OKC Fire Department Visits Camp DaKaNi Day Camp

On occasion I must take a day off to take care of things that cannot be taken care of after 5 p.m. on weekdays or on the weekends. One such day was last Thursday, June 11th, when I had to take two anxious guys (my son, 17 and my stepson, 16) to take their drivers tests. Yes, they both passed, and while that is great news, it was not the most exciting part of the day.

At approximately noon that day, I received a call from Miss Morning Glory at Camp DaKaNi that Station 2 with the OKC Fire Department came to camp. Of course my first reaction was, "WHY....WHAT HAPPENED?!?!". Miss Morning Glory quickly put my mind at ease by telling me they came by just to say hello. Turns out they were sitting around the station bored, and wanted something to do.

After giving several groups of campers the grand tour of the fire truck, these terrific guys helped out with fishing and archery. When they left, they told Miss Understood and Miss Morning Glory that coming to Camp DaKaNi beats sitting around watching All My Children any day. We couldn't agree more!

The moral of my story is two-fold.....

1. If you take off work, realize you could miss something really exciting, and rethink your plan.


2. If you didn't already realize that Oklahoma City is a great place to live, maybe now you do.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE CAMP

Camp DaKaNi Day Camp will kick off its 53rd year of providing fun and engaging outdoor activities to youth across central Oklahoma. Over the years, Camp DaKaNi has become a well known summertime tradition offering fishing, hiking, arts and crafts, archery, a zip line, and much, much more.

Since its opening in 1956, Camp DaKaNi has provided traditional, quality outdoor experiences to youth. Nearly 51,000 campers have learned to cook over an open fire, raced frogs and turtles, and mastered the low ropes course.

“We are now starting to see the grandchildren of former campers and camp counselors,” said Jannie Matlock, Camp DaKaNi director. “It really says something about the quality of a camp when it has operated long enough to see several generations of a family come through its gates.”

Camp DaKaNi is located on Hefner Road, just west of Interstate 35 in Oklahoma City, and is open to boys and girls in kindergarten through 6th grade, as well as teen and adult volunteers. Membership is not required for campers to enjoy the summer programs at Camp DaKaNi.

“Because our camp sessions filled so quickly last year, we added an additional session to this year’s schedule,” said Matlock. “We want to allow as many children as possible the opportunity to discover the great outdoors and everything it has to offer.”

Five regular week-long sessions will take place on June 1, June 8, June 15, June 22 and July 6. Also, MaKaYa, an overnight camp, will be held at Camp DaKaNi from June 29 through July 1. MaKaYa, which means “persons under the trees”, is a mini-session for older campers in 6th through 12th grades who want to participate in outdoor activities without having to serve as a counselor or counselor aide.

The cost is $135 for the regular camp sessions, $90 for the MaKaYa session and $50 for before and after-care.

For more information or to register for a day camp session, call 478-5646 or e-mail campdakani@campfireusa-ok.org. The Camp DaKaNi brochure is also available online at www.campfireusa-ok.org.