ALTON - While this not-so-great Flood of 2019 is ravaging several businesses and entire communities, some are making the best of it. Last week, Jason Nicholson went viral on local Facebook pages for photos taken of him kayaking through Downtown Alton toward the Great River Road, which is now sadly just a part of the Great River.
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Law enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard is now cracking down on recreational flood activities currently because of the danger, Nicholson said the only person who said anything to him on his endeavor was a worker for the City of Alton who told him to be careful and have fun.
Nicholson said he has been kayaking for three years with friends, but had experience from family float trips before that. Last Friday, however, he braved the river alone - to the joy and amusement of many.
"When I set off by the amphitheater, there were a lot of people watching me," he said. "The most people were assembled around Lincoln Douglas Square. That's where they were taking pictures of me from." To show how swiftly the waters are rising, Nicholson said the flood around that square was only three or four inches deep then. It's higher now."
Nicholson, who is 25 and of Godfrey, said he continued past Downtown Alton, kayaking on the Great River Road itself to the caves on which the Piasa has been recreated.
While Nicholson had fun, people are advised by the U.S. Coast Guard and local emergency management personnel to not to kayak in the flood waters due to hazards like debris lurking below the surface.
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