A wet and wild weekend designed for grandparents and grandkids? I recently experienced exactly that — without my grandkids.

The story: I was invited to the grand opening celebration of Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs and encouraged to bring along my grandsons and husband. But my grandsons couldn't make the 800+ mile trip to spend the weekend with me. My stepgrandson — my only local grandkiddo — couldn't come either. My husband did get to attend with me, though. And even without our favorite boys in tow, our free weekend adventure left no question that the expansive indoor water park resort offers a great, nay, grand getaway destination for grandparents and grandchildren.

Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs — the fourteenth location of the family-friendly indoor water park resort — has all the first-class entertainment and accomodation amenities of its sister spots across the U.S., plus a few goodies only guests of the brand-new resort on the north end of Colorado Springs get to enjoy.

The incredible view of Pikes Peak to the west is a perfect example of what sets the Colorado Springs location apart from other Great Wolf Lodge locations. This early morning shot was taken from the balcony of my room for the weekend:

Breathtaking, right?

The majority of what my husband and I experienced at Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs, though, was similar to signature features, fun, food and such found...