Growing up in Schenectady I would have never imagined it would one day have a casino. Walking distance from Union College, the Rivers Casino with a 7,000 person capacity opened last month.  I decided to pay it a visit as I began my journey back to Concord early this morning.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover a decidedly understated building overlooking the Mohawk River replacing an ugly industrial site.  An adjacent resort hotel and riverside condominiums are nearing completion and will transform the entire area into something infinitely more attractive than what stood there before.  I view gambling as a tax on the statistically impaired but think the casino and adjacent properties may help to revitalize the city which now appears to be on the rebound after years of decline.

I decided to follow the Mohawk River and then the Hudson before heading for Massachusetts, pausing anytime I spotted something of photographic interest. The Rexford Bridge, above, is in the process of being replaced. If you zoom in you can see that the new piers are already in place.  I suspect this scene will look significantly different the next time I visit. Below are the Cohoes Falls which I did not even know existed despite growing up less than 30 minutes from them.

The bridges below carry Interstate-87 traffic over the Mohawk. I have traversed them many times but never enjoyed this view.

s