Our Story of Moving From Colorado to North Carolina

In case you missed it… RattTrap Artistry has relocated to North Carolina from Colorado. Don’t worry though we are still traveling back fairly often to Colorado to serve Clients. Mainly focusing on rebuilding a client base in North Carolina now though.

I am sure if you are a past client. There are lots of questions wondering why this happened and Why North Carolina. I wish i could answer a lot of these questions but mainly we were ready for a change and the stars aligned for that change to make way…. Far more than i could ever put into words.

In April 2022 we placed a deposit a on 32′ Gooseneck enclosed trailer to pack everything into and avoid storage fees. With the way of the world these days there were delays and delays. We were supposed to have the trailer by the last week in June. Well That did not happen……

June 2022- We had borrowed a trailer to start moving things down, least the most important things as we did not want our lives in a house that people were coming and going in and out of. We did leave cameras up but it is shocking what people do when seeing a house on the market. I took all the listing photos of the house, borrowed a drone from my cousin… Thank god for kevin cause i literally instantly crashed it.

We moved out of the house on June 12th. The house went on the market at the end of June. We had no real plans just knew the house we were in had serviced us and we were ready for the next thing. We moved down to littleton with my parents just being that Kevin worked nights, we had two dogs, a cat and a baby it was far to much for me to try and prep the house alone for any showings. I mean try keeping a house clean with two dogs and a baby….. NOT happening!

July 2022 an opportunity came up for a major change. Kevin and i thought about it, weighted out the options and then jumped. Kevin had been at his job for almost 8 years, and that job allowed our lives to be the way it was today. It was not an easy decision to leave comfort, and home. But the decision was made to Leave Colorado and move our lives to North Carolina. We had already found a house that we LOVED, but the sellers were very unsure to accept our offer as the last contingent offer fell through. We had not seen the house more than from an amazing Realtor in North Carolina, and zillow photos. Which seems crazy but i trusted our Relator so much.

August 2022 rolls around and we still did not have a trailer. The 2nd of August we finally settled on a different trailer we could make work cause now we were on crunch time. We did not have time to wait or hope. So we bought a 24′ Enclosed trailer to pack our entire lives into for the big journey from Colorado to North Carolina. Huge thank you to Mile High Trailer for getting us taken care of. This is the part were it gets weird a little and the stars align. Few days pass and we end up under contract, our agent calls and we end up under contract on the North Carolina house. Which also a random note it is crazy how different each state is for things like inspections, escrow money and more. So be prepared and ask lots of questions along the way.

By the 9th of August we had everything out of the house minus some small things. We were still packing and organizing this trailer though. Playing Tetris with all your life in box and bubble wrap is very difficult. We prepped the truck, the trailer in every way we could. By far the best decision we made was purchasing the Bulletproof hitches sway control system, and hitch for this tow. With that system and proper weight distribution the tow was incredibly safe and smooth for us. We were set to close on the house in Colorado on August 31st, and when i tell you the new owners of are Colorado house are the coolest…. I MEAN IT! They were the people meant to end up in that house. Everything went flawless and we close on our Colorado home, which was very bittersweet.

September 2022- Very close to leaving for our trip to North Carolina and close on the house we end up hitting some bumps in the road… Which we did not have time for BUT with the most amazing agent (Heidi) made sure it went on without an issue. I had sessions packed literally all weekend and did one the morning of September 11th before we hit the road.

When i tell you stresses were HIGH they were so freaking high about this trip. We had legit all our life in a trailer that we had to get from one state to another in one piece, in a small window of time. Said our good-bye’s to the neighbors and family and hit the road. We did the C-470 to E-470 loop around towards Kansas. I do not think kevin and i took one breath or said a word until we hit 70. We were on high alert as the short tows we had done were a little stressful due to sway. But again after the Bulletproof hitch system it was worlds different, we just had not gone very far with it. All was smooth and well.

