Nikon D50 - New Camera!!!

For quite some time I've wanted a dSLR. Due to the fact that they have never changed thier lense structure and the user interface is much more user friendly; I had my sights set on the Nikon line of cameras. In October, Nikon introduced the D40; a $599, 6.1mpxl dSLR kit aimed squarely at the "pro-sumer." I drooled. Until that point the cheapest dSLRs had been $850 or more, and I hadn't been able to justify spending that much on a camera.
But we've had other priorities; getting a newer laptop for me, fixing the car, renting a house, etc. So "my" dSLR remained frustratingly out of reach.
Walmart to the rescue!
I routinely get 4x6's printed from Walmart. I upload them, and then go pick them up in an hour. On Tuesday, I printed several photos, and picked them up. I found a 2gb SD card for $25 while in the photo department. (I'd had two 512mb cards that would each hold roughly 380 photos. The 2gb card has potential to hold almost 1600.) As was typical, some of the photos didn't turn out; and I had to take them back.
When we went back to Walmart they had set up a clearance table. It had two Nikon D50 kits for $575; at least $100 cheaper than they are new on Amazon. The D50 system is placed as a slightly better camera than the D40. It too is a 6.1mpxl system, and comes with a rechargeable batter, basic lense, and a manual that will make any person humble. The main differences in the D40 and the D50 are in the details. To make the D40 so inexpensive, they left out several small features that the D50 had.
We went home, made sure that we could 'afford' the camera; and I went back yesterday and bought it. We them promptly went to Stange Park in Merrill, where I took 170 photos. Those 170 photos proved one thing; I've got a serious learning curve ahead of me.

my trusty Kodak EasyShare CX7430

my trusty Kodak EasyShare CX7430 alongside my Nikon D50
(that is Shannon & I's Build-a-Bear "honey" that we got on our honeymoon.)