Living on the Edge

Campfire Ban

2009-08-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

The current heat wave and the unusually dry spring/summer have left the whole province vulnerable to forest fires. People travelling in our area are asked to use extraordinary precautions to prevent fires and a complete ban on open fires has been implemented throughout the Coastal Fire Centre (except a short stretch of beach near Cape Scott). Well, it's been too hot to eat any food cooked over a fire anyway. Pass the watermelon, or better yet, locally grown blueberries (not to be flippant about something that's affecting many people very personally).

For the latest up-to-date information on wildfires, fire bans and restrictions, go to www.bcwildfire.ca.

There currently is a forest fire burning at Wolf River in Strathcona Park. While it has been fought using air tankers and helicopters, the terrain is nearly vertical posing difficulties for land crews and helicopters alike. Here at Strathcona we can see and smell some smoke in the mornings, which dissipates over the early hours.

Christine (Tina) Clarke

Explore Magazine - Kids Gone Wild

2009-08-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

check here for more pundits weighing in on the benefits of taking it outside.

http://explore-mag.com/article/people/kids-gone-wild/

Hawkeye July 19, 2009

2009-07-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

More views of Strathcona Park and area. This peak was named by the locals here, so won't be found (yet) on the map. The age range of the hikers was 61 years from youngest to oldest, and it was a great day of off trail exploring for the 9 year old Rosie, Brian and everyone in between.

Christine (Tina) Clarke

Crest Mountain July 3, 2009

2009-07-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

Officially the trail is closed but if your family doesn't weigh more than mine (300 kg) the bridge that crosses between Drum lakes, (about 1.5 metres above the water) seems perfectly safe. Eight boards need replacing so avoid those ones - the timbers below will last forever, according to a couple of local loggers.

The Elk River Trail had plenty of cars at the trail head, but we had Crest all to ourselves. The M & Ms kept the kids moving uphill, the tarn at the top was wonderfully refreshing and the panorama spectacular. A great day.

Elk Mountain July 9, 2009 Clarke Boulding Family

2009-07-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Lightening Frightening

2009-07-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

what a night. what a storm. The lightening struck our zipline platform last night. None of us slept much, with the strikes all around us. Thankfully the rain came down hard and doused 3 fires spotted in the park which we watched, and called in to the forest service. I'm also thankful that our COLT group in Nootka Sound, clients and staff are all safe and sound.

I'm hoping it is what I told the kids - a once in a lifetime kind of storm.

Christine (Tina) Clarke

Thank-you Poetry

2009-06-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

Vancouver Waldorf student Keegan sent this poetry to SPL as a thank-you to Ryan Green, his instructor, who inspired him. Keegan agreed to let us post his wonderful poetry here.

Most birds teach their young to fly
and humans teach their children how to eat
And grow through life
But when you have no children
You can always teach those who will listenLife might be a song
you can hear it when you are deaf,
But you can hear the swallow
Live life with a smile
And become a happy warrior
That we should all be
and live on the edge
upon the douglas firs roots
and hug and climb him every day
but you dont have to climb to the top do your chalenges by choice
Ryan,
you taught me a lot
you're my inspiration for life
i will not live it like you
but i will have your words to help me
you passed down a mental and physical gift
And when i go on ling hikes
that may take months
I'll have the pack i brought to strathcona
And when i'm in a chilling field of snow
2000 metres off the oceans surface
i'll have the wool sweater you gave me
you taught me how to survive.

-keegan

this poem was inspired by the saying on your red backpack:

You can always believe in something that has no religion
To look at a tree as an idol
And feel the sun and earth as your god
to explore the untamed wilderness
and call it your pilgrimage
for your footsteps to end at the top of a moutain
and not pray to a god
but listen to the raven and watch the eagle.
you can always live your life as a happy warrior
who carries no sword but devotes itself to a cause
and feels no hate to those who are against it.
you can always laugh with tears and cry with a smile
you can always believe in something that feels right to you
to carry a backpack and discover something
that no one else has every seen b
open your mind to knowledge
you can believe in the circle
that holds us and nature
the earth; be kind to it.

