United States Archives - Routinely Nomadic

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is in North Dakota and is made up of 3 different sections of land. We went to both the North and South Units, which are 68 miles (110km) apart from each other. These are the areas that feature most of the scenic drives, wildlife sighting and great hiking. There is also a third section of land which is the Elkhorn Ranch Unit that preserves President Roosevelt’s ‘home ranch’ and is located along the Little Missouri River in between the North and South Units. In this way the Theodore Roosevelt is unique among the United States’ national parks in that it honours the president who was instrumental in the National Park System while preserving the amazing landscape. There are many reasons to visit the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Even though it lacks the dramatic mountain scenery of the Rockies, or the wild coastal sights of the Pacific…

Alberta

Road Tripping By the Numbers: Best of the Pacific Northwest

By Dean Johnston July 2, 2019

I recently returned from my now annual summer road trip, this time taking in a big circle around the Pacific Northwest. In the past few years I’ve spent a lot of time in Montana (just can’t get enough of the phenomenal scenery in Glacier), along with many bits and pieces of AB, BC and even Idaho. One common theme: the mountains. Whether I’m hiking or mountain biking, with that kind of incredible scenery just a day’s drive away it would seem criminal not to take advantage at least once a year. This time around, however, I finally decided to extend things out to the coast. It would add a full extra day of driving to each end of the trip but, speaking of criminal, how, in all our travels, had I never set foot on Vancouver Island, one of Canada’s most amazing summer destinations? Unacceptable. Plus, this year’s trip was…

Travel

Kauai: So Round You Won’t Believe It

By Dean Johnston September 17, 2018

Yup, that was Kauai. By the time you get this we’ll be nearly home again. Two weeks just don’t go as far as they used to. Back when we were young two weeks was long enough for a person to visit six countries, solve a Third World sewage emergency and neuter an endangered species. All by bus. This Kauai hiking guide is the perfect place to start if you want to get active during your stay. For us, the most noteworthy experience of our final week were the 3 days we spent hiking the Kalalau Trail on Kaua’i’s famed Na Pali coast, one of the 5 best things to see on Kauai. All I can say – unbelievable. Non-stop incredible views, one of the nicest beaches you’ll find anywhere, and undoubtedly the toughest hike we’ve subjected ourselves to so far. By a fair margin. The sweat, my god, the sweat.…

Alberta

Fossils in the Wind: A Modern Controversy

By Dean Johnston August 28, 2018

Recently, a magnificent journey was undertaken, one with unexpected, yet far-reaching consequences. Designed around the focal point of a 50th birthday extravaganza, this short 2-week trip also included some mountain hiking and mountain biking in Montana and a constant and ongoing battle to keep milk, meat, cheese, and chocolate edible using only store-bought ice and a low-quality London Drugs cooler. Everything else that follows is pure speculation, hearsay, and occasional wishful thinking. Sask Tourist Discovers Rare Dinosaur Bones August 9, 2018 Drumheller, SK – A Saskatchewan man is being credited with the discovery of rare ankylosaurus bones in Drumheller this week. Dean Johnston, 45, was hiking in popular Horsethief Canyon, west of the famed dinosaur capital of Western Canada, when he came upon a leg bone and partial skull of what he allegedly recognized as an ankylosaurus, a rare creature that resembled an armour-plated lizard and has been extinct for…

Travel

A Long Weekend in Las Vegas

By Dean Johnston May 4, 2018

Sure, I like to party. I mean, I like to party some, anyway, maybe not as much now as when I was younger, but I still, you know, party. A friend of ours, Julie, just turned 40-years old a couple months ago. Which I guess is a pretty big deal. Especially for women, I think. So, instead of just sitting around feeling depressed and sorry about being so old, her and her husband decided to travel to Las Vegas to celebrate. Or maybe she decided to do both, sit around depressed for a while, then go to Vegas and celebrate, I really can’t say for sure. Maybe she spent a few nights drinking lots of wine and crying in the tub. You never know. But that part didn’t really affect us much, so we decided to meet up with them in Las Vegas on our way home from Guatemala and…

Alberta

Montana Road Trip! Volume 2!

By Dean Johnston July 25, 2017

I guess to be truly accurate this wasn’t really just my second road trip ever. There have been many others over the years, from car camping in Banff to a frigid January drive down to Mexico to a group excursion to Delisle for licorice. Or maybe I dreamt that one. Although I know my epic Pacific Northwest road trip was real. Either way, though, this most recent Montana road trip was the second annual installment of my solo journey to the hiking, biking and microbreweries of our big, empty – marginally backwoods – southern neighbour, Montana. Last year I focused on mountain biking areas – Helena, Dillon, Bozeman – with a bit of hiking thrown in and a solid, satisfying afternoon drunk in various brew pubs in Bozeman. This year I ventured farther west, starting in spectacular Glacier National Park, one of the many adventurous places to visit in Montana…