THE MISSISSIPPI MOSQUITO MASSACRE: (Mississippi, USA)

In search of old dudes playing Bluegrass, we headed for Helena, Arkansas, with its reputation for music and southern roots. A Saturday night, what we got was scary empty streets, except for police cars, fire engines, and the odd brawl. Deciding to cross the bridge over the Mississippi into the eponymous state, we toyed with staying at the casino car park just over the state line as it was a little way to the nearest campsite.

Casinos are illegal in Arkansas, but fine in Mississippi, so long as they're 'on the water'. This rule has led to all sorts of legalistic tweaking of things - casinos have in fact gone to such lengths as diverting a channel from the Mississippi, four miles inland, to surround their prize new casino development in a moat-esque manner and return it via canal down river!! Madness. It seems that America is a land full of rules, over legislated to the hilt, and for every rule there's a cowboy working out how to break it. The indoor smoking ban in Minnesota led to people opening up 'theatre improvisation bars' where the patrons form the cast…because smoking is allowed on stage as part of a theatrical production. The land of opportunity glory haleluliah!

Well, with all the water and heat, we got nothing at the casino except a campervan FULL of skeeters. Lil' critters were everywhere. We turned up the windows, despite the 90 degree midnight temperature, and went on a killing spree. It was carnage.