Tag-A-Long Article

Dear Megan, To refresh your memory, a few pictures of our motley crew are enclosed. You were somehow able to avoid our cameras for five days and we don't have any photos with you in them. (You weren't ashamed to be with us were you? But good move - never leave evidence.) This river trip was one of the highlights of our year. We were fortunate to have two outstanding guides and what felt like the entire river to ourselves. The trip did wonders for Phil's confidence (16 years old) --- catching fish, floating down a river in a lifejacket... as you would expect, the stories get larger with each telling and now include epic tales of valor and humor that - if they didn't happen - they should have and are now incorporated into history. Just wanted to say thanks again. Yours, Steve -- Blue Bell PA.

Megan Hawkins and Russ Zimmerman are frequently our multiple day raft guides.

2006 Agent Writes to Tag-A-Long Expeditions

Thank you for the wonderful job! My Clients and their guests were very happy with the tour and the whole trip. I'm so happy to have found you as I get several requests like this one every year.

(Westwind Air Service chartered a scenic flight from Arizona to Moab Utah November 2006. Tag-A-Long Expeditions met them at our local airfield, provided a tour of Arches National Park and lunch then delivered these folks to their lodging. We are happy to assist with charters.)

My children and I would like to thank you for a unforgettable day in Moab on 7/24/2006. We went on a morning raft ride with Gabby and then had lunch prepared by Dave and a 4x4 ride with him, also. Dave was outstanding. We happened to be alone with him for the tour of Canyonlands National Park and it was one of the highlights of our vacation. Dave was full of interesting facts and tidbits of information but there was also plenty of silent times to just observe the grandeur of the land. If we had toured this particular National Park on our own, it would have never compared to our experience with Dave. Thanks, again, and we also enjoyed our private picnic in town. A wonderful day!

Debra M. Holmes Lindenhurst, New York

(Dave Dodds is the lead guide on our multiple day 4x4 tours.)

Sorry for the late reply, I've been in Italy with some students for Spring Break.

We discovered your company while doing Google searches about the area. I've seen photos from this region for many years and it turns out I have a group of young photographers who are constantly looking for challenges. Living in the plains of Oklahoma, there's not a great deal of challenging landscape photography and since we have a bit of time just after our school is dismissed, we thought we'd use some of our fund raiser money to visit Moab.

As I recall, there was a site that was devoted to the Moab area, perhaps by their Chamber of Commerce, that listed tour groups, etc. We sent emails to most of them and your reply was the best. Quite frankly, you offered the best price with the most opportunities. In addition, you've been willing to work with us to make the reservations and take care of the incidentals that often make building a trip rather frustrating.

The students are very excited about our upcoming visit and we're all looking forward to meeting you and enjoying our tour.

(Michele Hill is the sales director for Tag-A-Long Expeditions. She is diligent and idealistic; familiar with the region, the town and intent to help visitors discover and select the best opportunities for ones interest.)

Dear Carol, I hope they had a remarkable stay in Moab to spawn a great beginning for their new marriage.

Thank you for trusting Tag-A-Long for this important episode in your loved ones lives.

"...our raft trip was great. The company did a grand job of entertaining and taking care of us, and Moab has been gorgeous and fun."

Thank you for making it special for them. I promise to keep your information and pass it on to others traveling to the area. Wishing you a great season.

(Carol made a wedding present to a cousin in Europe. It included a raft trip and accommodations in Moab through Tag-A-Long Expeditions.)

Michele: Tag-A-Long's 4-hr. jet boat trip on Sat. morn. May 13 was fabulous. Wonderful guide and I particularly enjoyed talking to your boss on the way back. We found Tag on google by using Arches or Canyonlands River Cruises and we were looking for a half-day trip. Keep up the good work!!!

(Captain Glen navigated the jetboat that day. He is the only Coast Guard licensed Captain operating on the Colorado River in the Moab region.)

What a fine San Juan trip we had! Thanks to all those who helped make it happen but had to stay in the office. We promised to send pictures to our guides Russ, Karen, and Kristine.

