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The Kilbourne Volcano near Deming
Photo by Thomas McGuire
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Try to imagine, if you will, traveling along a deserted, sandy, narrow, semi-graded track in the middle of the south central New Mexican desert. Everywhere you gaze, there is a myriad of thorny mesquite, interspersed with the ever present chaparral brush (also called creosote bush or greasewood), dry yellow grass, and tall yucca plants.
Here and there a fast moving lizard darts across the sandy road in front of you, or maybe even a slithering prairie or diamondback rattler crosses your path.
Eight or so miles along this desolate stretch you see hills rising out of the flat desert floor. These hills stretch for almost two miles north to south and rise to a height of nearly three stories. They are also covered with chaparral and yuccas, but there is one large difference between these and any others in the area: These hills are actually sand dunes that form the east and north rims of an ancient volcanic steam crater known as Kilbourne Hole.
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The Luna County Courthouse in Deming, New Mexico
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Red-brick monuments to Deming’s past as a turn-of-the-century western outpost still stand sentinel in the downtown area. These sturdy buildings figure as prominently into business, life and politics now as they did in their heyday. By enduring two world wars and major changes in transportation and communication, the structures affirm Deming’s historical continuity in the Southwest: a dominant place of respite on the trail to elsewhere that never outgrows its usefulness.
From cable networks to Interstate 10, from the railroad to the Butterfield Trail, and from Apache roaming grounds to the ancient Mimbres-Paquime Indian trading connection, Deming is a vital and lasting rest stop.
Of those who have stayed, many have turned Luna County into an important farming and ranching community. Others have built businesses catering to tourists and retirees. More acres of green chile are grown in the county than anywhere in the state, much of it processed at Deming’s Border Foods, the largest green chile processor in the U.S. Country Club Estates, an adult subdivision catering to snowbirds who decide to roost in a small town setting, was recently named to Where to Retire Magazine’s list of America’s 100 Best Master Planned Communities.
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