-keegan

Like a flowing river the human mind can imagine and create landscapes of the imagination
like a swift river polishes ruff stones as they are flown to the sea
untamed masses of water rushing down the slopes of mountains and running of steep cliffs
in a rainbow of beauty smighting the dry earth bellow and funneling down the narrow corridors
of large old growth forests turning from river to stream
in small rapids that hit the under belly of small stones and calmly;
flowing in and out of coniferous forests,
flowing throught fields and creating valleys the stream moves on
into a canopy of cedars and fields of skunk cabbage and ferns
tunneling throught the roots of dead trees and cliffs of dry dirt
covered in long vines that droop over the edge and tough the granit bedrock and banks
a field of rocks racked in the middle and split in two by a flowing river surrounded by decomposing forests and ferns
the stream passes through with riples of heart beats carrying off the sotton balls of spring
and the fallen green leaves and the lost pieces of wood all to the ocean its resting place
and it birth?
the top of the mountain, the melting snow.

-keegan

Myrna's Book Launch

2009-06-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Strathcona Park Lodge and Outdoor Education Centre had its beginnings as a small fishing lodge on the edge of Upper Campbell Lake in 1959. It blossomed into a full fledged, internationally renowned Outdoor Education Centre and tourist lodge, and continues to attract students and guests from all over the world.

Myrna Boulding, who founded the Lodge with her late husband, Jim Boulding, will present the colourful history of the Lodge at the Museum at Campbell River on Saturday, June 20, from 1 to 3pm.

Based on the book she recently published called “Survival, Strathcona Style; Off the Grid and On the Edge”, the pictorial presentation is as varied as the book and includes early photos of Upper Campbell Lake, the original Lodge building, and excellent photos of some of people who contributed to the growth of the business over the years. There are also great pictures depicting wilderness adventure in remote areas of Strathcona Park and the West Coast.

Myrna will share anecdotes from the book – many of which are humorous and were contributed by former staff and associates of the Lodge. For the people who may not be able to attend the reunion at the Lodge the following weekend on June 26th, Saturday afternoon at the Museum provides a great opportunity to reminisce with Myrna and see old acquaintances.

Catherine Gilbert

Solar Panels on the OC

2009-06-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Tree huggers were up in arms in May as David Boulding and crew dropped the 2 big firs shadowing the Outdoor Centre. The Outdoor Centre houses SPL's commercial kitchen and laundry as well as the school for staff kids and 8 guest rooms. It is the largest propane consumer on property. Not for long. With the trees down the sun is shining on 120 vacuum tubes Richard Dugas placed across the roof. All the tanks and boosting systems are in place and with this improvement Jamie Boulding expects propane consumption in the OC will be reduced by one third.

As we continue to teach and practice 'stewardship' and doing 'more with less' the new solar panels will be a visible part of education in water use and alternate energy solutions.

Christine (Tina) Clarke

SPL 50th Reunion Schedule June 26-28, 2009

2009-06-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

DJ All Good - Strathcona's 50th

2009-06-08T13:27:00.000-07:00

DJ All Good is booked for the post BBQ barn party at the 50th Reunion. He's played the lodge to full dancing capacity twice before. Check him out at www.myspace.com/djallgood.

Saturday night features a live band "Flying Debris." Let me see if they have a website...

Christine (Tina) Clarke

Instructor Ross Wilkinson - "Phenomenal"

2009-05-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

comments from Teacher/Chaperone from Cleveland Elementary, North Vancouver trip to SPL May 25-29, 2009.

"At the camp-out, Ross led a fantastic discussioin on eco footprint. The students were acting silly at first (excited + hyper), but Ross perservered - got the messages across very well and had the students offering all kinds of idea about what they could do at home to lessen their impact. An excellent job with an (initially) chatty group."

"I wanted to point out something as well that Ross definitely didn't have to do, but did. On 2 separate occasions, he sacrificed his own free time that he should have/could have had by doing things for the kids to "further enhance their Strathcona experience." The first thing he did was allow us to do BOTH Ziplines, which the students were absolutely thrilled about. It meant we would be late back from the activity - and thus cut into his precious (the instructors don't appear to get much!) free time. Ross never said a word about this, but I knew. I really appreciated his kindness to do this - definitely above and beyond. The second thing was after a different activity, he took the group swimming and to the sauna. Again, did not have to - above and beyond. My highest regard and thank you to an ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING instructor."

Thanks Ross, and all the SPL staff for making this another great week at Strathcona.

