It's frontier boot camp. Everyone learns how to do the things they will be doing at Frontier Valley. Such as how to bake bread, see if the oven is hot, wash dishes, chop wood and kill a chicken. Also everyone learned how to shoot, even though they won't be allowed to hunt due to todays laws. At the end they leave to make the journey to Frontier Valley where they will be living, farming, working, learning, and having fun for the next five months.
The families arrive at Frontier Valley. Nate and Rudy select a site for Nate and (soon-to-be) wife's cabin. The Clunes finish construction on their home. Adreinne is excited that they finally got a stove. All of the families plant vegetables. There is a freak blizzard in mid-June, which makes it harder for Aine and Tracy to walk about a mile to the Glenn's to milk their cow.
Nate and Rudy finish the cabin. Karen has shooting pains in her arm and numbness in her fingers, so she calls a Doctor. She has tendinitis. The doctor is really expensive. With an even tighter budget, the Glenn's marriage started to fall apart. The Clunes have ran out of food, they have only beans and cornbread. Karen, Nate, and Gordon go to the store. Karen is hoping to make money by selling shampoo and taking in miner's laundry. Nate is getting stuff to make the cabin ready for Kristen. Gordon is getting a lot of food. Karen's birthday was the day they went to the store. Tracy is homesick. Tracy's parents visit. Kristen is really sad that her wedding dress is burgundy. When she is done getting ready, a package from Nate arrives, Nate sent her a veil and a white dress. Nate and Kristen get married.
The Clunes have rattlesnake for dinner. The Brooks get goats. Kristen makes goat cheese. Gordon Clune makes moonshine (illegally).
The kids start school. The Clunes really enjoyed the time that they spent together. To celebrate the railroad crossing the country, the teacher gives the kids oranges. "Granny" (Karen's mom) visits for Logan's birthday. The kids entertain everyone at the end of school.
All the families build root cellars. The families plan the harvest fair. The Clunes finish harvesting hay. Since they harvested so late the hay has very little nutritional content. The Brooks make firewood. The Glenns kill their pig (Jo-Jo pumpkin) for the fair. At the fair Adrienne wins best decorative cake. Glenns win best looking chicken. Adrienne and Gordon found a box spring that they have been sleeping on for a month and half. The Brooks would have made it through the winter. The Glen's wouldn't have made it because in winter they would be trapped in the little cabin, and they wouldn't have gotten along. The Clunes wouldn't have made it because they weren't prepared enough.