MSI Press Blog

  RV life promises freedom, adventure, and the open sky. But sometimes that sky turns dark—and fast. Whether you’re parked in a desert campground or cruising through mountain passes, storms are part of the deal. The question isn’t if you’ll face bad weather. It’s how you’ll handle it. Before the Storm: Preparation Is Survival Experienced RVers know that storm safety starts long before the clouds roll in. Check the forecast—everywhere. Don’t just look at your destination. Scan your entire route, especially elevation changes and regional hazards like flash floods or tornado zones. Prep your rig. Inspect tires, wipers, seals, and roof vents. Secure slide-outs and awnings. Keep your fuel tank full and your emergency kit stocked. Know your thresholds. If winds exceed 40 mph, it’s time to pull over. If gusts hit 60+, evacuate the RV and find shelter in a sturdy building. When the Storm Hits: Adapt and Act Storms don’t wait for you to be ready. RVers learn to read the signs ...

Writers love to pretend inspiration arrives like lightning, but more often it shows up with dusty boots, a full tank of gas, and a dog who thinks every mile is an adventure. Two travelogues—written sixty years apart—prove that the open road has a way of shaking loose the stories we didn’t know we were carrying. John Steinbeck’s  Travels with Charley  and Larry MacDonald’s  Travels with Elly  share a surprising kinship. Both authors set out with a poodle riding shotgun. Both felt a tug to understand their country more deeply. Both believed that the best way to see a place is to move through it slowly, talking to strangers, watching the land change, and letting the journey rearrange their thinking. Two Journeys, Two Countries, One Instinct Steinbeck left Sag Harbor in 1960 because he feared he no longer knew the America he had spent decades writing about. He built a custom camper—Rocinante—and set off with Charley, his French poodle, for a 10,000‑mile loop around the U...

  Today's publisher's pride is  Travels with Elly  by Larry MacDonald, which reached #43   in travel with pets books. Book description: Discover Canada like never before -- from a personal perspective, similar to John Steinbeck's view of America in his 1960 book  Travels with Charley . The author travels from coast to coast in a trailer with his wife and pets, including their Standard Poodle, Elly, in order to gain a better understanding of his adopted country. Interspersed between descriptions of history, cultures, places, and icons are the author's reflections on various things such as Elly's antics, signage, ferries, political injustice, environmental issues, and animal instincts. To provide a canine's perspective, Elly reflects on things of interest to her, including cats, cows, and other critters...but especially cats! Where was Canada's first settlement? What is its prettiest town? When and where was its most devastating shipwreck? And who was its greates...