Canadian Leg of Nige's Western Supertour

[nige]

As some of you may already know, I've been planning a road trip around the continent from the end of May to mid-late June. I've started a couple threads elsewhere to get some ideas of what to do stateside, but outside of visiting some friends in western Canada, I haven't really thought too hard about other things to see and do in my own country. I know i'll be roughing it and camping a few nights (depending on the weather in the mountains), but i will be staying with friends and relatives in most of the cities along the way. Here is my planned route so far. If there are small diversions you recommend taking, let me know. Most of you know what I'm into (fishing, hiking, wheeling, swimming, camping, scenic routes, wildlife encounters) but I am open to try anything you thought was really cool/disturbing/interesting. Everything is tentative ATM and I have a very flexible itinerary. I'm traveling alone too, and I don't like staying in big cities unless I have a friend there or there is something really cool to see. I can cover about 800-1000km/day but I would rather keep it closer to 800 so I don't go too crazy spending all that time behind the wheel.

I will be arriving in Canada via the ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria where I will be spending a couple days with my cousin and friend's brother getting forest tours and maybe go surfing if I can find a wetsuit and board. I'll take the ferry from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay just north of Vancouver. I then need to decide if I want to go north to Whistler and hike the mountain, or go south to Vancouver and check out the aquarium. From there I'll be heading to Kelowna to spend a night or two with my friend, then down to Christina Lake to stay with my other cousins. From C.L., I will head to Calgary for a couple days and stay with my friends, then I have to decide if I want to continue east or go north to Fort Mac to visit Pete. If I head to Fort Mac, I'd like to stop and try some fishing in near north Saskatchewan. I don't plan on hanging around Sask or Manitoba too long before I head back into Ontario. If I do end up in near north Sask, do any of you know if there is a northern passage over Lake Winnipeg? I would like to stop in Red Lake, Ontario to visit some old friends I worked with at the winery in Guelph. If there is no easy way around the north side of Lake Winnipeg, I will just skip Red Lake and continue along the T.C.H. until I get to Timmins/Gogama area for a break and to say hi to my friends at Minakwa Lodge in Gogama. Then I know i can make it home in one day's drive from there, but hopefully there will be a CNTC event happening around the same time so I can squeeze a bit more wheeling and camping in before I am due home shortly before the end of June (I have to go to Michigan for the 4th of July weekend right afterwards).