RVers hit the road for the holidays

Some traditions can't be limited by the size or geography of the accommodations.

"We chose this lifestyle, and the people who love us understand," she said.

North American RV enthusiasts claim there are a million part- or full-time nomads living on the road. Some are fleeing cold weather. Others are living newly minimalistic lives off the grid.

"They're tired of the big house, the decorations, the work," said Arlene Van Winkle, office administrator at Palm Springs Oasis RV Resort in Cathedral City. "They're retired and enjoying it. They're here on purpose."

Phil and Jean Hoertling just drove down from their home in Yreka last week. They decided to extract themselves from the chaos of their son's holiday home and set up in Indian Wells RV Resort instead.

Christmas Day, they'll go to a casino.

Still, they packed a small artificial tree for the dashboard and an LED light cone for outside.

"When the kids were little, Christmas was fun. But it's not anymore," said Jean, 74-year-old grandmother to 14.

"This is the best way to do it."

Canadian anthropologists David and Dorothy Counts made a study of RV subculture in the 1990s, going on the road themselves to get it right. The Countses concluded RVers are a unique breed of free thinkers and adventurers.

"RV ownership is not only the means to an extremely independent and self-sufficient way of life, it's also the common thread in a vast community and, in fact, the reason for that community," David Counts said in an Out West Newspaper article posted on the newrver.

RVers re-create neighborhoods and traditions on wheels. One group of French Canadian RVers spends Christmas together every year at a park in Florida.

Will Imanse, a 56-year-old full-time RVer/sailboater and blogger/author, says it's virtually impossible to spend a holiday alone in an RV park. For the first time in a dozen years, he and his wife are flying back to British Columbia for the holidays.

"The entire RV lifestyle is one of fraternity. If you are parked anywhere for any length of time, you will have a number of new friends," Imanse wrote in an email from Mexico.

RV parks are as varied as their residents. Some desert rest stops provide weekend coffee and doughnut brunches, bridge tournaments, decoration contests and Christmas Eve potlucks. But at others, tinsel is kept to a minimum.

At Palm Springs Oasis, Rory and Sue Melville are navigating a holiday dilemma of a different kind. But it's nothing new: She converted to Judaism 20 years ago. He was raised an indifferent Protestant.

Now, they split the difference between their traditions. There's a Hanukkah flag hooked to the hitch. Inside their "condo on wheels," a big poinsettia rests on the end table. A royal blue tinsel boa skirts the door. She is celebrating the eight-day Festival of Lights. They'll probably roast some beef for Christmas.