AN AUSTIN GETAWAY

Just under a year ago, in the autumn of 2021, the DROP Structure’s crew packed up and headed to The Glamping Show in Aurora, Colorado.

At the same time as we were preparing for the drive south, with the temperature dropping beside the leaves, Ashley Ludkowski was getting ready to head north from still-hot Austin, Texas. As the lead designer on a new project, one of the first glamping resorts in the area, she was looking for some cabins that would do her vision justice.

The project, now known as Rancho Moonrise, was designed to share the unique energy of Austin, with bright colours and eye-catching cabins.

On the trailer behind our truck, we just so happened to have a Holo+, specifically designed and built to spotlight how a DROP Structure would work in the glamping space.

Love at first sight

One thousand kilometres of endless roads, mountains and sky later, we both showed up in Aurora, weary but ready to face the crowds.

The glamping show was huge, with everything from companies selling safari tents to business leaders in the fields. While we were busy giving tours of our Holo+, Ashley was perusing her options and testing them against the vision she had in her head.

When she finally appeared in front of our booth, she fell in love with the Holo+.

“We were looking for something unique, pretty and awesome to put on our property and DROP Structures kind of hit all our boxes visually,” Ashley said.

After a quick tour, we spoke with Ashley about what she needed and walked her through the ordering process along with her options. Everything was going well until we got to the very last step.

“The only problem was they’re in Canada and we’d have to ship them across the country,” she said.

With gas prices spiking alongside everything else, delivering everything in her vision would be expensive.

A 2,000 km challenge

DROP Structures is more than a construction company. Not only do we build a variety of small spaces, but we also deliver them from our facilities to your door, wherever you’re located in North America.

This ensures we’re able to maintain quality control over every unit we produce, and it’s this streamlined production process which allows us to offer lower costs to our clients. 

However, over longer distances, delivery adds a significant cost – especially for orders of multiple units that require multiple trucks or even multiple trips.

As a designer for a resort, Ashley wanted more than just a single Alpha that could be loaded on a small trailer. She wanted a large number of units so she could maintain consistency of design. And, she wanted structures large enough to make sure her guests were comfortable to stay in them for days at a time.

Together, we worked to strike the perfect balance so the development could offer that unique atmosphere Ashley wanted to create, while minimizing transportation costs. 

“Basically, we decided to start with something simple and see how it goes,” Ashley said.

For Rancho Moonrise, that meant standard-length Monos. This way, we could fit two units to a trailer and lower the cost of shipping. With just six units in her first order, that meant only three trucks could deliver her Monos in a single trip – which worked perfectly for Rancho Moonrise.

Just five months after deciding on the design and finalizing the purchase, we loaded Ashley’s Monos onto trailers and the convoy headed south. 

A quick step closer to completion

When the drivers began their trek south, Rancho Moonrise was still under construction. Ashley and the rest of the crew have big plans for the ranch and had a lot to do before their planned opening date later on in the year.

So, we wanted to get in and out without causing a disruption to the rest of the trades.

“When they pulled up on a semi-truck, our crane picked them up off the truck and put them on our foundations and there was not a single problem. It went really smooth,” Ashley said. 

We were in and out in just under four hours, creating a drastic change for the in-construction resort and bringing it closer to reality.

“Seeing the cabins in their spot made the project feel so much more pulled together,” Ashley said. “It's really, really awesome.”

The DROP Structures’ family

From our first meeting in Colorado to the delivery, the process took about nine months, including the sales process, design, building and delivery. 

“DROP Structures prides themselves on being a small team and treating their clients like family and that is really how I feel,” Ashley said. “They were great to work with. I work with a variety of large- and small-scale vendors across the world every day all day and DROP Structures was one of the more real, human ones.”

Introducing Rancho Moonrise

Rancho Moonrise is a full-service events and glamping property. While we think the Monos are the focal point for the whole ranch, there’s so much more available for those who want to stay overnight or book the space for a wedding or other special event.

Of course, it’s Texas and the summers are hot so a cool pool is a necessity. There’s also a large barn event space and a variety of options for short-term stays, including safari tents, airstreams and, of course, the Monos. There’s also a cafe and taco shop along with a co-working space.

“It's a very fun, colorful, vibrant concept that mixes in some of that authentic ranch aesthetic,” Ashley said.

For a better look at the structures, head over to our YouTube channel and check out the Rancho Moonrise video to see the installation process.