Christine (Tina) Clarke

Rendez-vous Canada

2009-05-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

Rendez-vous Canada (RVC) is Canada's premier annual international tourism industry marketplace. Andrea Stapff and I attended it this week in Calgary. Things we learned:

Will Gadd has some hairy aerial photos from paragliding and ice climbing over and around Banff.
the mini Calgary Stampede that Calgary put on for us was outstanding; you don't want your kids to grow up to be cowboys.
Eagle & Hawk, award winning Winnipeg band, can raise-up a crowd of staid tourism professionals. Check out their music at http://www.eagleandhawk.com/.
dancing in a sea of white cowboy-hat wearers has its hazards (hats compliments of Tourism Alberta)
Buyers continue to comment that SPL has some magic - between the place and the people and the experiences shared. Actually this was something we already knew.

While tourism is down to Canada generally we're looking at ways to add value for our guests' experience. One thought is to celebrate our 5oth anniversary with 1959 prices. Look for more on this on our specials page on the weeks to come.

Whooohooo!!!!! Myrna Boulding's book went to the publisher today. Congratulations Myrna, and thanks to many who contributed their stories and photos.

Christine (Tina) Clarke

Brian Gunn on the Environment and BC Election

2009-04-27T10:39:00.001-07:00

Brian Gunn's thoughts on the Environment, Wilderness Tourism Operators and the upcoming BC election on May 12.
Dear Members

I thought I would put my thoughts out there and ask for feedback and dialogue with members of our WTA list serve.
I know most of you are really concerned about getting customers as without them it will be impossible to survive and most indications are that it could be some time before the economy turns around. What is important is how do we come out of this downturn stronger and protect and enhance the very basis of our product which is nature based tourism?
I believe we need to focus and get government to focus on projects that are good for the environment and will make us competitive when the economy turns around. I believe that the current mudslinging debate about the carbon tax is not healthy. Both the carbon tax and cap in trade are necessary for our survival as a species and we need to stop this insanity of fighting between the pro and anti carbon tax groups and focus on what we can really do to ensure that our product, nature based tourism, survives
Key to its survival in BC, is the survival of wild salmon. If the wild salmon go down so does our wildlife that depend on them. Essential to saving the salmon, first and foremost, is to remove the barriers imposed by open net caged farms located on salmon migration corridors. Second is to ensure that all uses of the habitat that are detrimental to the salmon and wildlife are stopped or provision is made for restoration or enhancement of degraded environment to compensate for these losses. Third is to ensure that commercial, recreational and aboriginal fishing are regulated to ensure the survival of the runs. I believe that the Run of the River Power project thrust need to be stayed and reexamined as to which projects are acceptable to the environment and which are not.
I feel we are very privileged to live in this time and have the standard of living we have and the beautiful environment of BC. In my time on this planet I have seen significant deterioration of the environment and I believe that we must all do what we can to stop and to reverse this deterioration. I do have a vision that says we must do what we can to see that this environment is here for our children. I need to do my share to help save this planet. Fish, wildlife and carbon are very tied up in this. We, in nature based tourism, are close to the front line and we can see this better than many other elements of society. We also are privileged to be able to communicate this vision to our clients, many who also understand this and have the resources to help us take action

Finally:

I think it is time to have a more balanced legislature that reflects the thinking of all population groups. So I ask that you give consideration to supporting the Sustainable Transferable Vote (STV) Ballot

Pay attention to candidates and their commitment to nature. Are they willing to formulate the laws and regulations necessary to have us all compete on a level playing field in this free market system so that we can do this in a sustainable way, or are they saying free enterprise can do this best and believe that government should not interfere, which I believe is a cop out.
I would like to hear your thoughts.
Brian Gunn President of WTA

PS

I support the carbon tax because it is based on consumption of petroleum products and the more you use the more you pay. It is the direct approach, those who use the most, will pay the most. It may not be the fairest but I believe it is the most effective way to reduce consumption of carbon. This tax needs to be coupled with assistance to those dependent on it for their livelihood. Trying to suggest there are less painful ways to reduce carbon by saying that Corporations should pay is not understanding or being honest about how society works. The big corporations will only put the taxes back on the consumers as they are not in business to lose money.
The biggest challenge to all of us and especially our politicians is to produce the legislation that creates competition on a level playing field so that the consumers and corporations will move to the green economy because that is where the profit lies. Putting taxes on big carbon producers could have the same effect. In the end the consumer pays. There is no such thing as a free ride to the general population. The carbon tax is the direct way to get consumers to cut back and to fund, development and use of sustainable energy when Carbon has to pay its real cost to the Environment. Europe has been doing this for some time and is successful in making significant reductions to consumption of carbon and using the tax to develop the technology associated with green energy. I do not see the difference in whether the producer is taxed or the consumer. In the end the consumer pays. What really is needed is to get the public and the politicians in gear over development and implementation of responsible laws to create level playing fields and give the free market system a chance to compete on an environmentally responsible economic basis.

