March 2023
There’s a tree out in the backyard
That never has been broken by the wind
And the reason it’s still standing
It was strong enough to bend
Tanya Tucker
Recently, I had about a week of Dual Sport riding in the Big Bend National Park. My good buddy Josh, a school principal from Illinois, just bought a new to him Honda CRF 450 RL and was itching to take it somewhere for his Spring Break. Another buddy, Preston from Alabama, expressed interest in joining us. As did AJ, our friend from the Albuquerque, NM area. Finally, two other buddies, John from South Dakota, and Kevin from North Dakota, timed their return from Baja, Mexico to join us as well. The internet is not all bad – it can bring 6 friends together from all over the country.
Finding a camp site within the National Park was impossible, so AJ, Preston, Josh, and I camped at the Rancho Topanga campground just outside of Terlingua, TX:
https://www.ranchotopanga.com/index.html
This is a fine campground for motorcyclists of all kinds. The sites are quite large with spacious flat areas to pitch your tent, and with plenty of ground between sites for some privacy. Each site has a nice large picnic table and a fire ring. Plenty of room to park the trucks, trailers, etc. We had water on the site, and the owners placed us conveniently right next to a bath house with good hot showers, spotless toilets, and a couple of electrical receptacles to charge the phone, etc. At $15.00 per person per night, I don’t think you could ask for more.
Spring Break is a terrific time to explore Big Bend before it gets unbearably hot in south Texas. BION, we all ran through a light snow getting to the area. The next day it was cold, but manageable. Thereafter, the temperature was terrific, warming into the 80s during the day, and cooling off to the 50s for a nice sleep in the tent. On one night, we got a light sprinkling of rain, hardly enough to even dampen the ground. Otherwise, it was bone dry. Big Bend is a great place to go play in the early Spring.
I rode my Suzuki DR650 about 750 miles over 5 days while there, roughly split even between pavement and off-road riding. On my Yamaha FJR, I can certainly do more, but 150 miles in a day feels about right on the Dual Sport for me. I’m learning that the D/S is a different kind of riding. It’s more enjoyed going slow and stopping often to sniff around. It’s definitely more physical while actually riding, but perhaps a bit less stressful overall, as you don’t have to worry much about other vehicles when off road. I like D/S riding a lot.
I don’t care much for this new “country/rock” stuff on the radio, but I do like “classic country”. The words from the old tunes speak to me. Ms. Tucker certainly has a way with her lyrics.
On this trip, Big Bend reminded me to Bend and avoid breaking. I hope you enjoy the pics.
Day 1: 540 miles by Truck, Lafayette, LA to Sonora, TX
I loaded the truck on Thursday, anticipating an early departure on Friday. Unfortunately, a line of severe thunderstorms appeared on the radar early in the morning heading my way. I felt it wasn’t safe to take off through that, so I waited a while. We had some minor street flooding in the area and by the time all of that subsided, it was past noon. So I opted to delay my departure a day. This is the beauty of retirement: I don’t have to push that kind of shit anymore.
Saturday came with much better weather, so I hit the road about 8 am.
I had a choice, but I picked Interstate 10. I figured that if I got through Houston without dying, that would be a sign.
A flatlander lives his life, by definition, in only 2 dimensions. Every time I get to any elevation, I get excited. This is the beginning of what the Texans call Hill Country.
The Motel 6 in Sonora, TX was just perfect. Clean room, park the truck right at the front door, cheap rate.
I was kind of looking forward to Tex Mex, but the hispanic gal at the hotel counter advised me to pass on that and opt for the Pit Stop BBQ. The meat was tender but a bit under seasoned for me. The pinto beans were good, but the highlight of the meal was the cole slaw, made with pineapple chunks.
I’m running a bit low on shampoo. I shall have to remedy that.
I hit the sack to dream about upcoming adventures.
Day 2: 325 miles by Truck, Sonora, TX to Rancho Topanga Campground
No breakfast at the hotel, but the coffee was surprisingly good. I grabbed a second cup for the road, and head west. I stopped in Alpine, TX for some groceries, and the road south from there was quite picturesque. The locals I talked to say it snows at Big Bend only once every 5-7 years. Apparently, yesterday was the day.
I’ve never been to this area before and am enjoying the winter wonderland from the warmth of the truck over dry roads.
