Lake Tahoe basin at night

At elevations above 8,000 ft-msl, hiking near the Lake Tahoe rim offers great stargazing opportunities. These two photographs were taken relatively early in the evening around 10 PM in the vicinity of Tahoe Meadows on the northeast side of Lake Tahoe. A thin cloud cover lingered and obscured some of the stars and bright Milky Way definition that would normally be seen this time of the year.