Del,
I have the Canon Digital Rebel XT and I love it. It was just replaced by the Rebel XTi, and it is even better (10mp vs. 8.1mp). The Canon has lots of 3rd party suppliers who make the EF lenses that allows for a huge selection, depending on your needs.
The cool thing with the big resolution cameras is you can take most close up pictures, and you can still crop them with software to get rid of the excess and blow them up even more.
If you want, I can send you some links to some photo albums I have online that show the quality of the camera.
The best place, iMHO, to buy them is Costco. They are generally about as cheap as you can find them PLUS, if you have any problems, they return stuff so much easier than any of the yahoos on ebay or the mailorder places. Here is the Canon XTi at Costco for $799 including lens
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11180829&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=. The standard lens is a great place to start until you figure out what else you want.
I know they have the Canon, and I have seen the Nikon in there.
If you want to go mail order, I have had good success with these guys,
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
But, again, Costco is generally easier if they have you want.