Catching a sunrise up on Max Patch is totally worth getting up for!

Please excuse the wicked sigma lens flare of my “beater lens”.  I don’t think all newer sigma lenses have this kind of crazy flare, I think it’s just that this old lens has been through a lot.

 

 

 

 

I shot these next 8 photos intending to stitch them together as a panorama but I didn’t get to it, so use your imagination here ok?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were only two other hearty souls up at the top for the sunrise.

Others may have thought about getting up for the sunrise but ended up just pulling the covers back over their heads and mumbling something about looking at the photos later.

 

 

No problem,  I got them for ya!

 

Stone Door is this big chunk of rock that kinda got separated from the rest of the rock and now is this sort of crack in the rock that you can climb down through. Why don’t I just show you the pictures? It’ll be easier than me trying to explain it.

 

 

I think it’s located in Grundy county TN. It’s up on the Cumberland Plateau and you have to drive up and up and up to get there.

 

 

The trail starts out paved

 

 

and is almost wide enough to drive on.

 

 

A third of the way in it changes to dirt/sand, still a well maintained trail.

 

 

Then you’re walking along and can tell you’re almost to the view

 

 

and there’s a crack in the rock and it’s separated right about where I’m standing! Except there’s this piece of rock I’m on that’s bridging across.

 

 

I went out on the edge to try to see but I didn’t want to get too close because it was waaaay down there.

 

 

 

 

 

From the bottom looking up.

 

 

part way back up.

 

 

looking straight up.

 

 

almost back up.

 

 

Then, it just so happened that the bathrooms weren’t working at the main parking lot. So we had to use

 

 

the out houses in one of the camping areas. There weren’t that many spiders and it didn’t stink too badly.

The ranger said it’s super busy in the fall, the park, not the out house, so summer is a great time to visit.

 

First time I tried this gluten free pizza crust mix. I was skeptical but really liked it. There’s no yeast in it so there’s no waiting for the dough to rise. 

 

 

 

 

 

In a bowl, add oil,

 

 

cheese,

 

 

eggs,

 

 

the crust mix

 

 

and water.

 

 

mix it until

 

 

the fork is useless and then work the last dry crumbs in with your hands.

 

 

I tore my dough in half for two smaller pizzas.

 

 

Press onto an ungreased baking sheet.

 

 

Real thin. There’s not going to be any rising of this dough so thin is best.

 

 

Top with whatever you have on hand and want to eat. Here, I used fresh pesto,

 

 

sausage,

 

 

broccoli,

 

 

leftover rice,

 

 

roasted zucchinis,

 

 

and topped with cheese.

 

 

Baked it at 450 until the crust was starting to brown and the top cheese was getting golden.

 

 

Yum.

 

 

The crust was great!

 

 

Chebe Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Crust

• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 package of Chebe pizza crust mix 
• 1/4 cup of water or milk

In a bowl, add oil, eggs, cheese, pizza crust mix and water or milk. mix until it get real sticky then kneed with your hands. Press real thin onto baking sheet. Top with your favorite pizza topping and bake at 450 until lightly browned on the bottom.

 

Toppings I used

• pesto
• roasted zucchini
• broccoli
• leftover rice
• sausage
• cheese