Mount Irish Petroglyph Site (Lincoln County, Nevada)

This was really Nick's stop on the trip, but since it wasn't far out of the way, I decided to give it a look, as I also have an interest in ancient petroglyphs. The road is somewhat difficult to find. It is almost exactly two miles north of the junction of Nevada highways 375 and 318, and blocked of by a movable barbed-wire gate. Passing through the gate, I drive approximately ten miles through the open desert until I reach a sign marking the area.
 

Driving past this initial sign, I find the first of three highly decorated stone islands and begin exploring. The petroglyphs here are fascinating and somewhat unique relative to others I have viewed. Circling around the first area and returning to the jeep, I start driving toward the second area. The map I have though is far from scale and I pass the turn I actually needed to take. Continuing on for a mile or so, I end up at some abandoned shacks at the bottom of a gully. I have no idea who would have lived here or how long they have been deserted, but I'm fairly confident at this point that I should have taken the other road.

I head back and find my way to the second and third islands, known as Shaman Knob and shaman Hill respectively. I explore the Hill first and find some somewhat bizarre glyphs as I make way around the site. Entering a small closet sized area marked as containing a glyph of interest, I am greeted by the unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake echoing off of the stone walls. I immediately halt my progress and begin looking for the source of the warning. There, under the shade of a small juniper tree, sits my friend somewhat coiled and with his rattle sticking straight up in the air. I must say that even while I remain very conscious of avoidance techniques in the desert, nothing quite gets your attention like the sound of a rattlesnake doing his thing. I decide to dismiss the glyph he guards as less important and back out of the area, leaving him to his domain.

I head back over to Shaman Knob and find more interesting glyphs, including one of a humanoid figure standing next to some sort of saucer. These ambiguous pictures from the past always open my mind to speculation about ancient alien visits. However, as those that left the glyphs have been deceased for centuries or even millennia, I will be left to wonder.

Of all of the petroglyph sites I have visited, I have to rank Mount Irish among the best and I even had a little rattlesnake adventure acting as a cherry on the sundae. Time for the long drive home.