Cross-Country: 17 days in July

greetings! i'm new to this forum and would be greatful for any advice and suggestions. my 14 year-old daughter and i are going to take a cross-country road trip starting july 1, 2005 and must return to los angeles by july 16 or july 17. preliminary planning (based on our wish list) looks like we'll be taking a semi-northern route to new york and then going down the coast and hitting i-40 back west. i would like to try to spend less than $100/day (lodging - hostel? - food, gas, etc)...
this is our preliminary itinerary:
jul1: still trying to figure this one out...
jul2: still not sure of this either...
jul3: we'd like to make it to mt rushmore before the end of the day (to see their fireworks display) and spend the night somewhere nearby
jul4: chicago? (staying with friends)
jul5: day in chicago
jul6: cleveland (may be staying with friends)
jul7: nyc (staying with friends in queens)
jul8: day in nyc (taking a few days break from driving, since i am the only driver on this trip)
jul9: day in nyc
jul10: dc - staying with some friends in DC -
jul11: day in dc
jul12: ?
jul13: ?
jul14: ?
jul15: grand canyon
jul16: drive home
jul17: drive home

any advice (routes, rest stops, gas stops, good and/or cheap food, places of interest, scenic and/or faster routes, etc) is very welcome and much appreciated. i look forward to hearing from you!

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greetings! i'm new to this forum

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Welcome to the Forum!

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.. to take a cross-country road trip starting july 1, 2005 and must return to los angeles by july 16 or july 17. ... i would like to try to spend less than $100/day (lodging - hostel? - food, gas, etc)...

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That is probably doable, you can use the RTA Fuel Cost calculator to get an idea about likely gas expenses.

Generally, we don't recommend trying to drive cross country faster than 5 days (one-way) and I think you will be trying to drive too many miles each day to be safe. But it will be an amazing road trip.

From Los Angeles to Mt. Rushmore is 1700 miles. That means you will be averaging about 570 miles per day for three straight days.

Mt. Rushmore to Chicago is about 620 miles.
Chicago to Cleveland is 350 miles
Cleveland to NYC is 465 miles
NYC to DC is 240 miles
DC to Grand Canyon is 2270 miles and that averages out to be 567 miles per day for four straight days.

Grand Canyon back to L.A. is about 500 miles so in two days that's only 250 miles per day.

All total your looking at about 6100 miles. That's a lot of miles when there is only one driver. What kind of mileage does your vehicle get? If you get 20 MPG you're looking at about $700 - $750 in gas alone. If you get worse gas mileage then it's going to cost a lot more.

Any suggestions for more scenic routes would take you more out of your way which would cost more in gas and time.

Utahtea