Thanks for the replies, this is a great group.
ID10T: I did turn off 3G on my Samsung Rugby and it works well here in St. Louis. I will see if that makes any different in the hills. And I did catch fish -- I just need to get them to quit spitting out a Zara Spook, but that would be a different topic.
Feathers and Fins and FlyfishingFool: My company has an agreement with Verizon whereby they will issue me an Iphone -- I might go that route.
Regarding my boss: Actually he has nothing to do with it -- it is just the nature of my job. The guy to whom I would have to do some expainin' would be the guy that comes in from another state for an outage in my area while I was fishing or hunting.
I also bought a cell phone amplifier. It does increase my signal at my house but did not work at camp. The first picture is of the inside antenna connected to a battery and the second is the outside antenna.