Floating Column Chart Using Dates

Hi guys,

So here's my problem. I am trying to plot when something started and when it finished on a graph. There are only two columns. The first is when it started and the second is when it ends.

The problem is excel seems to keep giving me really weird graphs and doesn't seem to be mapping out the dates correctly. Even though I'm only working with dates ranging from 2012 to 2013 the vertical axis is showing dates from the 60's, '04, and all over the place (and it's filling in data for those periods).

excel graph example.jpg

So here's a little more detail in what you're seeing the attached image.

This is trying to plot when someone booked a vacation when did they book it for. I have the data that shows when they booked and how far out they book (in days). So if they booked in January you can see that the average person booked 183.3 days out which means they were booking around July 2. I was using a 1 month range since people who booked in January may have booked Jan. 1 and some Jan 30.

Any help? Thoughts?

Have you tried a Gantt chart?