Camping brings families outside, closer together

By Tami Althoff

Published: June 26, 2008

NORMAN — One of the best ways to spend time with family during the summer is camping. In fact, some of my favorite childhood memories are those of fishing, boating and sleeping outside at the lake.

If your camping gear is collecting cobwebs, there's no better time than this weekend to dust it off.

The National Wildlife Federation is encouraging families to spend the night outside Saturday during its fourth annual Great American Backyard Campout. Thousands of people across the country have already signed up to be part of the event on the group's Web site, www.nwf.org/backyardcampout.

The Web site lists camping tips, activities and other information to make your campout a success.

Kathy Furneaux, naturalist at the Nature Center at Lake Thunderbird State Park, said she's planning a day's worth of activities for the whole family. Activities will begin at 10 a.m. with a nature walk. Programs about animals will be offered at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. The day will end with a campfire program at 7:30 p.m., weather permitting, at the amphitheater behind the old nature center.

Furneaux said the evening event will be "an old-time campfire program, including songs and toasting marshmallows.”

If it rains, the program will be moved inside the nature center.

Ferneaux said the goal of the National Wildlife Federation's national event is to encourage people to experience the outdoors by camping out, whether in a campground or in their back yards. She's hoping families will decide to take advantage of camping opportunities at the lake.

Lake Thunderbird State Park welcomes campers in its 12 campgrounds, which offer accommodations for both tent and recreational vehicle camping. Many of the camp sites have been upgraded recently, including Turkey Pass Campground which reopened a couple months ago after a major makeover.

For more information about events at the nature center, call 321-4633. For more information about camping at Lake Thunderbird, call 360-3572.

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