*Laurie’s List is a collection of things I think go well together, usually with some pictures I’ve taken. 

This Laurie’s List is actually four series and one movie, but hey, the movie has sequels so that counts, right?  It’s a—definitely incomplete—list of the shows we tuned into solely because they were set in areas where we loved travelling.

1.  New Orleans:  Treme (HBO), 2012-13, 3 Seasons, 36 episodes

When we visited New Orleans in February 2013, the city was decked out in its Mardi Gras finery. Most of my photos reflect the irrepressible, celebratory atmosphere of the  city. But eight years after Hurricane Katrina, you still didn’t have to look further than the side streets and the poorer districts to see how badly the city was ravaged.

Here’s a great summary for Treme: “… a compelling series about interconnected characters coping in the wake of the disaster.  Amidst music. In Orleans, it’s all about the music.”  Treme is still a hugely relevant and highly engaging series. And it’s got Steve Earle in it. ‘Nuff said.

2.  The Black Hills:  Deadwood (HBO), 2004-06, 3 Seasons, 36 episodes

Shakespearean in its use of language and featuring the outstanding Ian McShane, Deadwood is a series I wish had never ended. Set in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the current town of Deadwood feels nothing like the show, but the surrounding region, which includes Devil’s Tower, Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monument, has been one of our favourite RV-ing destinations so far.

3.  Florida: Bloodline (Netflix), 2015-17, 3 seasons, 33 episodes

I thought this series did a great job conveying the hot, steamy nature of the south end of the state. It is a definitely relentless drama, but it has some good black humour. And after reading a number of Florida authors Carl Hiassen and Tim Dorsey’s more comic tales of panhandle misadventures, I could totally buy Bloodline‘s twisting saga of fishing charters, family feuds, shady dealings and disappearing bodies.

4.  Texas to Montana: Lonesome Dove, 1989, 1 season, 4 episodes

I surprised myself by loving Larry McMurty’s book Lonesome Dove, so I was probably hypercritical when we sat down to watch the original 1989 mini-series starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. (We didn’t bother with the mid-90s weekly TV series that came later.)

I can’t say I loved this adaptation, but Brent found it quite engaging and I see now that it picked up an award or 16 (!).

The story tracks the rocky progress of two old Texas Rangers as they drive a cattle herd north to Montana. Spoiler alert: Things don’t go well.

5.  The Alabama Hills in California: Tremors (Universal), 1990

Right. I thought it would be really fun to watch the original Tremors movie again while we were dry-camping out in the Alabama Hills, exactly in the spot where it was filmed.

We’d even been to the fun little Film History Museum in nearby Lone Pine to see the models of the monsters.

OMG. Turns out I couldn’t rewatch the movie. Not while camping in the desert. Not if I ever wanted to step outside the RV again. Tremors is still really fun, and really scary.

We do highly recommend the museum if you are in the area. As of 2018, it’s only $5 to enter and it’s a very entertaining way to spend about 45 minutes. (Watch the short film in the theatre first though — unless you are old enough to remember the Lone Ranger and all those singing cowboys!)