The Greiss family had a tradition going back for years, combining two favorite things: seeing the world, and staying close as a family. Together they cruised the Greek isles, went on safari in Kenya and went island hopping in the Galapagos.

Two summers ago, they put their heads and calendars together and decided on two weeks in June 2013 for what would be the first trip to Israel for most of them.

Sadly, Stanley Greiss, the family patriarch, passed away. Upon reflection, the family decided to use the trip to lay their father’s ashes to rest in Israel. So it was that all 11 of them – Jennifer Greenberg, sister Lori Herzog, brother David Greiss and their families – reported to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport this summer for a 7:50 p.m. flight to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. It was a serious occasion, but they were excited too.

At boarding time, they all headed for the gate, only to find that the flight had been delayed.

“As the night wore on, the flight began getting more and more delayed,” said Jennifer. “First it was, ‘Come back in 30 minutes,’ then it was, ‘Come back in an hour,’ then it was ‘Come back in two hours.’”

Finally the United Club where they were waiting closed, and then everything else closed too. The terminal became eerily quiet and deserted.

Airline staff were blaming the weather. “We start looking on our phones and our various devices, and we see that there are riots in Istanbul,” she said. With no news from Turkish Air, they continued browsing and saw news reports of Turkish flight attendants going on strike.

Finally, around midnight, staff emerged and reported that the flight would not be leaving that night.

“They said the aircraft had been hit by lightning, and that we would leave on Saturday morning. And this is where the story gets crazy,” Jennifer said.

The events that unfolded would be enough to fill a book, but here’s a rough chronology, according to family members – all times are estimates:

Midnight. Airport security guards come to escort them out. Passengers told to collect their luggage.

12:30 a.m. Belt on luggage carousel broken.

2:30 a.m. Lori’s husband, Benny Herzog, finally climbs onto the carousel to grab the bags and hand them out. Others wait in a chaotic line to book connecting flights; learn that Turkish has its own reservation system and computers.

3 a.m. Connecting flights finally booked; passengers told to return at 6 a.m. for 8 a.m. flight, and to stand in line for vouchers to Day’s Inn. Greiss family opts to stay in Airport Marriott instead.

Saturday, 6 a.m. Family arrives to find the Turkish Air desk no longer there; banner, red carpet and cord all vanished.

8 a.m. More than half of passengers still waiting for check-in. Passengers growing increasingly agitated, some cutting in line. It becomes apparent that the staff is reliant on two computers, only one of which can do reservations.

10 a.m. Passengers told plane has been grounded for three different inspections – by the FAA, the airline, and Boeing representatives – to validate the repairs. Airline announces the plane might leave at 5 p.m. or at 11 p.m., that evening, or at the latest, 6 a.m. on Sunday. Passengers are back in line, waiting to rebook their connecting flights.

11 a.m. Angry Turkish man holds his infant in the air and begins shouting at attendants. Lori’s daughter Allie Danziger tells staff they need to establish order here or they will have their own, American, riot on their hands. The man asks for her help. Allie jumps up on the ticket counter and announces to hundreds of passengers that there are three lines – for making reservations, boarding passes and hotel vouchers.

Noon. Lori calls tour operators in Tel Aviv to advise them of the situation.

After dinner: Passengers told the flight was “really leaving at 6 a.m., cross their hearts and hope to die,” recalls Jennifer. Airline staff takes phone numbers and promises to call four hours before departure time.

Midnight. Family gets a call telling them to be at the airport at 4 a.m.

Sunday, 3:30 a.m. They arrive to a scene from The Twilight Zone: a repeat of the previous day, with no confirmed departure time.

9 a.m. The family begins to “domino,” in Jennifer’s words. “We had no faith that even if the plane would depart in a couple hours, that we’d make a connection in Istanbul; would they lose our luggage? How long would it take to get to Tel Aviv? By the time we got there, it would be Tuesday night or Wednesday, and the trip would be more than half over.”

9:30 a.m. Computers break down. Staff announces they will hand-write tickets. Allie, ironically: “That is exactly what we wanted – 11 people walking through the Turkish airport with hand-written tickets to Israel, carrying my grandfather’s ashes.”

10 a.m. The family tells staff they are leaving and requests a statement promising a refund. Staff refuses, saying they will be declared a no-show. The standoff finally ends with the requested statement.

10:30 a.m. Family decamps to Allie’s apartment to regroup. Jennifer: “Nobody could face a reality of going back to our homes, unpacking our bags and calling it a day – not to mention the fact that we still had our father to lay to rest. How or when would the 11 of us get back together again to get somewhere else? That’s when we decided to do what we could to make the best of a bad situation.”

They got on their laptops and began searching. Finding enough seats to accommodate them all on such short notice would be a trick. But they did it; they found 11 seats Monday morning departing to Denver, and quickly built an itinerary from there.

“We’re going to make an audible,” Allie’s husband Eric announced, and explained the sports meaning of the term: a last-minute change of strategy. “Aspen Audible” became the group’s shorthand for their adventure.

They ended up spending five beautiful and blessedly trouble-free days in Snowmass and Aspen. They held their father’s service and scattered his ashes at Maroon Lake, at the foot of the twin peaks called the Maroon Bells.

Jennifer says she’s still processing it all. Aspen would have been perfect, if that’s what they’d planned – but it wasn’t. “I woke up every morning in Colorado and thought, ‘I can’t believe I’m not in Israel.’ And then, each day I would think, ‘Today, I’m supposed to be in the Dead Sea.’ Or on the last Saturday night, I continued to disbelieve that I wasn’t watching the light show in Jerusalem at the King David Hotel. Mostly, there was the gut-wrenching reality that my Dad’s final resting place is not the Holy Land.”

Allie is among those who have told her that for some reason “it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“I believe that,” said Allie. “The service we did in Aspen was perfect, and, 1. For whatever reason, what my grandfather really wanted, and 2. When we are in Israel next year, we’ll understand why 2014 was the year to go to Israel and not 2013. I can’t say yet; it’s still too soon, but I wholeheartedly believe that everything – good and bad – happens for a reason.”

Here’s how Jennifer, after reflection, has come to terms with it. “Ultimately, my parents treasured our small family; they taught us to stick together no matter what. They believed in perseverance.... I believe that my father – that both my parents – would be proud that my family didn’t give up and go home. We stuck together as we always do and made the best lemonade we could with the sourest of lemons. And if you truly believe in “ashes to ashes” – and I do – then it doesn’t really matter if it’s the Dead Sea or Maroon Lake – my father is home. We came together in an awe-inspiring place on this Earth, we prayed and shared our deepest, most private thoughts about our Dad. I know he was smiling down on us, at peace at last. And that was the ultimate point of our journey.”

Epilogue: If the Greiss family has gleaned any tips for fellow travelers from this misadventure, it would be this: Always buy travel insurance. No one expects not to go on their vacation, but it’s happened to both Jennifer and Lori twice in two years.

Also, make sure to read the fine print, said Lori, who is a professional travel agent. Some insurance covers cancellation for any reason; others are just for medical emergencies. Some give a refund; some, just credit for another trip.

Two months after their would-be departure date, the Greiss family say they have received a refund for coach tickets, but not for the business-class tickets or the pre-paid tour guide in Tel  Aviv.

Turkish Airlines did not respond by deadline to inquiries asking for its version of events. In its defense, Lori said she knows many people who have flown on Turkish Air without problems.

“I’ve been doing this for over 25 years,” said Lori, “and I’ve never seen a debacle like this.”