I got to the campground about 3 pm. AJ, Josh, and Preston got there yesterday and they were gone, off riding somewhere. By the time I setup my tent, they had returned and things are shaping up nicely.
And with that, Happy Hour was official underway.
I enjoy cooking while I moto-camp, but uncharacteristically on this trip, I didn’t get a chance. The others volunteered to prepare our meals, and so all I had to do was show up hungry! Tonight, we are having Chili prepared by Preston.
John and Kevin are staying at a small cabin in Terlingua, but they came over to the campground to join us for dinner.
Damm fine meal on this chilly evening (pun intended).
We got a good fire going after dinner and enjoyed the evening. Tomorrow, we ride!
Day 3: 150 miles (Dual Sport), Big Bend National Park
I didn’t sleep too well in my tent. Usually, I struggle a bit on the first night. So I wake up, make coffee, and sit down to enjoy the view.
Josh and I took a walk around the campground to see what we could see. Things are blooming in the dessert, including these Yucca Plants.
Everything here has stickers.
After breakfast, we all met in Terlingua and headed out for the park.
My first impressions of this place are breathtaking.
Yesterday afternoon, the others tried some local dirt roads and ended up plowing through some mucky stuff still plenty wet from the snow/rain. We learned this morning that many of the unpaved roads in the park are still closed. This whole place needs a little time to dry out, so today we will stick mostly to the pavement. John led us down the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. “Scenic “ is a great word to describe this.
We stopped at the Santa Elana Canyon overlook. On the left side is Mexico, ride side is the USA.
This place is enormous.
We back tracked on the Scenic drive a bit and stopped at some places to sniff around.
Nice view at the Visitor’s Center for lunch.
After lunch, we ripped over to the Mule Ears Overlook.
And then it was to another overlook that I can’t remember the name of.
The ole Bush Pig is still clean … for now.
At one point, Preston, Josh, and I pressed forward a bit up the road. The views here are stupendous.
Soon, the others caught up.
We rode down to Panther Junction and realized that it was already late in the afternoon. So we decided to try a couple of short unpaved “out and back” roads to see how it was drying.
This is Grapevine Spring road.
And this is Paint Gap Road. Kevin rode this on his Super Tenere, which was very impressive to me. Tomorrow, he will take the Beta.
It wasn’t much, but at least we got some dust on the tires.
We pulled back into the campground about 6:30 pm, grabbed some quick showers, and then drove over to Terlingua Ghost Town to eat.
The Starlight Theatre has been in operation for about 100 years, going back to the days when Cinnabar was mined here. John got here ahead of us and put us on the waiting list.
I’ll have to settle for crappy beer – it’s the best they had.
Does this stool make my ass look big?
I think the Prickly Pear Cactus blooms are the prettiest ones I’ve seen so far.
Soon it was our turn to sit down, and no one went hungry.
I had the Chicken Fried Antelope. It was pretty good.
After dinner, we went back to the campground, lit a fire, and enjoyed the evening.
We came here to ride dirt and gravel. But Mother Nature had other ideas. I had a choice – I could stomp my feet and complain or I could bend a little, roll with it, and just enjoy the pavement.
I chose the latter.
Day 4: 165 miles, Big Bend National Park
I slept a little better last night, but still not as good as I’d like. We are on the western end of the time zone, so first light doesn’t even come until about 7:30 am. By the time we had coffee and breakfast and got geared up, it was mid-morning. No worries – I’m not on any schedules anymore. John will ride pavement on his own today and meet us this evening for dinner. Kevin picked the Beta and will ride with us today.
We ran the pavement into the park, went straight to Panther Junction, and then just a bit further to Glen Springs Road, a wonderful gravel/dirt path.
This is Pine Canyon. You just can’t see this kind of stuff from the pavement.
I didn’t see one Conifer tree there, but perhaps the name comes from another origin.
This is going to be a terrific day!
The off pavement riding in Big Bend was challenging at times for me. I’m not an experienced off roader. Josh was kind enough to bring his spare SENA communicator, and installed it on my helmet. Josh spent many years coaching sports and let me tell ya, he is a natural at it. Running just in front of me for most of the week, Josh would identify the tricky parts of the trail and coach me through the best line to get through it. He would speak calmly and decisively to me, with just enough description without too much information. When I’d get to the spot he was referring to, there was no doubt what to do. I really enjoyed having that help.
