Sunset view of Mt. Diablo from just west of the Park.

Watching the tiny house community at Park Delta Bay grow over the last year has been astonishing.   As a 15-month resident, I remember arriving here in December of 2017 to be the fifth tiny house.  Of the four others parked here at the time, two have gone.  To the three veterans, nine have been added, with others coming for short-term stints before going to private spots elsewhere in the country.  So we stand twelve-strong, snug among our neighbors in RVs and trailers, comfortable on the west side of the Park, just below the Marina and in the broad sight of the setting sun.

This will be my third Camp Tiny House.  In April 2018, two houses opened their doors to fifty visitors.  We walked the group from the clubhouse down the interior road, half going first to one house, half going first to another.  The Park had gotten some publicity at that point, though nothing like what would follow over the coming months.  Visitors seemed genuinely intrigued by the idea of tiny living.  They snapped photos of us, our houses, and each other.  They asked questions, and teased each other about whether they could live in such small spaces.

By October 2018, the community had grown.  Four houses, mine and three newer arrivals, opened their doors to folks attending Camp Tiny House.  We had gotten more press and had become more well known.  The Escape which stays here as a short-term rental had been featured at several conventions and home shows.  Over 125 visitors walked the gravel road around our meadow to come see the tiny houses and talk to the owners.

With the April 6th Camp Tiny House less than two weeks away, we’re getting excited.  We expect a record crowd.  Today we confirmed that Nick Mosley will be on hand all day.  Mosley co-founded California Tiny House, a Fresno company which designs and custom-builds tiny houses.  He is also part of the American Tiny House Association.  With members of our community, Mosley will speak and answer questions about designing, building, financing, parking, and transporting tiny houses, along with every other imaginable aspect of #tinyhouses.  With Mosley on the panel will be husband and wife Derek Campbell and Kelly Pipe Campbell, together known as @TinyHouseBigSky, who designed and built the extraordinary tiny house in which they live here at the Park.  Numerous other members of the community will also contribute to the panel remarks and Q&A discussion, “meet & mingle” potluck lunch, and questions during the home tours.  Laurie Crosson Erceg, for example, a regional educator,  will speak about her experiences with house builders and with “going tiny” after traveling the country in her RV.

When I investigated places to park my tiny house in Northern California, I spoke with land-owners and RV park managers from Oakland to Oregon.  Lot fees and rental arrangements varied depending on nearness to city centers, difficulty of access, and available services.  My first choice burned in the Santa Rosa fires before I could move from Missouri with my finished house.  My second choice would be impacted in 2018 by the Camp Fires in Paradise, California.  Between those two crises, I found my way to Park Delta Bay, which as far as I can determine, might well be the largest commercially-managed tiny house community in Northern California.

I came out to the Delta after I lost my first reservation and on the recommendation of a North Bay park manager whose Missouri wife urged him to help me find a back-up plan.  I never expected to fall in love with the Sacramento Delta, and with the serenity of #deltalife.  The notion of an “RV park” did not speak to me of a large meadow, tall old trees, and flocks of migrating birds.  I did not anticipate the beauty of the river, the history of the region, or the artistry of nearby vineyards and olive orchards.  I certainly did not expect to find a neighborhood of strangely like-minded individuals who, though from divergent backgrounds, political stripes, and points of view, nonetheless meet my hand-clasp with a warm smile and a kind eye.  I did not expect that joining this community would feel so much like coming home.

We’re sweeping our floors and fluffing our pillows here on G-Row at Park Delta Bay.  We’re vacuuming the small rugs in our kitchens and our living nooks.  We’re re-potting the succulents in our tiny porch gardens, and testing the ladders to our lofts.  We’re making tiny preparations for Camp Tiny House.  We hope to see each of you, and to share stories, observations, and guidance about #goingtiny for anyone who wonders if they have what it takes to live in a tiny house.