No Death Valley backroad trip is complete without a photo of the tea kettles at Teakettle Junction

Teakettle Junction itself is nothing more than a junction of two narrow dirt roads far, far away from anything.

However, there is a tradition of passers-by bringing a tea pot with them to add to the collection hanging on the sign.

Many of the tea pots are dated or have messages on them, or in them. Some are very unusual vessels rather than typical tea pots, and a few even appear to have been custom-made for this purpose.