Unlike the Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns were not formed by the force of water running through rock. The hills under which the caverns are formed were originally a limestone reef, the collected bodies of marine sponges and animals, not coral. Previous older deposits of plants and animals underneath this reef created oil and gas deposits that released hydrogen sulfide which, when combined with rainfall and ambient oxygen, formed sulfuric acid. The acid carved large holes in the limestone, and changes over time formed the caverns.
On the approach road, many of the cliffs have holes of varying size, carved in the same manner. Because it was fairly early in the morning, there were very few people about, and these stately big-horn sheep felt safe enough to go foraging. We were fascinated watching them. If you blinked for too long you would lose them in the grass - they blend in so well.
Back to claustrophobia: there is none! The "big room" is approximately the size of 6 football fields. At one point, the top-to-floor distance is over 250 feet.
The caverns are filled with a variety of speleothems, which is the collective term for all the stalactites, stalagmites, columns, soda-straws, and curtain formations. Another commonly-used word is decorations.
We spent three hours over about 1-1/2 miles gazing and gawking and taking over 100 pictures. The three below are just a small sample and don't begin to do it justice.
After we left the caverns, we went slightly south, around the Guadalupe Mountains, and into a tiny slice of southwest Texas, very close to the Mexican border. Here we found roads that defined straight, going off into that "vanishing point" we all were taught about in art class and never really understood..
Our overall impression of the high desert was one of stark, severe beauty.
Back into New Mexico, we spent the night in Las Cruces.
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