Plutonic Power & Run of the River Bute Inlet

2009-04-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

www.saveourrivers.tv/bute_video.html

Many of you know Rob and Laurie Wood, mountaineers and long time friends of Strathcona Park Lodge. They came and showed us the submission that they have presented at the public hearings in Campbell River, Quadra Island and Nanaimo into Plutonic Power's Run of the River plans for Bute Inlet.

Rob and Laurie have spectacular photos from their 30 years of guiding and exploring Bute Inlet . The photos show their intimate knowledge of the coastal area just north of us and the potential impact if the project goes ahead. For more on the subject check out the link.

SPRING IS HERE

2009-04-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

Instructors are chasing all over property looking for Easter eggs before returning to the serious business of reviewing rescue techniques and risk management with Jamie Boulding this afternoon.

Chef Jessie Porter Dufour has returned to us from his winter in Italy and Easter dinner was outstanding. I overheard people saying, "This is the best dinner I remember eating in...." and then not being able to complete the sentence. Maybe best dinner ever. The kitchen is the only place we're still hiring, but what an opportunity it would be to work with Jessie, our truly inspired chef, for the 2009 season or years ahead.

The office rennovation is in almost complete with the beautiful new front desk built by Richard Dugas installed this morning. Finally we're stepping out of the 'Welcome to the 70's' front office look. Hopefully all the people returning for the 50th reunion will still know they've arrived 'home' when they walk in.

Christine (Tina) Clarke

'Life is perfect'

2008-08-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

Strathcona Park Lodge continues to be a great place to meet your match! The latest Strathcona couple to marry is Sarah McLennan and Greg Johnson (former SPL Chief Instructors) who gathered friends and family on Spring Island for their wedding on August 16th, 2008.

Greg and Sarah launched their marriage in adventurous style asking guests to join them at West Coast Expeditions’ base camp, which is a long way from anywhere (adding to its wild beauty). People arrived by float plane, water taxi, the Uchuck, sea kayak, motor boat and big canoe. Sarah had a yen to have her paddling friends bring her around the island to Greg in the Northern Dancer. Jamie Boulding, Logistics Superhero and Dream Fulfiller figured a way to get the boat out there, calling on his kids, friends and relatives to sing and paddle their way to and from Fair Harbour. The canoe didn’t sit on the beach especially with Sarah, Laurel Archer (COLT Instructor) and Annie Boulding taking it out with others in the big surf on the west coast of the island.

Kudos to Chris Nagle and David Pinel of westcoastexpeditions.com for all their attention to detail in hosting all 50 of us, and the Jules family of Kyuquot who prepared an outstanding native feast under the full moon.

This coming weekend Alec Boileau and Kerry Phillips (former instructors) will marry in Bella Coola. To quote Kerry in July with their new baby in her arms, “We couldn’t be happier. Life is perfect.”

May that be true for all the Strathcona couples around the world.

Spring is here and things are starting to grow...

2008-05-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

You would never guess it was the first of May, seeing as we had snow a couple of days ago, but there are definitely some signs around the lodge that spring is on its way. Daffodils are popping up everywhere and our gardeners are starting to get very busy. There is a lot of work to do to get all the flower beds ready for the new season.

Tomorrow we have a guest gardener arriving to help us with our rhodendorons. The word rhododendron comes from the greek words meaning "rose" (rhodo) and "tree" (dendron). Rhodendorons need a lot of attention and a special type of fertilizer to stay green and healthy.

Other greenery around the lodge includes rose bushes, lots of cedar, grape vines, apple and cherry trees, plum and pear trees, and currant bushes.

At the lodge we try to promote the idea of "doing more with less". Our kitchen and dining room collect raw fruits and vegetables, coffee grounds, tea bags and egg shells and we use it to make our own compost. The compost is then used in the flower beds and vegetable garden to provide nutrients for the growing plants.

