Editor's Note: KOIN 6 News anchorman Jeff Gianola will retire around Thanksgiving 2025 after more than 40 years as a Portland journalist. In this series, Jeff looks back at some of the most memorable stories he's covered and shared.

This story originally aired in 2000.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- The fastest way to get across the United States is on a passenger jet. But the best way to see America and its people along the way is a cross-country road trip.

As the millennium began in 2000, I traveled on a Greyhound bus across 19 states -- and took you along. It was an unforgettable journey with memories I'll never forget.

We left Portland, traveled through Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado. I got off the bus in Kearney, Nebraska. That's where I met Gailen Kotrous, who operated the tiny Greyhou

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