We did take inferno our cat with us on this trip to make the second drive out a little less crazy, as well as kevin wanted some company. We had planned out our spots ahead of time and since we had an animal it made things a bit more complex. Thanks to TikTok and a comment from a fellow user. We learned about the “Bring Fido” app/website for finding places to stay with pets. What a lifesaver. We made it to Junction City, KS pretty late so grabbed sonic and stayed at a The Courtyard Marriott Junction City.

Which i highly suggest this hotel. We aimed to be up before the sun and on the road. We would generally get coffee, fuel up and hit the road. By the first fuel up after hitting the road we’d be getting food as well. Another thing to mention is when towing a trailer of this length, not all gas stations, food places, and hotels are trailer friendly. Id check on google maps satellite view the gas station and surroundings to make sure we could easily get in/out. With the sway control system with any backing up you have to remove it, which in turn you have to reset the whole adjustments for once you put it back on. With the system you can tighten/loosen the bars to help with any sway.

Second day on the road was planned to make it to Clarksville, TN. On the Road this day We learned Real quick any major cities SUCKED for towing this trailer through. We had Several OH Shit moments from people just not paying attention. What you have to realize with towing something of this level…. WE do not stop fast nor do we want too because its loaded with fragile things. We cannot make moves like a car can, that will easily make us loose control of the trailer.

So if you are reading this be Very mindful of trailers. Don’t cut them off, ride next to them, and so much more. That could literally be the reason they loose control. This does not matter your driving skills somethings are completely out of our control especially when it causes any sway. Honestly no hate but the most problems we had on the road were with semi drivers, you’d think they’d understand but i swear they were out to get us.

P.S. Inferno meowed pretty much every day all day until the last 2 hours of our drive. We finally figured out the last day he wanted to just find a dark place to hide and sleep. So we opened the black bin and cracked the lid and he’d hid and slept in there the remainder of the drives! 🤦🏼‍♀️

Third day of the drive was nothing to exciting a lot of the same oh shit moments driving but at this point we felt like pros. We made it into North Carolina and got the approval from the owners to leave the trailer at the house to make life easier for the next day to Close. Thank god we did because the hotel we stayed at was SUPER sketchy, definitely not ideal for leaving a big ol trailer in a parking lot and trying to sleep over night.

This was the first time we were seeing the house in person and man i remember driving down that driveway with a level of excitement and peace i could not explain. We did a quick walk through with our amazing agent that we were meeting also for the very first time in person. We definitely loved the house more than the photos.

The next day we had to close an hour from where we were staying so we woke up and packed the cat in the truck cause there is no way we were leaving him at this sketch hotel. One because it was sketchy and two he some how had got stuck under the bed the night before and so were weren’t about to do that again. Closings are a little different in North Carolina. In CO you close at Title companies. While in North Carolina you close at Attorney offices, that being said it is a longer process than CO.

Legit we boarded up the windows on the truck to keep it super cool and checked on inferno often. We had the truck started on and off to ensure he was cool and not over heated. It was like a 60 degree day so not a super hot day but ensured he was ok the entire hour or so at closing. We closed on the house hit home-depot and proceeded to unpack the trailer that took us forever to fill and organize. We unpacked it in about 2.5 hours. Just kevin and i and honestly do not know how we moved some things.

The trailer is our temporary garage for now until we finish off a garage. We bought this house knowing it needed landscaping, and a garage but we were excited to create from a blank canvas basically. We completely unpacked the house in about 1.5 days before i got on a plane that Saturday and headed back to CO to be with oli and our dogs until i finished out my sessions. A few weeks passed before we decided it made more sense for me to Fly back and forth for sessions as i had this odd 2-ish week of no sessions. It also wasn’t easy being apart, oli didn’t understand why he could be with dad, face-timing him only seemed to upset him, he was struggling to sleep at night. So it honestly wasn’t worth the separation.

October 2022- When i packed up everything the first time i kept as little as i could. I had oli and i’s clothes, shoes and some of the basics in one of those black bins. I had all my camera stuff, bathroom things, and dog stuff in one large black bin. We knew all along the trip would be smoother and faster if Oli was flown out.

