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Dan McKenzie

Founder, Author, Adventurer & Technical Nerd

Dan is the original adventurer and got bit by the travel bug while studying abroad in Barcelona and backpacking through South America after graduating from Colorado State University. He’s an almost-Colorado-native, die-hard Denver Bronco’s fan, craft beer enthusiast, purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and the technical nerd behind Follow Your Detour. He is also analytical to a fault, indecisive about nearly everything, a strict rule follower, and a professional complainer, but everybody loves him anyway. He will make you laugh without even trying to be funny and is way more compassionate and sensitive than he leads on. He loves to fly fish, have drinks on patios, eat Jelly Bellys until his stomach hurts …and long walks on the beach.

Lindsay McKenzie

Founder, Author, Adventure & Free Spirit

Before meeting Dan in college at Colorado State, Lindsay hadn’t traveled much and she loves that he instilled in her a passion for seeing the world. Lindsay is a true (and proud) Colorado native and your all-american, simple-kind-of-girl. She loves Jesus, her family, the Denver Broncos, and sweets. She’s a closet puzzler, word game pro, wanna-be singer/songwriter/dancer, and laughs uncontrollably at her own jokes. But don’t be fooled, “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” is as stubborn as they come. Some of her best friends have been 5 year-olds and she has a deep passion for helping people. All it takes to make her happy is a cold beer, a fishing pole, some country music, and a sunset.

Kyla McKenzie

Queen Bee of the RV & Over-Protector

Kyla is an Australian Shepherd mix who is referred to as “Lindsay’s soulmate”. She is a very emotional, sensitive, and intuitive creature and you can read her emotions by her expressive eyes! We like to think she chose us, even though we rescued her from a bad situation. Because of her difficult start, she can be a bit timid and it takes some time for her to warm up to strangers. But our family would agree that once you’re in Kyla’s circle, its a huge privilege. She is an avid TV watcher, stick chewer, and a self-taught agility course expert. She also loves the water and in her younger days was the fastest dog at the dog park! However, don’t be fooled by Kyla’s beautiful looks. She can be moody, manipulative, and smarter than we’d prefer. Her vocabulary is strangely high and we often joke that she’s fluent in English. Kyla is one of a kind!

Pepper McKenzie

Exercise Coordinator & Back Seat Driver

Pepper is a black lab mix who despite her high energy and hardheadedness, is the friendliest and cuddliest member of our family. We call her “Peppy” because she is just that. She walks along with a pep in her step, is curious, and loves adventure. She especially loves swimming and will launch into any body of water! She’s a fetching machine, a stealer of socks, destroyer of toys, and a serious snoozer. She will be anyone’s best friend but is a rabbit’s worst nightmare. In 2015, she had a  fibrocartilaginous embolism (FCE) and lost function in her back left leg. But with a little physical therapy and a lot of will power, she made a full recovery! She’s one tough cookie and has been from day one when we rescued her as a malnourished puppy.

We’re just a couple of dreamers who can’t satisfy our wanderlust!

We’ve been exploring the world and adventuring together for the past 10 years.

Our journey began shortly after we got married in 2010, when we quit our first jobs out of college and bought one-way tickets to Costa Rica!

We lived in Quepos, CR for 3 months and then spent another month backpacking through Panama.

Then, in 2013, we used the money we had saved up for a down payment on our first home towards a trip to Europe instead.

We’ve been collecting memories and experiences over things ever since.

We took several other international trips after that, which inspired us to start a travel blog.

But it wasn’t until a series of unexpected and life-altering events occurred (read more about that here) that Follow Your Detour was created.

We chose to view the challenges we were facing as a “detour”, which led us to move to Raleigh, North Carolina and has now led us to travel the U.S. full-time in our 2018 Winnebago Navion motorhome.

This “detour” is becoming our greatest blessing and we’ve found that the alternate route is much more scenic and much less crowded.

We hope to inspire others who are facing bumps in the road, feeling stuck, or just want to chase a dream to take their own detour and see where it leads them.

By sharing our experiences, we’re dedicated to helping other couples discover their own detours, providing resources for how to finance their dreams, and offering tips for living their best life.

We are also passionate about sharing travel recommendations for the beautiful destinations we’ve been to all over the world. We believe to travel is to live.