Check back later for photos of all the beautiful flowers in bloom!

High Ropes and Zip Line

2008-04-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

The students aren't the only ones who get to have a pile of fun at Strathcona! Several staff members were lucky the other day and got the chance to do the High Ropes Course and Zip Line here at the Lodge. With safety as the number one priority, we learnt how to correctly put on our harnesses and how to "double-clip". Double-clipping means that at all times you have two carabiners clipped onto the safety cable, so that if you happened to slip on one of the challenges, you wouldn't fall.

It's very important to remember that for some people, heights are really scary! Here at Strathcona Park Lodge we promote the idea of "challenge by choice", which means that you decide how far to push yourself, and we let people know that they are in a safe environment. With the cheering and support of our two great instructors and lots of friends, everyone completed the entire course and took the plunge on our zip line! Everyone had a lot of fun and for some, it was a very big accomplishment. It feels great to conquer your fears!

Point Grey

2008-04-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Mini school Point Grey from Vancouver was at SPL last week. The students as well as the instructors had a great time. Some of the groups got the chance to explore a new campsite on the west side of the Upper Campbell Lake. Because the water level is so low, and the narrows between Upper Campbell Lake and Buttle Lake turned into a rapid, it’s impossible to paddle to the campsites along the shores of Buttle Lake.
Instructors found another campsite on the Upper Campbell Lake and named it Cutthroat Trout Point. There is a lot of cutthroat trout in the lake and because the new campsite is right across from Dolly Varden point, it wasn’t really difficult to come up with a name for our new spot.
Some Point Grey students had the honor to be the first SPL-visitors to camp at Cutthroat Trout Point. They did a big sweep and cleaned the beach area. There was some garbage lying around. Stuff that other not so well mannered no trace campers had left behind. Other Point Grey groups went to the campsites on False Echo.
The reconstruction of the swimming bay is done. The heavy machinery is gone and the beach looks much better. Hopefully the water level will come up soon. A few nice warm days with a lot of snow melt will do or a couple of very rainy days will work too. At SPL we opt for the first though.

Bob the Builder

2008-04-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Bob the Builder arrived at the lodge today and he has taken Muck the digger dumper, Benny the robo digger, and Scoop the digger with him. Everybody is excited!
The heavy machinery rolled in this morning. Since the water level of the lake is so low, SPL decided to change the slope of the beach in the swimming bay. Because of the steep angle of the beach, the swimming bay normally gets deep pretty fast. A big excavator, a bulldozer and dump truck, all handled by the same guy, started digging, shoveling and pushing this morning.
It is probably going to be a 3-day job. Having all those big machines in the swimming bay is a bit inconvenient but it is possible to work around the bay. Several school groups are on an out trip this week, so avoiding bay is not a big deal.

Rolling session

2008-04-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

What happens when you post an announcement for a rolling session in the Campbell River pool? Before you know almost 20 people sign up and you find yourself figuring out how to get everybody to town.
For a lot of people rolling a kayak is something magical. Almost everybody at SPL, form housekeeper to office employee, wants to be able to pull off that trick. Learning how to paddle a kayak. “Mwah maybe some other time.” Learning how to paddle a canoe? “Not today, maybe tomorrow.” But practicing how to roll a kayak. “I am in, when are we going?”
The traditional kayak roll, or Eskimo roll, is developed in the Arctic by Inuit. The Inuit people have been rolling their kayaks for many centuries; for them, the ability to roll was a basic survival technique. A missionary, writing in 1765, described ten methods by which an Inuit righted his craft, including full- and half-paddle rolls, and rolls using the harpoon or just the hands. A significant observation in the account is that once the paddle was positioned, the kayaker applied 'a flick of the hips' to recover.
The C-to-C is the most common roll. It involves an initial torso rotation along the side of the kayak, so that the paddle moves across the surface of the water to a position at a 90 degree (right) angle to the kayak. The paddle is then pulled across and a hip snap is applied.
The sweep roll, also called screw roll is probably the easiest roll to learn. In this roll the active paddle blade is brought from the setup position away from the side of the kayak and then across to the final position in a continuous fluid motion.
The hip flick is the most important move when rolling. The paddle is only used for support. You don’t need big arm muscles to pull off a roll. Another important thing is to keep your head close to the water when you are doing your roll move. It is very natural to get you head out of the water first, but that’s wrong. Leave your head in the water as long as possible.
It’s going to be fun tonight!

