Rensselear County

Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,429. Its county seat is Troy. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Rensselaer County is in the eastern part of New York State. The eastern boundary of Rensselaer County runs along the New York–Vermont and New York–Massachusetts borders.

The terrain runs from level and flat near the Hudson and then rises into the Rensselaer Plateau around Poestenkill and Sand Lake, then to the Taconic Mountains along the Massachusetts state line.

The highest point is Berlin Mountain, 2,818 feet (859 m) above sea level, in the town of Berlin. The lowest point is sea level at the Hudson.

The Hoosic River, a tributary of the Hudson River, is in the north part of the county.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rensselaer_County,_New_York

Menands Bridge in 1952

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Before the endless loops of the expressway, there were farm fields in the muddy farm soils along the river.

Dunn Memorial Bridge Ramps

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The ramps off of the Dunn Memorial Bridge gracefully loop around as they drop down to the valley below. They are crossed by hundreds of construction and demolition debris and gasoline tanker trucks a day, and it's actually quite fortunate that there hasn't been any major crashes that have burned up the city or significantly polluted the river.

West Sand Lake Gravel Mine

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I was looking east from Wolf Hill noticing a bunch of denuded land. I thought it was a farm field but I think it's the West Sand Lake Gravel Mine.