Deming sits in the open desert of southwest New Mexico, close to the Florida Mountains and the old Mimbres country. The town itself is plain and practical, but it makes a useful base for a day of rockhounding, desert geology, and regional history.
The best reason to stop is the landscape around town. Rockhound State Park lets visitors search for agate, jasper, and other small specimens on the slopes of the Little Florida Mountains, while City of Rocks State Park is a strange field of volcanic boulders north of town. In town, the Deming Luna Mimbres Museum gives the stop some human context, with Mimbres pottery, ranching history, and borderland material in an old armory.
Deming is not a polished resort town, and that is part of the deal. It works best for travelers already crossing southern New Mexico who would rather spend a spare day in desert parks and local museums than hurry between Las Cruces and Silver City.