We stopped at the intersection of Glen Springs and Black Gap Road. The others started plotting our next move.
I decided to have lunch.
After lunch, we took Black Gap Road and the going got tougher immediately. There was this downhill section of a bunch of rock steps that really got me nervous. I’ve got this bad habit of using mostly the front brake on the dual sport, muscle memory carried over from my street riding. On this spot, I need some rear brake and it was all I could do to stay upright. Upon arriving at the bottom, I told Josh over the intercom that I thought I was riding a bit over my ability.
This is the dilemma on the dirt bike. You can tell yourself “I can always turn around if I’m not comfortable”. But what about now? Turning back and trying to climb that rock seemed daunting. On the other hand, the unknown of what lies ahead also seemed concerning. I would have never attempted this by myself. At least now I have friends that can help if I drop the bike or crash.
Here, I’m reminded again that I need to bend. I need to bend my knees and my arms and use them as added suspension when I’m standing. I need to bend over and lean forward when I’m climbing the hills, lean rearward when I’m descending. And I need to bend my mind and attitude too. I need to trust what ability I have and be flexible. The terrain here is varied. I won’t get to know everything now, but that’s OK. I need to breathe slowly and relax. I’m in good hands here. They won’t leave me. This is fun.
And so onward I go. The reward was worth the challenge.
I find myself concentrating heavily on the trail when I’m riding. I’m listening to Josh, studying the lines, and trying to learn how to ride this stuff. It’s very good fun, but when I’m moving, I can’t take my eyes off the trail and see the sights.
But when we stop…..
At the end of Black Gap Road, we found the old Cinnabar Mine that put this place on the map.
I’m having such a terrific time.
Hang on Josh – we gotta wait until Kevin is finished watering the rocks over there.
We turn onto River Road and started heading north. I suppose civilization is somewhere up there.
Presumably traveling along the Rio Grande watershed at times, the trail here is different. It’s less rocky and more sandy. At times, the sand is deeper and the front tire walks a bit. That does take some getting used to.
What a day!
I was last in our group. This was the best position for me as I’m clearly the slowest rider. Soon, they are far enough ahead that I’m not even getting any dust. Besides, sometimes I’d just stop and take a picture.
We popped out onto the Main Park Road, and rode 3-4 miles to the Rio Grande Village store. After all, it’s mid afternoon and if you know Pants, you know what that means…..
From there, the Old Ore Road is less than a mile away. So the group decided to take that heading generally north. It was about 4:00 pm then and I remember that I was feeling tired. But I was having fun and so off we go.
The Old Ore Road was yet again different from the others just across the way. This road was less sandy, but more rocky.
In these parts, shade is a precious commodity.
We stopped pretty often. Preston and AJ were leading as they are fastest. Kevin would follow them. Josh can definitely keep up with any of them, but he opted to stay back with me. I ride my street motorcycle fairly aggressively. But this is different for me. I’m still a beginner and perhaps a bit timid about it. Moreover, I kind of just enjoy putt putting around on the DR, stopping often to look around.
At one stop, we looked up onto the rock and found a family of 4-5 Big Horn Sheep. How cool is that?
Let me assure you, NOTHING climbs a rock like these things. They literally leaped right up the wall effortlessly. I spy with my little eye….
On the Old Ore Road, I feel twice at low speed. The first time, I heard Josh’s instructions to start right and switch left midway up the hill. It was more difficult than I realized and in the shift, the front wheel washed. I put my left foot down and just stood up while the bike fell. Having long legs does have its advantages.
The other time surprised me. I was dodging some decent sized rocks in the trail. The front tire moved laterally left to right on a rock and down I went on my left side. Somehow, I pinched a finger on my left hand and it pulled some skin back. Josh came back and helped me lift the bike and put a bandaid on my finger. We took it easy catching up to the others, who had stopped ahead on the trail.
For the next run, AJ, a retired police officer, rode behind me. I told him I was OK, but he insisted and to be honest, I’m glad he did. At the next stop, AJ explained that when somebody falls, we stay behind them for a while to make sure they are OK. It was very reassuring and helped me compose myself and get back into the ride.
The reality was this: I was tired and I knew it. My decision making wasn’t very sharp. I was probably riding a bit over my head. The combination of that led to the fall.
