the gathering of bookmarks and links is something of a daily process. rather than bore you with the complete listing of everything that i am personally or professionally interested in, following is a collection of sites that i have found consistently valuable and that relate to hobbies or other interests outside of work.

pick up on any of the categorized/reviewed sites below or quick link to any of the sites to the right, which will take you to other sites in the greater udonet.com domain.

A commercial site but very good from the standpoint of the information that is available on all types of outdoor activities all over the US. They also have a webzine that provides editorial and commentary on all manner of topics.

I have been a member of the Sierra Club for about 15 years. They have AWESOME organized backcountry trips, including backpacking, base camp, horses, family and service. I took a service trip in 1990 to Glacier and paid only my plane fare + $150 for the week for food in exchange for building trails, etc. Recommended! You get a great, low maintenance trip (they feed you & carry in the food) and do something nice for the backcountry in the process. I also got to write off the plane fare to Glacier because it was considered "charity".

An excellent resource for finding all of the major National Parks and what they offer. Good for planning backcountry trips. I especially like this site as it was designed efficiently in 1995 and in 2000 is virtually unchanged and just as un-commercial.

A description of the Badlands in South Dakota. The Badlands has awesome views but too many tourist crowds who never get out of their car to actually experience it themselves. Can you say "turn off your air conditioning and open the window, at least?". I stopped to climb the rocks in the Badlands on my way to seven days in the backcounty of the Black Hills.

I spent a fantastic week hiking the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1995. I highly recommend the Black Elk Wilderness Area, more information on this can be found once you enter the forest, or at the ranger's outpost.

Official Home Page of the Appalachian Trail. I haven't hiked this yet but did get to meet some hikers who had when I was out in the Smokies in June 1996.

this site has been online since 1994. they have a really cool "virtual el" where you can select an el location and then find all of the restaurants and things to do within walking distance of that stop. pretty cool and easy way to plan an evening out. they also do the standard listings of stuff to do by category.

The ultimate guide to Chicago and Chicago web sites. Very comprehensive, basically covers everything from how to get Oprah tickets to how to design a web site. I have never really liked the design or layout of the site but the content is good.

even if it is a tribune property, it's still pretty damn good. you can find great places to eat and hang in this comprehensive and hip guide to the city."

I took my kids to the zoo back in March 1995 and had to rent a stroller at the new Gateway Pavillion and asked "do you have a Web Site?" Of course they do! and here it is. It was created mainly with volunteers and is a great effort. Support the Chicago Lincoln Park Zoo!

my favorite radio station in chicago, WXRT. they run free concerts in the parks and bring only the best artists to chicago for their XRT shows. check it out if you're coming into town and want to catch a show.

I'm an official groupie of matt johnson. I fell in love with the the's music back in 1990 when I first moved to my own city apartment in chicago. I haven't seen a show in a couple of years but hope to catch him in 2001. the the has finally just released a new album since hanky panky in 1995.

Samnation is a man in Chicago who LOVES O(+>. He has an awesome site dedicated to my favorite artist. This site changes very often; I check it about every two weeks and it's always different. O(+> lovers can leave stories about their experiences, too. Great graphics and layout.

Other music links

The Official k.d. Lange Fan Club. Concert dates, newsletters and more!

k.d. Lange Site, brought to you by Warner Brothers Records. This site has lyrics from kd's albums and other good info. I saw two of her concerts in Chicago - she was incredible. I will say, too, that the venue (the new Rosemont Theater) was not bad as far as big, behemoth, suburban concert spots go.

Poi Dog Pondering Web Site. Provided by the RockNRoll Net. All kinds of stuff about Poi. Also stuff to buy.