Warning: I'm about to get verbose. At least verbose by most social media standards. You've been warned.

We're going to start doing a new thing at work. They're trying to reduce vehicle down time. One means to do this is to have people rotate through the different vehicles when people go on break. Person A moves into Van B when person B goes on break. When person B comes back from break they move into Van C and so on...

I'm reserving my judgement of the process for when we've had a chance to really try it out and work through things.

First

I headed up to Lebanon NH (where the office I'm based out of is located) and dropped off/disassembled the van that has been my home for the past year and a half. That was actually less emotional than you might expect.

Next

I bounced down/over to Oaklahoma City where I was picked up by a fellow driver. We were both a bit in the dark (as to the big picture plans and to each other's plans), so my flight into OKC could have been arranged a bit better. I drove him down to Dallas so he could catch a flight out on Monday, and then headed back up into OK to prep for work this week. I'm covering for him for a week while he's away on his break. Trying to keep vehicle down time reduced, remember?

Finally

I stopped in Atoka, Oklahoma and got a room for the night. This put me in the perfect spot to get started mapping right away the next morning (this morning). I won't bore you with details, but I couldn't start today and will start tomorrow. The good news is that this gave me today to walk around a little bit of Atoka. I prefer to walk once I'm stopped in a town. As Thomas was saying - you get so much more out of a town when you're walking than when you're driving through (he was talking about riding a bike, but the concept applies).

I'm staying in a 'not sexy but not gross' hotel. It's all but empty. Maybe a dozen cars in the lot late last night. Mid day, there are none but mine - looking a little lonely.

While I'm on the topic - the new vehicles that we're using for mapping? Sexy as hell. Back up camera. Digital displays with lots of technical data displayed in a comfortable fashion. Microsoft Sync. A very 'cockpit feel' to the driving space. Tight control of the vehicle and smooth exceleration. Brakes are tighter than I'm used to, but that too seems like a good thing when looked at together with the other elements of the vehicle.

I'm a fan of the newer Ford Escape.

I still haven't actually used it to map yet, but I suspect that won't be an issue.

Also - the wraps we have on the vehicle are far less... obnoxious. Still (as all wraps do) screams "LOOK AT ME!!!" - which I'm not a fan of - but not as bad as the old 'Ecto1' that I was driving around.

I walked up the street to the Wal-Mart. Mostly for something to do while stretching my legs. You can see how suave that experience was.

I did find it interesting though. There's a layout that used to exist for Wal-Marts that I had forgotten. I haven't seen this particular layout of any store for decades. That's multiple decades. That is, of course, how this place was laid out.

For the record - yes, I prefer to shop just about anywhere over Wal-Marts as a rule. Alas, there aren't many options in Atoka, Oklahoma. 

After stopping at the big W-M, I was feeling a bit peckish. So when I encountered this little gem, I couldn't resist. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce the Atoka Truck Stop Diner.

Hey - it's still a far cry better than Taco Bell which was my only other breakfast option at that point. Yeah. Let that sink in for a minute - Taco Bell serves breakfast. Oye.

In truth, it wasn't as bad as this pic makes it look. I had the breakfast burrito, and it was damn tasty. Coffee was decent too.

The thing I most enjoyed about the ATSD though was that it let me know just how deep into the South I was.

• CMT was playing on the tv. Not any of that newfangled pop-country neither. Good ol' fashioned stuff. Dolly Parton. Kenny Rogers. That era.
• There was a couple of old timers sitting together on the other side of the place. One was speaking loud enough for me to hear every word without trying. He was saying things like "I never did touch another drop o' tha booze. It makes yer suger jump up like whoah!" (Though you'll have to imagine the deep southern drawl.)
• And lastly - I swear to you I'm not making this up - my waitress was wearing camoflage. As if she was going hunting the minute she got done with her shift.

There's a tiny Choctaw casino next door to my hotel (you can the sign for it in that previous pic with the hotel) but I haven't stopped in yet. I might have to - just so I can play around or two and say that I did.

Mix all that with a lot of southern twang and lots of cowboy hats and the cattle on the opposite side of the road, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what it feels like to hold up in Atoka Oklahoma for a day.