This is a part of the bending I have to come to terms with. I’m in pretty good shape for my age, but I’m 57. Not 27. Not 37. I’m knocking on 60 and I just can’t do whatever I think I can do. When I’m tired, I can’t just “push through it” like I used to. I’ve got to bend a little and concede my limitations. I’ve got nothing to prove to anyone. It’s just the reality of life. I need to work on this and get my head right.
We find a nice stop at the end of the Old Ore Road to drink some water. This has been an amazing day. This is what I dreamed Dual Sporting would be.
We pop out onto the pavement, grab some gasoline at Panther Junction, and ride the 30-ish miles straight back to the campground.
First thing is first!
Let me tell ya – this does not suck.
Everyone showered and John/Kevin came over for dinner. Tonight, it’s Josh’s turn to prepare dinner and oh boy are we in for a treat! John was solicited as Sous Chef
Tonight, Josh is cooking ribeye steaks. I’ve eaten my share of beef in my day. But this I know: Josh’s campfire steaks rival anything I’ve had anywhere at any price.
If I’m lying, I’m dying……
But wait, there’s more! Everyone knows that Pants is quite the fan of fermented Agave. While we were trail riding today, John took the pavement on his own adventure. How nice it was for him to take the time and thoughtfulness to pick me up a bottle of Tequila.
We sat around the fire telling lies and learning about the meaning of life. It was great fun for sure.
I’m living about as big as it gets.
Today was epic. I had a couple of oopsies, but there was no harm and no foul. At one stop this afternoon, I told the group I thought I was riding over my abilities. AJ offered a counterpoint. I was NOT riding past my abilities. If that were true, I wouldn’t get out of it. I was riding past my comfort zone. And if I relaxed and stuck with it, in time, it should get more comfortable. That put my mind at ease and was very welcome to hear.
This is one fine motorcycle trip.
Day 5: 140 more miles of Big Bend.
The shampoo does what it does and I did sleep a bit better, although not extremely well. I got enough rest and again, since there are no birds here, we don’t start stirring until past 7:30 am.
I washed a load of laundry in the bathhouse sink. In this climate, these will be bone dry this afternoon.
Again, we are in no rush. Coffee, breakfast, etc and it’s mid-morning before we get going. Looks like it’s going to be another great day.
Now we are 3 days and well over 300 miles in, and we still haven’t seen all of Big Bend National Park. This place is enormous.
Today, we decide to run Old Maverick Road to start. This road is much easier than the ones we rode yesterday. But the views are just as good.
All week, I’ve been enjoying the Spring plants blooming in the desert.
More sheep this morning. Kevin was opining about how good they taste.
Old Maverick Road takes us directly to the Santa Elana Canyon. I asked a passing Border Patrol officer if he would take a picture for us. He seemed inconvenienced, but relented anyway. This is one of the best pictures of the trip, in my opinion.
Earlier in the week, we saw this canyon from the paved road overlook. Today, we go down to the river and see it up close. It’s magnificent.
Josh was determined to throw a rock across the Rio Grande to Mexico. It only took him 563 tries, but to the victor goes the spoils.
We ran up to the visitors center to eat our sandwich. At the entrance gate this morning, the Ranger told us that River Road West was still closed due to muddy conditions. At this point, we are less than a mile from that road. We decided to go there and see if by chance it opened up this morning.
We were in luck.
I’m intrigued by the fact that each non-paved road in the park has a different character. The terrain is different, views are different. It’s really fascinating to me.
On River Road West, the sand is deeper and less packed. Near this spot, I chose to stop in a very sandy area and I dropped my bike. I’m getting used to that part of that trip now. If you buy a Dual Sport bike thinking that you will keep it flawless and pretty, you will be very disappointed.
A little further down the trail, I hear Josh telling me that “you gotta come see this”. I catch up with him and to my surprise, this is what we see.
A beautiful black horse running uncontrolled in the park. From the looks of it, I don’t think it was a mustang, but rather someone’s horse got loose. It ran towards us and got kind of close, but then turned away, and with a hearty “nay”, trotted off into the desert. That was neat.
We pop out of the trail onto the Main Park road and head north to Panther Junction. I walk into the store and instinctively, the dude looks at me and matter of factly declares “we are out of ice cream”. I wonder how he knew that was what I was after? I go outside and break the news. Josh is having none of it. He walks back into the store and walks out with three (3) pints of ice cream. I guess he found the secret stash.
