Trailer Life’s managing editor heads to Southern California’s Pala RV Resort with the 2018 Northwood Fox Mountain 235RLS
See Related Story: Northwood Inn
In less than two minutes, my teenage niece had paired her phone with the King RV Media Bluetooth speaker that was perched above the entry door on the Fox Mountain fifth-wheel so we could listen to her music while relaxing outside. Oh joy! Five of us — my sister, niece, our close friend, her daughter and I — spent three nights in a Northwood Fox Mountain 235RLS (see the review in the November 2017 Trailer Life) at Pala RV Resort near Temecula, California. Part of the Pala Casino complex, the RV resort was completed in May 2016 and has 100 spacious full-hookup sites.
“Survivor” was the name of the game at Pala RV Resort where RVers participated in a variety of games.
During our July 2017 stay, we enjoyed sunshine — and lots of it with 100-plus-degree days, which led to plenty of time floating in the RV resort’s pool and wine tasting nearby. With more than 20 wineries in the vicinity, it was hard to pick just two to visit, plus the wine trail itself was a beautiful drive. There’s also a shuttle that runs round the clock to Pala Casino that will pick you up and drop you back off at your RV site, or you can walk the half-mile or so.
Painting our team flag.
We lucked out when our booked three nights included a Survivor-themed Saturday. Pala hosts theme weekends once a month that have included a Hawaiian luau, an ’80s shindig, a Halloween weekend (sold out for 2017), and a Prehistoric Party with a costume contest for best-dressed caveman/cavewoman and best-decorated RV site. Holly, the events specialist for the RV resort, is a bundle of energy and plans fun and crazy games like a stone-throwing contest for the Prehistoric Party. Or dunking a T-shirt in a bucket of water and wringing it out to fill a small-neck bottle, which had the group running and laughing and cheering for one of the Survivor games. With all ages participating in the relay challenge, scavenger hunt and painting team flags, it was a great way to meet fellow RVers.
The Northwood 235RLS was ideal for the five of us. There was enough moving-about room, seating and space for several of us to prepare a meal at the same time without bumping into each other. One morning, everyone wanted their own thing for breakfast, so all five of us were back and forth between the kitchen (with its large, walk-around peninsula countertop) and the dinette and sofa, chopping, cooking and in and out of the fridge. With all the comings and goings, we still had room to get around each other without too much fuss.
Enjoying good friends and good times.
On top of the kitchen cabinets, there’s additional storage space — but you gotta be tall to reach it. My 5-foot 10-inch niece was the keeper of the large snack bin set up high (the theory was “out of sight, out of mind”), so we had to call on her when we wanted junk food.
The bathroom area is in the upper part of the fifth-wheel at the base of the bed and worked well for several of us to get ready at the same time. A hodgepodge of blankets, pillows, cell phones, clothing, makeup, granola bars and water bottles covered the bed. The teenagers “organized” and spread out their beauty products — brushes, lipstick, blush, mascara — so the sink counter and lower portion of the bed looked like a Lancôme beauty counter at Macy’s. It was quite the process to clear off when bedtime rolled around.
Let the games begin!
The 235RLS is advertised as sleeping six, which technically it can. But with the shortest of our adult bunch at 5 feet 5 inches and nobody under 90 pounds, the dinette and jackknife sofa would be a little crowded for two. So rather than cramp our style, I set up a single air mattress on the kitchen floor for myself.
The “Survivor” group proudly displaying team flags.
With the RV resort being relatively new during our visit, the trees at the campsites are still some years away from being large enough to provide shade during the hot summer months. The resort is open year-round, and temperatures in the winter are mild. We liked how there was “breathing room” between the sites, plus lush grass, and the RV park and bathrooms were spick-and-span.
Our time spent at Pala RV Resort was pure relaxation and fun, and we “survived” the soaring summer temps thanks to the Fox Mountain’s hard-working air conditioner.
Enjoying a game of “oversized” badminton on the grass at our site at Pala RV Resort.
Northwood | 800-766-6274 | www.northwoodmfg.com
Pala RV Resort | 844-472-5278 | www.palacasino.com/resort/rv-resort
