Hello Robert:
When you plan the northern (Canadian) portion of your trip, be aware that there are only two possible routes around the north of Lake Superior. One is the northern route via Highway 11, through North Bay, Kapuskasing, and on to Nipigon. The other is the more southern route via Highway 17, through Sault Ste Marie, Wawa, Nipigon, and onwards to Thunder Bay. Both of these routes are deemed to be 'The Trans-Canada Highway'. (In theory, there is a third route, via Highway 101 and Chapleau, but don't even think about that route).
Of the two routes, I highly recommend you take the southern route via Highway 17. It is much more scenic, much less lonely, and has more services (fuel, motels, food, towns, camping areas) on it. The northern route via Highway 11 is very sparsely populated and offers very few services. It's also a boring ride - all you will see is rock cuts and trees for 500 miles. Trust me, I grew up in that neighborhood.
I suggest you plan to do the part of your trip that is north of Superior during late June, July or very early August. It starts to get pretty cool at night once the middle of August has passed. Be aware that there are not that many hotels/motels or campgrounds up there (compared to the USA), and there is a lot of touristic traffic on that road in the summertime. This means that you should book ahead if you plan to camp out, or be in a hotel/motel no later than 5:00 PM each night. It's no fun to discover that all the motels in a small town are full at 7:00 PM, and be told that the next motel is only 80 miles down the road, but not to worry, because there is another one 60 miles further on past the first one.
Do not drive at night or at dusk, there are moose and deer everywhere. Besides, the scenery is so nice that you would not want to miss it by driving at night.
In some places, gas stations can be 50 to 70 miles apart, so don't pass an open gas station if your fuel tank is less than half full unless you know 'for sure' that there is a major town within range up ahead.
I don't think you will find a single Honda dealer anywhere in the 1,000 mile long stretch from Ottawa or Toronto all the way to Thunder Bay, so, if you need a new tire, get it in Southern Ontario before you head up north. It would also be a wise idea to print out the Canadian RAN list (available here in the forum) and take it with you, in case you encounter any problems up north.
Just about all merchants (hotel-motels, gas stations, etc.) in Canada use 'chip and PIN' credit card readers - if your US credit card does not have a chip, contact your bank and have them give you a chip card before you leave. There are ATMs at banks everywhere in Canada, and you will get the best rate of exchange by withdrawing Canadian cash from a BANK ATM (not a private ATM) using your US debit card or ATM card. If it says Cirrus or Interac or Maestro on the back of your card, it will work at Canadian ATMs. US cash will be accepted everywhere along the route, but merchants usually offer a very poor rate of exchange.
Canadian speed limits are in km/h. I think that the typical limit on Highway 17 is either 100 km/h (63 MPH) or 90 km/h (about 55 MPH). No cop in the country would ever give you a ticket for doing 10 km/h over the limit (6 MPH over the limit), but once you get above 15 km/h over the limit (10 MPH over), you risk getting a ticket, and there are lots and lots of cops on those highways in the summertime. Your US insurance will be valid in Canada (there is a treaty between Canada and the USA on insurance, if it's good in one country, it's good in the other), but you might have to ask your insurance company to send you a certificate that is suitable for use in Canada. It's sort of a pinkish-looking slip.
Guns are strictly forbidden up here, and not of any use anyway (no-one else has a gun, hence visitors don't need one). Don't even think about bringing a gun into the country, the penalties for possession are very severe.
For budget planning purposes, you can expect that the cost of everything in Southern Canada will be more or less the same as it is in the USA after you account for the currency exchange difference, but up in Northern Canada, everything will be about 15% more expensive than it is in the USA. Fuel is somewhat more expensive than in the USA, but not by a great amount.
Hope this information helps you.
Michael
