Seeing the USA in our Chevrolet! Help with our quick cross country drive.
 

DD recently graduated from college and got a job here in Michigan. However, she will start with 4 months of training at the corporate headquarters near San Jose, California. She decided that she wants her car there for weekend sightseeing so she'll be driving. She wants to see some things along the way, but given her budget, she can't afford more than a week on the road. I've always wanted to drive across the country so I offered to accompany her IF I could get the time off work. A BIG IF because my company is extremely miserly with vacation time and I've already use my measly allotment for the year. However, after careful negotiation (i.e. selling my soul), they agreed to give me the week off. So between DD's budget and my job, it isn't possible to extend the trip. Here's the tentative plan and any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.

Friday night - Leave downtown Detroit by 4:00, drive to Elgin Illinois (north of Chicago), stay night at Hampton Inn

Saturday - drive to Mitchell, SD, visit Mitchell Corn Palace (open 8-9), stay night at Hampton Inn

Sunday - leave at 7 am, drive to De Smet (88 miles 1 hr 46 mins) & visit Ingalls Homestead (open 9 - 7), leave by 11, lunch in car, drive to Pierre - State Capitol (147 miles, 2 hrs 47 mins) & visit (open 8-5), drive to Keystone via Badlands loop with stop at Wall Drug, spend night in Keystone at K Bar S Lodge

Monday - see Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park wildlife loop, stay another night in Keystone

Tuesday - drive to Buffalo, WY via Lead, Deadwood, Spearfish, Devil's Tower (if time permits), stay night at Occidental Hotel

Wednesday - enter Northeast entrance of Yellowstone via Beartooth Highway, spend night in Yellowstone (Old Faithful Snow Lodge)

Thursday - do Yellowstone stuff, spend another night (Old Faithful Snow Lodge)

Friday - leave early, stop in Blackfoot for Idaho Potato Museum, drive to Salt Lake City see State Capitol and Temple Square, spend night (reservation at Little America Hotel)

Saturday - drive to Carson City, Nevada , see State Capitol (open 8-5, 7 days/week, self-guided tour), spend night at Hampton Inn

Sunday - drive to San Jose, passing by Lake Tahoe so maybe do something there, also will pass right through Sacramento, see State Capitol? , check DD into corporate housing (check in available 24/7), spend night at Hilton Garden Inn

Monday (Labor Day) - Flight back to Detroit

((8)) Seeeeee the USA in your Chevolet ((8)) America's the greatest land of all ((8)) ((8)) I loved Diana Shore!!!

It seems like a lot to put into 7 days but I'm sure you've checked your milage and found it doable. Possible to stay at Custer State Park instead of Keystone?

You definitely have a full schedule. I think your initial Saturday & Sunday are especially long days.

On Sunday, the highways N from Mitchell to DeSmet & Pierre are often slower 2 lane highways. I would suggest you stay on I90, but it appears you may be collecting state Capitols. The Badlands Loop is also slower, but at that point in the days journey, if it is late in the day you can choose whether or not to include it or Wall Drug.

Mon-Thurs are all reasonable schedules.

Have a great time, you will see beautiful scenery.

The drive for the first evening alone is 5.5+ hours, not taking into account time for rest stops, weekend traffic and construction.

From Elgin, IL to Mitchell, SD is 9.5 hours, at least.

Starting out burnt out might not be the best way to see the USA.

I was going to suggest the Lake Express ferry from Muskegon to Milwaukee to cut off some of those hours. However, the OP might find the cost undesirable or prohibitive and the ferry schedule might not fit in with their plan, if the OP couldn't leave earlier on that first Friday.

If you get to Bearthooth via Cody and thence to Red Lodge, leave some time to visit the Buffalo Bill Historic Center in Cody or if you are taking the interstate to Billings to get to Red Lodge and the Beartooth Highway, stop at the Little Big Horn Historic Site.

Either en route from SLC to Carson City or as a sidetrip as you leave Carson City, visit historic Virginia City. If you want to see a good deal of Lake Tahoe, take Route 89 from South Lake Tahoe over to Truckee and I-80 over Donner Summit (worth a brief stop at the rest area) into Sacramento.
Have Fun!

Thanks to all for your thoughts. I did consider the ferry but the cost for the 2 of us plus the car would be $282 (yikes!) and the schedule wouldn't work for us anyway.

Some of the days will be rather long but we chose to do that so that some of the other days can be lighter.

We're really excited about this trip and I'll be sure to post a trip report when we return.

Thanks again!

Hey Pat, I live in the Black Hills and work at the Golden Hills Resort in Lead. I don't know enough about your likes and dislikes but here are a couple of suggestions.

1) On Monday, don't miss the Needles highway or Iron Mtn road. both of these are spectacular.
2) On Tuesday, get an early start and spend a lettle extra time in the Northern Black Hills. Deadwood is cool if you like to gamble. In Lead, make a quick stop at the Homestake Opera House (this is a stunning turn of the century theater in the last stages of restoration), then scoot over to Presidents Park (20 foot busts of every US president in a beautiful park-like setting that only takes a few minutes to browse), then, if the timing is right, have lunch at the Black Hills/Pierre Railroad Roundhouse Restaurant. Lunch or not, absolutely do not miss the spearfish canyon road from Lead to Spearfish. This is one of the best scenic drives in the country.

Good Luck with your trip and DDs new job.

Thanks, those sound like some great stops in that area!