Fort McPherson (July 24/06) - It's a hot summer day in Fort McPherson and amid clouds of blowing dust a group of children ride their bicycles towards the Tetlit gas station.

Cody Neyando, 12, buys a tasty sugary snack at the Tetlit gas station convenience store in Fort McPherson. - Philippe Morin/NNSL photo

On a day like this, they are looking for one thing: slushies.

Indeed, those sweet, icy treats are one of the hottest sellers in this community.

As children queue for slushies and other snacks - five-dollar bills and loose change spill out of small hands on to the counter - clerk Nina Francis can barely keep up with demand.

"One medium bubble gum slushie and a packet of Cheese Pleasers, please," asks 12-year-old Cody Neyando.

Despite the brisk sales, Francis knows she won't run out of merchandise.

On the floor of the Tetlit store are 27 jugs of syrup, each containing 3.75 litres of concentrated fruity fun. It's enough for hundreds of drinks.

"We don't sell them during the winter. That's why I think they are so popular," she says.

While strawberry is the most popular flavour, she said there is one especially strange option that has more than its fair share of devotees.

The Tetlit store sells a drink called "around the world," which has all the flavours - bubble gum, cotton candy, strawberry, cherry, lemon lime and polar purple - mixed together.

Francis admits she's never tried it.

"Slushies are probably the most popular thing we sell here," she says.

However, she adds they are extremely sugary and probably bad for kids health.

How does she feel about the sticky coloured syrup itself?

"Sometimes, I hate it!" she says. "The flavours stain and they're very messy."

For kids in Fort McPherson like Neyando, however, a hot summer day and a crushed-ice slushie will always be a great way to cool off.

It goes together like, well, bubble gum and cheesies.