Baby, It's Warm Inside

The wilderness motif is ubiquitous inside: Lifelike wolves stand howling atop a two-story fireplace in the lobby. Hallway carpets are patterned with renderings of wolves, bears and moose, as is the wallpaper in the bathrooms.

The two girls took one look at the indoor water park and concluded it was smaller than they expected. Who knew that 55,000 square feet of water cascading around a room the size of a football field could look smaller than expected?

But that turned out to be just the faux sophistication of junior high students who, when they realize no one is watching, can afford to reveal their playful sides.

They spent nearly an hour in the 111,000-gallon indoor wave pool. They also lined up repeatedly for a turn at trying to keep their balance walking across floating faux logs at another pool.

Three of eight water slides are designed for small children. Another two body slides are three stories tall, but still too tame for the sophisticated grown-up set. Maddie and Becky each found her inner child on two other big slides: a 461-foot contraption negotiated in a four-person raft, and Alberta Falls, which twists around the building, goes outside and comes back in before throwing passengers, after a 687-foot ride, into a deep pool.

Smaller children amuse themselves on a four-story fort with suspension bridges, cargo nets and spraying machines. After climbing the steps to Alberta Falls a couple of times, I let the girls go off on their own as I lay back in an inner tube and rode the lazy river that meanders around the indoor complex.

Parents with younger children told me their kids begged to stay in the water park from the 8:30 opening until the 10 p.m. close. The place entertained Becky and Maddie for about four hours. That, of course, is one of the great ironies of being a parent: Just when your kids are old enough to do something on their own, they start to outgrow it.

I accepted, of course, that they are too old for story hour. But the small kids in the lobby seemed mesmerized by talking trees and life-size animated characters singing about the wonders of nature and how kids shouldn't be afraid of thunderstorms.

After a quick change of clothes, we headed to the video arcade, which is open until 11 p.m. Becky quickly hit a jackpot by flipping tokens into a cup, winning 500 tickets -- enough to get an actual cup at the ticket redemption counter. I spent $8 worth of tokens shooting baskets, winning enough tickets for a whoopee cushion.

The 111,000-gallon wave pool at Great Wolf Lodge.

We settled into our suite with two queen beds and a pullout coach in a small side room separated from the beds by a partial wall. It's the cheapest accommodations in the place, and even with a $50-off coupon, cost $249 a night. Then again, every one-night stay entitled us to spend two days at the water park.

And gave me access to the decidedly grown-up pleasures of the lodge's Aveda Concept Spa, which is where I headed after turning the kids over to my husband for a few hours. A pleasant aroma of scented candles pervaded the hushed rooms just a few feet from the doors to the water park. I was given a thick terry cloth robe and sat in a serene "quiet" room awaiting a Swedish massage. For half an hour, the masseur kneaded and rubbed and did some brisk tapping.

Of course I came to Great Wolf Lodge for the sake of the children. But really, from my prone position on the massage table it occurred to me: Parenting rarely gets better than this.

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