Mogulhunter

My daughter and I will be driving her car from Toronto to Calgary in August. We have 4 days. Any suggestions for a route through the U.S. and where to stop for the night? Any areas to avoid? How long does it take to drive through border crossings, especially from Ontario to Michigan? Suggestions welcome!

Southam

You will cross at either Windsor or Sarnia, Ontario. Getting to either place takes about the same amount of time. Sarnia is smaller while Windsor has a major expressway project under way that add take a few extra minutes on the normal travel time. The 401 itself is relatively free of major improvement projects this summer so expect few delays once free of the Toronto traffic logjam.
Formalities at either crossing are unpredictable. Fifteen to 20 minutes is about normal these days (remember your passports) but any time of the day or night there can be long lines of transport trucks or shift-changes at Homeland Security to stretch things out.
Four days will require a brisk pace whichever route you choose and not a lot of time for sightseeing.

ltt

4 days is not that long. i would not necessarily plan on where i was staying. depends what time in the morning you get started. and how long you are comfortable driving. i'd just look at a map each morning and pick an approximate destination for the day.