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Disney winner will sleep in Oregon tree By BILL VARBLE Talk about out on a limb. As a sweepstakes prize, Disney is offering two nights at a Takilma bed and breakfast inn where guests stay in tree houses. Told of the prize being offered on the Internet, a spokesman for the Out 'n' About B&B says he thought somebody was barking up the wrong tree. "It was news to us," says T.A., the "branch manager" at "intreepreneur" Michael Garnier's inn where guests stay with the birds. T.A. got to the root of the story at http://disney.go.com/features/sweepstakes/magicsweeps/index.html#theme , but only after somebody called and asked him about the prize. "It was the first we'd heard," he says. "I was kind of upset that they didn't call us. But they have a right to buy tickets the same as anybody else. Of course, they'll have to make a treeservation." The sweepstakes is part of the promotion for "Tarzan," a Disney film that's grossed more than $150 million so far this summer. "Our First Prize winner of the Disney.com Magic Sweepstakes Tarzan theme can swing from the treetops at the Out 'n' About Treehouse in Takilma, Oregon, compliments of Radio Disney," it says at the site. "A family of four will enjoy two nights, `treetop' accommodations, Continental breakfast daily, an excursion to the Oregon Caves National Monument, and a choice of horseback riding, white-water rafting, or hiking/biking through the neighboring mountains." The hiking trails are actually free to the public. "We just give 'em a map," T.A. says. He tried to e-mail the Disney site but found e-mail can be sent and received only by "members" who have registered by name. "First it said I couldn't be T.A.," T.A. says. "Then it said the server was down. Finally I just gave up." No Disney spokesman immediately returned calls Tuesday. Other prizes in the sweepstakes are a home theater system, a $4,500 online shopping spree and Tarzan books. Out 'n' About has been in the news repeatedly since Garnier opened a tree house called Swiss Family Robinson in 1990. It's been the subject of stories by "Good Morning America," "Dream Builders," The Wall Street Journal and Smithsonian magazine. Garnier battled Josephine County officials over the place for years. A court said he needed building permits, but the county said the structures didn't qualify for permits. When the county said he couldn't rent out the houses, he sold T-shirts ("tree-shirts") for $50 and $75 and allowed buyers to stay for free. He once summoned reporters to watch him put 86 people, two dogs and a chicken into a tree house to prove it was strong. He continues to operate. Garnier bought property in Takilma in the early 1970s when the counterculture was taking hold in the remote area. Among his tree units are the "Piratree" (a platform resembling a ship), the "Treepee" (a platform with a teepee) and the "Cavaltree" (a cavalry tent atop a log platform fenced by a log stockade). Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA