Greetings from western Minnesota

Hi All,
I'm actually a decoy carver, (fish, ducks, loons, etc) but want to get into signs of the hunting & fishing type & would like to be able to rout letters into the cutouts that I make. I also like to scrollsaw some & would like to be able to rout an edge onto some of the bases & or frames that I do. I have never used a router, don't know anything about them, & to be perfectly honest I'm a little leery about using one. I inherited an old Craftsman that is still in the box but no wrenches etc. & the other day in Menards I was looking at a Bosch (Colt) I believe, and I think my wife went back & picked it up for a xmas present. I am hoping that I can pick up some tips & lessons on this Forum. Thank You!