Dee Holladay photograph collection, 1980-1989

In 1966, Dee and his wife, Sue, decided to become river outfitters. At first, it was Holladay Expeditions, but the celebration of being on the river (not to mention the confusion in name spelling) inspired the new name of Holiday River Expeditions. In the years that followed, Dee and Sue spent more than 100 days on the river each year sharing their hospitality and wilderness insight with Holiday guests.

Curious by nature, Dee Holladay educated himself about the rivers and all the life they support: cultural, historical, and ecological. Dee's foresight in river conservation led to his unique outfitting practices and policies that are incorporated into all of Holiday's trips and have now been adopted by the National Parks and other land management agencies in the West as part of their "Leave No Trace" protocols. Dee was awarded the National Conservation Stewardship Award from America Outdoors for his lifelong commitment and efforts to preserve the rivers and wildlands of the west. In June of 2015 Dee Holladay, Holiday River's founder passed from this life to go run new rivers in the next.

Biographical note taken from Holiday River Expeditions