NATCHEZ — After 56 days, approximately 2,000 miles and 10 states, Rick Bain of Tampa, Florida, and Matt Roy of Buffalo, New York, docked their canoes in Natchez for a night before continuing down the Mississippi on the Warrior Expeditions.

Bain, who served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years, said Warrior Expeditions is a therapeutic program to help veterans and their families overcome exposure to combat stress through long-term wilderness experiences.

“You have to be a combat veteran and have a degree of disability to be selected to begin with,” Bain said, “Obviously folks like that have been to places and seen things and such so that’s the idea of this, spend a lot of time outside, meet people along the way, strangers that help and life gets better.”

Roy who served 10 years in the Army said the two didn’t know each other before being selected for the trip down the Mississippi River that began in Minneapolis. Roy said about 3,000 people applied, four were approved and three ended up showing up in Minneapolis for the beginning of the trip.

“From Minnesota it heads north from when you start and does this big question mark into

The first day out Bain said he felt like he was on the discovery channel.

“I’m here, immersed in this, its just amazing words really can’t describe it.” Bain said.

The two have overcome storms, high winds, flying Asian carp, and 10-hour days of paddling.

“We meet so many amazing people along the river then you realize its only people on the river you’re meeting,” Roy said. “There’s so much more going on throughout the United States.”

Overall both men agreed that having their faith restored in humanity has been a slow process. Bain said he was also a deputy sheriff for 21 years.

“We’re still working on it,” Bain said. “I don’t think it happens overnight. And we’re driven. We’re having a great time out here.”

All along their river trip, VFW members host them, bring them in and put them in different hotels.

While stopped in Natchez, however, they were put up in Ron and Eleanor Fry’s Devereaux Shields House and ate at Roux 61 and Fat Mammas and also visited the National Cemetery.