Columbus,ohio to Mt.Rushmore questions

[hendriefan]

Thanks in advance all who reply.
I plan on leaving Columbus on May 17(Sun) and stopping around Topeka,Kansas to rest for the day. I plan on arriving on Monday to Mount Rushmore. I will depart for Columbus on May 21 or May 22. I have budgeted so far around
$1200 for the total trip. This includes a rental car and fuel,(thanks for the fuel cost calculator) as well as food and lodging and various other items.
While I know this is still vague information, does this seem to be an appropriate amount for the length of stay? I planned on seeing Mt. Rushmore and would like to see Deadwood and Sturgis as well. The fuel varies from as high as $350 to $251. I almost forgot to mention there will be a total of 2 adults on the trip.
I realize there is a ton to see and I was hoping to bounce some figures off of someone to get an idea if I am close to an doable figure.
I appreciate any responses.
Thanks,
Hendriefan

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

You're not really planning on trying to drive 1,400 miles in a day and a half, are you? That's actually nigh on to impossible, and you're setting yourself up for a big disappointment if you try. You'll roll into Topeka late at night (or early Monday Morning) and then still have a similar grueling, exhausting 700 mile drive on Monday. Even with two adults driving, you have barely enough time budgeted to get to Rapid City and back, let alone 'see' anything.

AZBuck

[hendriefan]

Well... This is why I posted the question.
I went to Google maps to get an idea of the distance and planned on leaving early a.m. on Sunday and driving about 11 hours on Sunday. Sleeping in or around Topeka,and then waking up early on Monday and arriving then. According to Google Maps, the total distance is about 1300 miles and 19 hours.
This lead me here to see if I was budgeting enough time and of course cash to do this.
My main concern was getting out there and not having enough time to do this trip proper.
I am flexible about coming back,I could stretch the trip out past Friday and leave on Saturday.
I have in the past driven from Columbus to the Grand Canyon and another trip to Vegas and back,long trips to be sure,but not out of the realm of doing in a short time.
This trip for me is different from the others because of all the things I would like to see and the distances involved between them.
Thanks,
Hendriefan

[AZBuck]

Yeah, that's kind of what I thought. Google and other mapping routines get those time estimates by assuming that you can drive at or above the speed limit for every second of every minute of those 11 hours, that you'll never have to stop for gas, that you'll never have to eat, that you'll never have to go to the bathroom, that the road will always be free of traffic, etc. Here in the real world, about 500-550 miles is all you can reasonably accomplish for multiple driving days. That means about 2½ days each way between Columbus and Rapid City. That kind of pace will allow you to make a couple of short stops to let you take a break from behind the wheel. To make this trip worthwhile, I'd say you need a minimum of 7 full days to devote to it.

AZBuck