Two strangers, a canceled flight and an unexpected road trip

(CNN) — Jackie Battagello was at the front of a long line of disgruntled travelers trying to depart Eagle County Airport in Vail, Colorado.

The small airport, which serves Colorado’s famous ski resorts, is situated in the dip of a valley. Aircraft take off and land in the gorge, and on that particular day snow gales had hindered visibility.

The departures board was a sea of red lettering: canceled. Would-be travelers, including Jackie, were starting to see red too.

The year was 2001 and Jackie was in her early twenties. She’d been working in Vail for the last year or so, for an interior…