So we planned to have Kevin Fly into CO, my parents flying out to North Carolina the same day and me picking Kevin up at the airport and heading straight from there. We had legit very limited space in the car on the way and thankfully we decided to send Oli out on a plane otherwise it might have been a mess. It all flawlessly worked out without any issues. Oli traveled per usual like a pro even with my parents…. The kid will have been on a plane more in his life than i probably ever will.

I had Planned to drive out to North Carolina in a Max of 1.5 days. It was about a 23.5 hour drive and over 1,600 miles. The drive went super well, we did stop every 300-400 miles for gas and let the dogs out for a stretch/pee. The dogs honestly did so freaking good… BETTER than the cat. We did stop for a small nap just outside of St. Louis. Kevin slept in the driver seat and i slept in between dogs in the back. I do not recommend haha but we did not want to try to get a hotel with Two german Shepherds that tend to not know how to be quite. All went well though. We saw some super sweet views, and fog and things along the way.

We arrived Home in North Carolina on October 12th around 6pm. Only about 2 weeks of being in North Carolina i jumped on a plane with Oli to finish out 1 of 2 trips for my sessions i had left in Colorado. I finished of my last trip for 2022 in November and proceeded to get a respiratory infection that knocked me on my ass for at least 3 weeks. But i just have to say Big props to parents that travel solo with a kid, it is quite the task to get Everyone from point A to Point B with limited hands.
All in All i am in North Carolina Full time, with Travels plan to go back to Colorado. Currently i will be back in January 2023 for a quick little weekend trip of sessions.

So what does that look like if we are a past CO client and want you to do our photos again?

You can add your name to the newsletter i have for the latest travel details/announcements straight to your email. Sign up Here. If you haven’t seen any dates announced but know you want me out there, just reach out and let me know you’re interested in a session at a certain time. Travel fees apply but the more sessions the cheaper the travel per client. I look forward to coming back to Colorado to see my peeps. As far for my January trip the travel fees have been covered by the first person that booked and they do not want to split it with anyone. So if you’re considering a session I do have room for 1-2 more.

What am i doing in the meantime before i really start up my business again?

Well part of moving was i have to start all over with a client base. Scary for sure but i know it will be ok. In the meantime while i build a client base i will be adventuring North Carolina and working on my Fine Art & Travel Portfolio. All the images i take are available for purchase just get in touch with me. You can find my work online Here- RattTrap Artistry Fine Art or on my Facebook Page. You Can email me at RattTrapArtistry@gmail.com to purchase products. That is one way to continue to support me and also get some sweet art for you home/office.

Throughout 2021 & 2022 I started editing photos for other photographers looking to outsource their editing. I will continue this so if you’re a photographer looking for outsourcing just shoot me an email, I am only taking on a handful of clients for editing in 2023.
I will also be enjoying Coffee on my dreamy front porch surrounded by trees, I might have to start a CoffeeTok time with me on TikTok or something just for fun. Ill also be spending time with oli/Kevin, and over all being a slacker. Yes, this means i may not be all over social media or texting back quickly. I honestly just need a break. This move was a lot and so much happened so quickly i am just ready to chill a bit.

You can find me on Instagram or TikTok to keep in the loop on what i am doing in the meantime before i get back to hustling.

I also am not sending a Holiday card out this year. So if you made it this far happy Holidays ♥️

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A FAMILY & LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHER IN NORTH CAROLINA??

Hey there, we are RattTrap Artistry, North Carolina’s Family & Lifestyle photographers. We specialize in bold, colorful and creative storytelling moments. While capturing your classic photos we try to keep the flow of a storytelling session vs all posed look and smile here. Capturing the sticky and chaotic moments that you will cherish as a memory for MANY years to come. Serving rad people all over the state of North Carolina, Traveling regularly to Colorado, and open to traveling to new places! Are you ready to have a rad time capturing you and your special peeps???? Shoot us a message! If you are still unsure give us a follow on insta for a real feel of who we are and what we have to offer!!