Easy way to drain water heater?

I keep a ratchet wrench, 18 inch long extension, and the right socket in a five gallon bucket in my rig. Makes life easy to pop the cork and replace the anode rod (here in this part of Texas, the rod is 99% intact after almost two years, but gets calcium on it, which means it needs pulled out or else the lime will build up on it so much that it can't be pulled out.)

Just remember to depressurize the water system first for safety reasons (disconnect from city water, turn off water pump, run a faucet until water stops coming out.)