Was Originally Planning A Trip To Grand Canyon Via Air To Las-Vegas, Then Motor Coaching To The Canyon W/Side Tours. Seemed To Start Getting A Little Expensive Fast! Decided To Drive Instead, Visiting Along The Way Thru Grand Junction. Five Hours Is My Driving Per Day Limit With A Day In Between To Explore. (Suppose To Be Vacation) Used Msn Search For "Moab Tours". I Did Look At A Lot Of Sites For Half And Full Day Trips Around The Area. My "Work Hard, Play Hard" Days Took Its Toll, So When Offer JJJ0 Read" A Little Less Than Gonzo" & "Accustomed To Motor Coach Travel" "Dry And Comfortable All Day" You Set The Hook. Your Site Was Professional Looking ,Informative With Price, Description, And Opportunities. Your First Site Hit Was For Whitewater Rafting, I Was Not Looking For That, But I Like To Check A Lot Of Sites And Compare What Is Offered Before Making Any Commitments. Online Window Shopping Seems To Be More Interesting And Informative Than Travel Agents. No Prices Or Cloudy Trip Descriptions Cause Me To Move Right On To The Next Site. Have Visited Moab And The Arches In Earlier Years.

We Enjoyed Our Adventure Through The Canyon. The Weather Was Nice As The Day Started, We Arrived Early And Sat Out Front With A Cup Of Coffee. I Am Terrible With Names So I Can Not Give Credit To Those Who Specifically Deserve It. Our Welcome To The Store Was Pleasant And Our Questions Answered. We Loaded The Bus To The River And The Guide Was Very Informative About Sites Along The Way. Our Guide Was Very Knowledgeable About The Land And River As He Shared A Few Stories And Laughs Along The Way. The Picnic Lunch Was Plenty For Everyone. Four Wheeling At This Level Was What We Expected, (Plus A Little When It Came To The Switch Backs). Overall, Dollar For Dollar We Felt We Made The Right Choice With Tag-A-Long. Everyone There Was Pleasant With Good Attitudes And That Always Makes A Difference.

I Would Like To Say The SUV Driver Was Very Professional When It Came To Dealing With Public Jeep Drivers Who Don’t Fully Know The Trail Rules. One Jeep Felt We Were On The Wrong Side Of The Hill And Proceeded To Yell A Few Choice Words Along With A Little Sign Language. Our Guide Simply Explained The Situation To Us And Nodded And Waved To The Men In The Jeep As They Went Bye. Even I Would Of Subtly Returned The Sign Language In Passing.

For me, running that stretch was a real kick -- even at 40,000 cfs! A little thought for your immediate planning. Last Monday, as I flew From Grand Junction, Colorado to Denver, the mountains looked like they do in January -- everything above timberline wa covered with a lot of new snow. I was told they got between 5" and 12" on Saturday. It was still there on Monday, meaning the run-off isn't over. More bang for the buck! Of course, it's keeping me and my fly rod out of the river back here, too.

Thanks again for helping to make the trip so much fun. I mean, top notch classical music, reasonably cool and overcast weather ( my favorite blend), and, best of all, some real nice folks. All in all, 4 terrific days.

Nick Mathers -- Denver, CO

(Bob Jones is the owner/operator of Tag-A-Long Expeditions. He occasionally is acting guide. This enables him to keep a pulse on the quality of service, management of equipment and logistics, and top notch public relations. Nick was on a customized Cataract Canyon trip.)

Just wanted to let you know of the fantastic job done by Meaghan (our tour guide). She was absolutely wonderful. We were a group of six people whom had never rafted before. I am sure we will make rafting a part of our future vacations again. Thank you, Meaghan for all the fun on the "Aqua Passion".

(Meaghan is an apprentice with Tag-A-Long Expeditions. We are thrilled to have her enthusiasm as she starts out rowing a season of the daily scenic splash in Professor Valley by Fisher Towers.)

My wife and I usually take the 'more frugal' route when we vacation and don't seem to spend money on extras. This is one time that we did and, boy, were we glad. That was a fantastic 4x4 trip we took. Dave was knowledgeable and friendly besides being a terrific driver, I've used power tools all my life and have learned to recognize when someone knows how to use their tools and equipment. Obviously, Dave does!

The weather cooperated, although Dave was nervous about making it back through Skyview before the rocks got too slick from the afternoon rain. The scenery was great and it helped prepare us for what we would see at Arches the next couple days.

Again, thank you very much. We won't hesitate to tell out friends about Tag-A-Long Expeditions. And, to tell them to ask for Dave.

