Yeah, state park fees have gone up a bit. My main complaint isn’t the fees but how quickly the camping spots fill up, making reservations difficult. I believe that may be a problem unique to Texas guven its explosive population growth but with no corresponding expansion of the state park system.
As for cell service, that’s always been an issue at some state parks I’ve visited. I hadn’t thought of a satellite phone and know nothing about them, but it sounds like a good idea for those of us with rambunctious kids that like to get into everything.
I just back from AZ yesterday. I stopped at an RV park in Van Horn, TX Sunday night. We had no TV reception but cell phone service was good enough to stream TV shows from a hotspot off of my phone.
I drove from El Paso to just south of @equin with little disruption in service. Granted, we were on the interstate the whole trip. My wife had a little more issues than I did. We have Patriot Mobile. You can get ATT, T-Mobile or Verizon (I think) service through them. I have ATT coverage and my wife’s is T-Mobile. With all of that said, dead spots in coverage will depend on the carrier.
A satellite phone or Star link would definitely increase your odds of being able to communicate in an emergency as long as you have a clear view of the sky in the proper direction.