Papa's Feeling about Tahlequah

From the text, we can infer that Papa didn't think much of Tahlequah as a destination..... he actually thought Billy's question was kind of funny.... like he was joking.

With a half-hearted laugh, my father said, “Well, now, I don’t know, but it’s a pretty good ways. What do you want to know for? Thinking of taking a trip to Kentucky?”