Food

2008-04-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

Dinner on our out trips is going to be so good this year. Matt (out trip coordinator) and Jessie (kitchen chef) changed the menus for out trip food a bit. We are almost going to serve ‘haute cuisine in the bush’ now.
Next week all the instructors are going to have a workshop on how to prepare the new meals. The Strathcona blog is proud to be the first to present the new meals:

Meatless stroganoff with smoked tofu
A beautiful dish with the finest smoked tofu and delicious egg noodles. Sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions smothered in a very tasteful cooking wine.

Mexican style couscous
The best couscous from Morocco combined with the best Mexican refried beans! This is bush fusion cooking as bush fusion cooking is meant to be. Fresh tomatoes and a mouthwatering home made salsa!

Sheppardless Pie
Forget the Sheppard, who needs him anyway? This pie is fine without. Delicious Prince Edward Island mashed potatoes, ‘bud the spud from the bright red mud’. Lentils and fresh vegetables of the day. Topped with grated cheese, this is a pie you need to try.

Strathcona Burrito
The number one in the Mexican kitchen! A nice burrito stuffed with tasty rice, refried beans, home made salsa, sour cream and real Canadian grated cedar. Eat you heart out, José.

Why is the sky blue?

2008-04-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Nice question this morning: Why is the sky blue. A bit of a trivial question maybe, but knowing the answer might be useful when there is a need for breaking an awkward silence during a party. So here comes the answer (with some help from siencemadesimple).

The atmosphere is the mixture of gas molecules and other materials surrounding the earth. The composition of the atmosphere varies, depending on your location, the weather, and many other things. The atmosphere is densest (thickest) at the bottom, near the Earth. It gradually thins out as you go higher and higher up. There is no sharp break between the atmosphere and space.
Light is a kind of energy that radiates, or travels, in waves. Light is a wave of vibrating electric and magnetic fields. It is one small part of a larger range of vibrating electromagnetic fields. This range is called the electromagnetic spectrum.

Visible light is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that our eyes can see. Light from the sun or a light bulb may look white, but it is actually a combination of many colors. We can see the different colors of the spectrum by splitting the light with a prism. The spectrum is also visible when you see a rainbow in the sky.

The colors blend continuously into one another. At one end of the spectrum are the reds and oranges. These gradually shade into yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The colors have different wavelengths, frequencies, and energies. Violet has the shortest wavelength in the visible spectrum. That means it has the highest frequency and energy. Red has the longest wavelength, and lowest frequency and energy.

Light travels through space in a straight line as long as nothing disturbs it. As light moves through the atmosphere, it continues to go straight until it bumps into a bit of dust or a gas molecule. Then what happens to the light depends on its wave length and the size of the thing it hits.
Dust particles and water droplets are much larger than the wavelength of visible light. When light hits these large particles, it gets reflected, or bounced off, in different directions. The different colors of light are all reflected by the particle in the same way. The reflected light appears white because it still contains all of the same colors.

Gas molecules are smaller than the wavelength of visible light. If light bumps into them, it acts differently. When light hits a gas molecule, some of it may get absorbed. After awhile, the molecule radiates (releases, or gives off) the light in a different direction. The color that is radiated is the same color that was absorbed. The different colors of light are affected differently. All of the colors can be absorbed. But the higher frequencies (blues) are absorbed more often than the lower frequencies (reds). This process is called Rayleigh scattering. (It is named after Lord John Rayleigh, an English physicist, who first described it in the 1870's.)
The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air.

However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue.

Joke

2008-04-14T15:15:00.001-07:00

What do you call a three legged donkey?
Wonky Donkey

What do you call a one eyed, three legged donkey?
Winky Wonky Donkey

What do you call a piano playing, one eyed, three legged donkey?
Plinky Plonky Winky Wonky Donkey

What do you call a blue suede shoe wearing, piano playing, one eyed, three legged donkey?
Honky Tonky Plinky Plonky Winky Wonky Donkey

What do you call a blue suede shoe wearing, piano playing, one eyed, three legged donkey who is in love?
Honky Tonky Plinky Plonky Winky Wonky Donkey looking for a little Hanky Panky