Route 17
The public road toward the city. Its pavement stays dependable even when the signs and distances begin to disagree.
Mercy County
The road is fine. The map is wrong.
Old alignments, mine roads, working businesses, and a band of city light beyond Black Ridge. The County is small enough to learn and impossible to measure twice.
Known places
Remember how it looked
Four pumps at Last Light. The red arrow at Coyote Grill. A low green marker with only 62 on it. Familiar details are the first things worth checking twice.
Last Light
Four pumps, hot coffee, and the last dependable pool of light before the ridge. The run begins here.
Black Ridge
The steadiest shape in the County. The road can turn away from it, but the city lights remain somewhere beyond.
Coyote Grill
An all-night roadside grill and the only lit thing at Junction Four. Delivery records fill banker’s boxes in the service room.
Mile Marker 62
Daniel Mercer’s pickup was found here with the engine running, the driver door open, and nobody in the seat.
KRD-7
Local music, weather, road reports, public notices, and the occasional item that reaches the radio at the wrong time.
Public records
Follow the paper trail
The Mercy County Archives hold public notices, photographs, road files, and missing-person records. The courthouse copy and the road copy do not always agree.