Building Off the Grid: Big Sky Ranch

Jon and Etta Smith build a self-sustaining bison ranch in a remote corner of northwestern Montana, where mountain lions, badgers and wolves abound; the first-time homebuilders must race to finish their dream home as winter approaches.

Jon and Etta strive to balance ranch work with their responsibilities on the build, which gets off to a slow start while they wait for prefabricated wall panels to arrive; wrong measurements threaten to derail the couple's plans.

Jon and Etta finally get to bring the bison home to their ranch but not without making a treacherous drive; Jon and Etta use their land to source their own building materials.

In late winter, Jon and Etta Smith deal with bitterly cold temperatures and high winds; they're anxious to get started on a new well but get stuck waiting for the well drillers.

Jon and Etta race to finish their home's exterior before another big Montana storm hits; progress is slow because of the cold temperatures and short winter days.

Jon and Etta put the finishing touches on their build.