Conversations With The Collector of Natural Wonders…(1)

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(Photo courtesy John Vonderlin)

“Although I am a natural wonder collector,â€? John Vonderlin told me, “yes, I do collect rocks—but, of types you are probably not familiar with.â€?

June: What do you mean?

John: Rocks that very few others collect, with names like synthetikites, mimetoliths, naturools, pareidolics, notrocks and concretions. The last type, concretions, or the ‘Rodney Dangerfields’ of rocks, are fairly common along this coast.

June: Oh?

John: At the south end of Tunitas Beach are the finest coastside group of concretions of which I am aware..

June: Go on.

John: The prize of the group is a prolongate coalesced concretion (dumbbell-shaped) that mollusks have swiss-cheesed.