(Dave not only drives our day trips, but is our main leader for camping, hiking and 4x4 multiple day tours in the Maze and Needles Districts of Canyonlands National Park. Russ and Betty enjoyed the Archeology Needles Backcountry Expeditions ND0, a day trip.)

My husband (Rick Treider) and myself (Diana Treider) took your 4x4 and Jet boat combo tour on August 17th. Just wanted to let you know what a great time we had and our tour guides, Sarah (4x4) and Jeremy (Jet boat) were great. They were both very knowledgeable and informative. Tell them to keep up the good work. We will be back again in the future and spread the word to our friends. Again thanks and keep up the good work!

Rick and Diana Treider -- La Quinta California

(Sarah met with a knee injury this season; her doctor forbid her guiding rafts. She did a sensational job transitioning to land tours. Jeremy was building a house this summer. We were lucky to have him apply his skills to the craft of jetboat driver and guide to provide a needed break for our other excellently skilled jetboat helmsmen, Glenn and Russ.)

Absolutely the best mountain bike ride the five of us who took it have ever taken. The vista are the best you will ever see from a bike. The ride provided a sense of exhilaration, several thrills, and filled you with a sense of awe on more than a few occasions. The jet boat ride out and the lunch before were both great. Two of us were experience road bikers in fantastic biking shape, the third was in very good physical condition, but was an inexperienced mountain biker, the fourth was about 30 pounds overweight in fair physical condition with moderate mountain biking experience, and the last one was quite tall overweight and in fairly poor physical condition. Yet all of us thought that it was an experience not to be missed. The ride is very hard at the end through the sand, three of us walked the very end portion. The ride was taxing on our tall overweight rider, but even he enjoyed it and was glad that he did it. All in all it was one of our most memorable experiences in Moab, and Moab is a place that we have visited several times taking part in many activities and adventures. As great as so many things to do in Moab are, this is one of the very best. This was the third trip with Tag-A-Long for several of us and they are always reliable, fun, and enjoyable hosts.

Hi, we were on the Green River last week and used your company for our shuttle and for the jetboat retrieval. I just wanted to provide you with some feedback, which is all good. Glenn was our jet boat driver. He was incredibly informative, and most important, enthusiastic about what he was telling us about. He was funny, fascinating and seemed like he just couldn't tell us enough about the river and the area he seemed to know intimately. This is clearly a valuable employee for your company. He really provided a great ending to what was an incredible week for our canoe trip on the river. Thanks.

We have just returned home from a 3 week trip around Utah/Arizona/California/Nevada and would like to thank all concerned at Tag-A-Long for the highlight of our holiday of a lifetime.

We took your jetboat/jeep classic and are still breath-taken even now. We have told all of our friends about you and should we ever get the chance to visit Moab again (and we will try) then you will be our first port of call for yet another incredible day.

While we were finishing our trip, but before we left the Maze I made some notes in my journal about Dave Dodds' work with us. It came under the heading "Perfect Canyonlands Guide" and here are my comments:

"Safe (driving, hiking, camp practices); food carefully selected, sanitarily prepared, available in timely manner and good to eat; schedule clear and comfortable, trip well designed to provide highlight experiences; comfortable, safe vehicle; pleasant companion; freely shares considerable knowledge about the trip; measures guests interests and capabilities and responds to them." It was a wonderful experience and we look forward to returning to the area and to another outing with Dave and Tag-A-Long.

(Donn Miller and Bill Horton and their wives participated in both are Needles and Maze expeditions, back to back, this October.)

Thanks again for a great rafting trip. We have a family website with pictures from the trip we would like to share. CLICK HERE

(Eight family and friend members floated the Colorado River for six days and experienced John Wesley Powell's Cataract Canyon.)

My parents had a great time! Thanks for providing such a memorable experience for them.

(Carrie purchased our scenic splash and jetboat/4x4 trips for her parents, Bud and Sharon Kayser. Michele is the sales director for Tag-A-Long Expeditions and river guide since 1980. Michele assisted Carrie with arrangements.)

I knew about Tag-A-Long from my many vivid visits to Moab dating back as far as 25 years ago. I have looked at your brochures, and I found you this time on the World Wide Web.

I recieved a post card from Richard today thanking us for joining him for the trip out of Lathrop Canyon and up the Shafer Trail. We would like to send him a thank you note to your office along with something more tangible as our thank you to him for being a great guide. Thanks.