I'm just shuddering at the thought of an unaccompanied minor on Greyhound or Amtrak - even if they were allowed which I'm guessing they aren't.

If you're date-flexible, watch for fare sales on MDW-LAS. I mean, if your daughter is in Grand Rapids and you're already considering DTW, might as well throw Chicago in there too. MDW-LAS can be notoriously expensive at some times but then can wind up with $99 deals popping up on Southwest. Add $50 each way for the UM.

You aren't alone in your quandry with today's airfares. In previous economic expansions, airlines would typically add tens of thousands of seats and battle each other for market share, using cheap leisure fares as a tool. Since the '08-'09 recession they've taken a different path: keeping capacity tight and focusing on capturing higher yields from business travelers.

In other words, the inventory of seats that used to be filled by leisure travelers simply isn't there. Airlines can make more money flying fewer planes filled with a greater mix of business travelers. Thus the old late-night $59 each way Chicago-Vegas seats on a mostly-empty United 727 are ancient history.

Even Southwest, the airline you used to count on to add flights, add cities, and start fare wars is playing a much more business-traveler-focused game these days.