In many ways, bad weather is a defining characteristic of Wyoming -- the ubiquitous wind, the perennially early cold and the constant dryness of the air.

I know that it certainly is one of the first things that comes to my mind when I think about the weather.

When I was a University of Wyoming student, I told more than one friend from out of state that if he or she didn't like the weather of the moment, wait five minutes and it'll probably be different. The flip side, of course, is that our mercurial weather patterns occasionally generate some of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

Around the time of last summer's freak flood, we made a weather group on TribTown and I'd like to remind people of that. Now, I want to see that ridiculous snow drift down the middle of your street, the kids making snow men (bonus points if they're Calvin and Hobbes style!), and see if anybody else has better luck than I do trying to capture images of the way snowy hills look on a quiet night.

Here's the link to the weather group: http://tribtown.trib.com/Groups/WyoWeather/blog.

There are other things to do in such weather, of course. How about cooking great food and watching football? TribTowner ErinDevers recently posted a touching memorial about her grandmother, and it's complete with German chocolate cupcakes; check it out at http://tribtown.trib.com/post/erindevers/blog/celebrating_life_through_food.html.

As far as football goes, Star-Tribune sports reporters Eric Schmoldt and Clint Robus are prolific content producers.

Eric has recently put out some great stuff about UW football and how the team deals with the unpleasant weather, as well as a discussion about the Utah Utes with Mitch Uhnrein, Wyoming's senior defensive end.

Here's some of that conversation:

On trying to defeat a Utah team that has enjoyed success against UW: "They're always a really tough team. They have taken it to us the past two years, so when we go there, we're just going to have to play mistake-free and play Wyoming defense like we have the past few games."

Check out the rest at: http://tribtown.trib.com/post/ESchmoldt/blog.

Contact online community coordinator Jake Mitchell at 307-266-0603 or jake.mitchell@trib.com.