Everyone shared and this stuff was very good.
From there, we rode the pavement back to the campground.
Tonight, it was AJ’s turn to prepare dinner. We are going to have Fajitas.
Absolutely delicious.
Another fine day on the Dual Sport.
Day 6: 150 miles of Dual Sporting, Big Bend Area.
Again, I had trouble sleeping last night. I can’t figure it out. Oh well, no point in fighting it. I wake up with the light and make the coffee. This view does not get old.
I get the lunch prepared for us for the trail.
My coffee works good and I’m ready for more adventure!
John and Kevin are trailered and packed up and are heading toward home today. Last night, we bid them well and wished them a safe trip home.
This morning, we decided to try some gavel dirt outside of the National Park and ride around the Hen Egg Mountain area. These roads are regularly graded and are less challenging that what we’ve seen. I’m enjoying this very much.
Josh looks like he is having fun too.
The views here are really nice.
We are making good memories, my friend.
All week, every once in while I see a hill that has some peculiar colors on it. The minerals here are quite diverse.
The blooms are pretty here as well.
It’s another terrific day.
The road brings us to the Terlingua Creek. I don’t care for crossing higher water because I can’t see the bottom. Josh walked into the creek and scouted out a good route for us. As it turns out the bottom is hard and the water was not overly deep.
Josh went across first. I studied his line to make sure I knew what I was going to do.
AJ went next and took a different line where the water was significantly deeper. His KTM stalled and had to be pushed up the other side. I followed Josh’s line and made it across without difficulty. It wasn’t pretty, mind you. I was sitting down and feathering the clutch pretty hard. Preston followed me and also made it across.
Once everyone was safely across, we ate our lunch and then helped AJ get his bike started again.
Wouldn’t want to sit on these for long….
We popped out on Hwy 118 and headed north to the Terlingua Ranch Road. From there, we took the old Marathon Road back into the National Park.
Big Bend is a beautiful area of our country.
It’s been a great trip, my friends.
The trail took us out onto the main park road, and we turned south toward Panther Junction again. I saw a sign for “Exhibit Ahead” and pulled in.
Big Bend is home to quite a lot of archeological discoveries and this was a nice break in the shade.
I liken this to another form of “bending” for Pants: Learn something every chance I get. It would have been really easy to just zip past this exhibit. But it only takes a little time, and guess what, I learned a lot about what this place looked like millions of years ago. A worldly man gets that way by seeing the world, and learning what every place has to offer us. So we bent toward the lesson, and were rewarded for it.
Panther Junction has turned into our desert oasis. I am nothing if not a creature of habit….
From the Junction, we rode just a few miles north on the pavement to the Chisos Basin. This is the highest point in the park, with the visitors center at almost 6000 feet. It was noticeably cooler up there.
While AJ and Preston stayed in the shade at the visitors center, Josh and I walked the short loop to the Window View Overlook.
This cactus looks like rope – it’s fascinating.
It was a nice and easy walk.
There’s the window.
From there, we rode back down off the Basin, and back to the campground. We made it a point to get back a couple hours earlier than before. Josh and I wanted to take a shower and then walk up a hill at the campground for a special event.
We are a bit early for the sunset, and so we will wait. And while we wait, we hydrate.
The wait was worth it.
Meanwhile, Preston and AJ went to pick up pizza. I prefer a thinner crust, but this was very good.
All this week, we have been conversing with our neighbors, Jeff and Courtney. They have a small camper and are hiking in the park. Every day, we find each other and enjoy some conversation about our day. Well – this evening we were pleasantly surprised by them. Courtney has baked us an Apple Crumble. We had good fun chatting with them over dessert.
Delicious.
Another fine day in south Texas.
Day 7: 165 miles, about 60 off road, rest pavement.
A dry front passed through over night and today it’s considerably cooler than it has been. The humidity is way down and it feels nice. The other night, AJ didn’t finish his ribeye so this morning, I’m heating it up for breakfast.
This will do nicely
AJ has a hot date with his wife tonight, so he’ll pack up this morning and be on his way. We bid him farewell, but not goodbye – we will ride again another time.
Preston wants to go back into the park, so he will ride on his own today. Josh and I have another idea in mind. Today, we are going to ride west toward the State Ranch Park.
