Mid shot of Misty smiling.

HOMESTEAD RESCUE - Misty Raney Bilodeau - headshot

Mid shot of Misty smiling.

Misty is the youngest daughter of the family. She is married to Maciah, a carpenter and surfer. They have a 5-year-old son and live in both Alaska and Hawaii. They help run the family business in Alaska in the summer, and they spend their winters in Hawaii where they surf. They love teaching and helping people to homestead and live off the land.

"I love to swing a hammer, and to construct things from a few simple materials," says Misty. "It's weird, but I do. Anything to do with building, gardening, livestock, hunting, accessing water, and more, my family thrives in helping others get a handle on their own situation. Alaska keeps us tough."

Misty is the straight-talking provider. She'll tell you what's wrong with a homestead and how you should put it right. She can build greenhouses and smokers to grow and process food. She can turn vegetables and meat into survival food to last the year, and she can predator-proof livestock enclosures to keep them safe from bears, mountain lions and coyotes.

Alaska is a place of plenty, but it can be a tough place to grow food, and Misty has learned the hard way. Misty is a composting tyrant who believes every off-gridder should have a composting pile as it provides fertilizer and cuts down on waste.

Misty and Maciah built their own 800-square-foot cabin from the ground up, on their own land, not far from the family home in Hatcher Pass, Alaska. Besides farming and providing, Misty specializes in smaller-scale day-to-day construction needs including sheds, out-houses, fences to protect livestock from predators, chicken coups, insect screens, and even saunas.

Every summer, Misty joins the family hunt, whether it's dressing a fresh moose kill, or fishing with her brother Matt.