say that this has been an absolute victory. So few people actually get to be part of the process of life and death. I think it's really good to have that kind of connection to the world around you. NATHAN BROWN We're learning from each other, we're learning how to work together. We're conquering new things that we haven't done before. NATHAN BROWN It's something really special. It's something that not a lot of people, and especially not a lot of kids, get to experience. SAMANTHA BROWN So, what do you think? What should we name him? NATHAN BROWN Keep it old fashioned, Abigail and Delilah. SAMANTHA BROWN You've really been thinking about that one, haven't you? What do you think? Should we keep him? AUTUMN BROWN Yeah. Don't eat them for dinner. NATHAN BROWN Okay. SAMANTHA BROWN Okay. ADRIAN BROWN They'd probably be pretty tender. [SNAP-IN] CHEVIE ROACH When you have babies wrapped up in a jacket with the sound of shot guns in the background, that's what their normal is. You just want them to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations. CHEVIE ROACH Since the baby's sleeping, I'm gonna use this opportunity to cover a little bit of ground, so. I'm gonna walk around the edge here and get out to that little band of willows and see what I can see from out there. No, no, no! Come. Come. No. You gotta stay. Good boy, Thor. That was my bad, that was a gimmie. I let you guys down. Sitting out here you go with some quiet times, you know, not shooting. And, um, we always talk about, well at least we got to warm up the barrel. You know, usually it's wet, windy, cold, and get an opportunity to shoot, you know, you take that, you take that heat off the barrel and grab the barrel. Warm up your hands a little bit and stuff starts falling eventually. Sonta's over here. I'm gonna, oh here comes some ducks around, too. Coming back. SONTA ROACH Duck right there. CHEVIE ROACH Hey, those were fast. SONTA ROACH That was a pile of them. CHEVIE ROACH I didn't see any go down. SONTA ROACH Thor's running his little grid. CHEVIE ROACH Running his grid, just making sure. SONTA ROACH Making sure. There's nothing, there's nothing out there. CHEVIE ROACH You want to have a snack and check out a little different place? SONTA ROACH Yeah. CHEVIE ROACH These birds might be wise to us now. SONTA ROACH Yeah. CHEVIE ROACH I'm gonna grab some different shells. You wanna go for a ride? [END]