FM-170 is an excellent twisty paved road that takes us along the Rio Grande River. It was a nice change of pace for us.
Along the way, we find an old movie set from a western filmed here long ago, so we stopped to walk around.
The river is flowing beautifully this morning.
Some greenery along the river where the plants and trees can get more water.
This is the Closed Canyon scenic area. We brought our walking shoes to check it out.
We get to the canyon and it looks quite inviting.
We packed the leftover pizza for lunch and had more than we could eat, so we shared with this couple that we met along the trail. We had nice conversation with them.
At one point, the gentlemen told us that he was an Over the Road Trucker, but doesn’t drive now. He also told us he was a recovering addict (perhaps alcoholic??). He was not ashamed to admit this to us – I’m not intimately familiar with the 12 steps, but I do know that Step 1 is to admit there is a problem and own it.
During the day, I thought about that gentleman. I hope his recovery continues well and things go right for him and his loved ones. He reminded me that no one is perfect, including me. I want to be humble and kind now. I want to lay my burdens down, forgive others when needed, and ask for forgiveness as well. This is another way I can bend, without breaking.
We found this little loop dirt road on the GPS that ran into the desert, so we took it.
Before this trip, I’ve never seen cactus blooming. They are quite pretty.
Those caves in the rock look pretty cool.
We get to Bofecillos Road (hope I spelled that right) and turn off the pavement. The country here is just as open as the National Park.
The riding here is quicker and easier than the National Park. We didn’t venture into the NW section of the State Park, where I hear it is more challenging. None the less, it is wide open here, and the views are just as spectacular.
We ran up to the visitors center about 35 miles later, but sadly they were closed and they don’t have ice cream. I suppose I’ll survive.
So we back tracked the same way we went it. Now heading out, we were running 35-ish MPH on those gravel roads and it felt like we were FLYING!
We returned to the campground via FM-170. Preston was already back and we shared our adventures for the day over a beer at the local BBQ joint.
Then it was back to the campground for some fire and spirits. It’s almost time to go home. I’ve had a great trip.
Day 8: Hike day in the National Park.
Today is Saturday. Again, the weather is nice and cool and sunny. Josh and Peston have to leave today – they have plenty of miles to get home in time for Monday work. They pack their camping gear quickly and after coffee and breakfast, we split ways. I enjoyed being with all of my friends on this trip. I hope they get home safely.
Me? I don’t work anymore and I’ve got all the time I want. The campground owner has already told us that we have to leave today, as he has the site reserved for someone else. So I pack up my gear and my motorcycle and take my time with another cup of coffee. Then I drive back into the National Park. I haven’t gotten any exercise all week, and I feel like a hike today.
I drive back up the Chinos Basin and decide to take the Window View trail. It’s about 6 miles out and back with about 750 feet of elevation change. This will work nicely to stretch out my legs.
Every plant in the entire region can and will stick ya!
The descent to the window view is very gradual. This is a nice walk.
It’s Saturday and it is somewhat crowded, but there’s plenty of room for everyone.
What do ya know? The window is open!
Lunch with a view.
I was mostly climbing on the walk back, but I enjoyed the exercise.
These are Mexican Jays. They were friendly, presumably looking for a treat.
By the time I got back to the truck and out of the National Park, it was late afternoon. So I booked a room at the same hotel from night 1. I got to the hotel about 6:30 pm, and grabbed another BBQ dinner at the same place I ate last week. Again, the cole slaw was delicious. So was the smoked chicken.
Day 9: Sonora, TX to LFT
The hotel mattress was just what I needed. I slept 8 hours straight. I grabbed some coffee and hit the road. I did catch some traffic in Houston, which delayed me about 45 minutes. Otherwise, I arrived safely at home late in the afternoon. As she always does, my wife greeted me warmly upon my return, and I was happy to see her. As is our tradition, we went out to eat and I enjoyed sharing my adventure with her. I got a good girl, ya’ll.
So another Pants adventure is in the books. I had a great time, as I always do. I learned quite a bit on this trip. Noteworthy is that I got a LOT more to learn about riding a dual sport. Practice makes perfect and rest assured, I will be back.
In the meantime, I’ll try to remember to bend when necessary, and avoid breaking.
Stay thirsty, my friends….
