Canadian Rockies and Vancouver road trip gear

You've gotten some great advice. A few additional tidbits:

• If you want a waterfall or two that won't be crowded or that might have no one there, stop at the roadside pullout for Panther Falls. Unless you know it's there or are reading all the road signs, you might not notice that there's a waterfall below the highway. If I recall correctly, you could walk right up to the base of Panther Falls although it might not be a great idea. That area also provides a view of Bridal Veil Falls across the valley.
• Bug spray. I'm serious about my bug spray and used to only use products containing DEET. But lately I've been using sprays that use Eucalyptus or Picardin and was surprised that they seem to work just as well. They might need to be reapplied more often but I don't mind. For me, the chief benefit, besides the fact that they work, is that if I have any on my hands, it won't eat plastics like DEET will. An important consideration for photographers.
• Be careful driving at dawn and dusk. You'll more likely to encounter animals near the roadside. This applies throughout BC.
• Pack lunches/snacks/drinks so you can picnic wherever and whenever (makes queues go by quicker plus then you can enjoy scenic areas longer).
• If it's a hot day, check out Johnston Canyon but get there early. Lots of shade in that narrow canyon as you walk alongside the river.
• In Vancouver, avoid driving along West Broadway St since they're digging up a lot of the street to expand the rapid transit system.
• DO NOT park your car in Chinatown.
• I encourage you to visit Chinatown since the merchants need the support but I recommend walking there. I'd also suggest going there by walking there from the Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain station area, down the steps to Keefer Place (ie: where the T&T Supermarket is located). Getting to Chinatown from Gastown is a bit trickier in terms of avoiding some of the more unstable, unhoused people. I live near Vancouver and do street photography downtown almost every weekend so I'm not trying to scare you off. I walk in that area a lot but I recognize that some people might be uncomfortable doing so.
• Speaking of Chinatown, I don't know where you're from but you might find Richmond (the city immediately south of, and abutting Vancouver), is worth a visit. It's like being in an Asian country. Check out some of the malls like Aberdeen Centre. Or in Burnaby (another city that abuts Vancouver), checkout the Crystall Mall. Of course, if you like Asian food, there's tons of great places all over Metro Vancouver.

Panther Falls.  It's bigger than it looks in the photo.  The person is about 150m away from it.